The Aristocratic Families in Early Imperial China: A Case Study of the Po-Ling Ts'ui Family (Cambridge Studies in Chinese History, Literature and Institutions)

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The aristocraticfamilies of early imperial China A CASE STUDY OF T H E PO-LING

TS'UI FAMILY

PATRICIA BUCKLEY EBREY Visiting

Assistant Professor of Asian Studies

University of Illinois, Urbana

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS CAMBRIDGE LONDON· NEW YORK · MELBOURNE

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Published

by the Syndics of the Cambridge University Press Street, Cambridge CB2 IRP

The Pitt Building, Trumpington

Bentley House, 200 Euston Road, London NWI 20B 32 East 57th Street, New York, NY 10022, USA

296 Beaco nsfield Parade, Middle Park, Melbourne 3206,

Australia

First published 1978 Printed in Great Britain by Redwood Burn Limited, Trowbridge

& Esher

Ubrary of Congress Calaiaguilfg in Publication

Dala

Ebrey, Patricia Buckley, 1947The aristocratic families of early imperial Cbina. (Cambridge studies in Chinese

history, literature and

institutions) Bibliography: p. Includes index.

1. Aristocracy. .Z. Ts'ui, Po-ling. 3. Ts'ui - case studies. 4.

1. Title. HT 647.E21

China

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301.44'2

ISBN 0521 21484

X

family

Politics and government. 76-40836

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CONTENTS

vi

List of tables Acknowledgements Chronology of the Chinese dynasties 1

viii

Introduction

2 The historical development of the aristocratic families 3 Origins of the Ts'uis in the Han

4

vii

The Ts'uis in the aristocratic age

5 The Ts'uis as an old family in the Tang

6 Implications and conclusions Notes to the text

15 34 50

87 lUi

120

Appendix I: The reliability of the genealogical tables in the Hsin Tang shu

Notes to appendix I

157 1 74

Appendix II: Annotated genealogy of the descendants of Ts'ui Yen, d. 646

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179

Appendix III: Marriages of Po-ling Ts'uis during the T'ang

191

Bibliography

202

Glossary

218

Index

233

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TABLES

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Method of qualification of twenty-six Ts'uis known from

9

Ranks of

Genealogy of the Po-ling Ts'uis, generation one to fourteen Simplified genealogy of the Ts'uis mentioned in Chapter Four Simplified diagram of Po-ling Ts'ui and Chao-chiin Li marriages

Ranks attained by fifty-one Ts'uis in the period

400-534

Areas of actual residence or registration of T'ang Po-ling Ts'uis Burial places of Po-ling Ts'uis and their wives Family origins of the spouses of ninety -two Po-ling Ts'uis

106

funerary inscriptions

122 T'ang Ts'uis known from excavated

funerary

inscriptions

10 11

Characteristics of the eight largest and most convincing

12

Characteristics of fifteen genealogical tables of intermediate

13

Descendants of Ts'ui Tsuan according to the genealogical table

14

Descendants of Ts'ui P'eng according to the HTS genealogical

Po-ling Ts'ui Chief Ministers in the T'ang genealogical tables in the HTS size in the HTS table

15

Descendants of Ts'ui P'eng according to the HTS genealogical

16

Genealogy of Mien, Yu-fu. Leng. and Chih as reconstructed

17

Descendants o f Hung-chiin according to the genealOgical table

18 19 20

Descendants of Ang according to the HTS genealogical table

tables as supplemented by three funerary inscriptions from their biographies in the CTS and HTS in the HTS Private biographical sources for the descendants of Ts'ui Yen Genealogy of the descendants of Ts'ui Yen

37 54 60 63 92 92 95

108 112 159 160 163 164

165 166 166 170 180 181

vi

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

As this book has taken shape during the past five years I have received assist­ ance from many quarters. This book is based on the doctoral dissertation sub­

mitted to Columbia University's Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures in May 1975. While completing the dissertation I held Fulbright­ Hayes, Woodrow Wilson, and Whiting dissertation fellowships, for which

I

am

grateful. During the year 197-1-2 I had the privilege of doing research at the

Academia Sinica, Taiwan, and the-Researchlnstitute for Humanistic Studies, Kyoto. Mr Yii Shou-yUn of the Academia Sinica deserves special thanks for making it possible for me to go through their large collection of unpUblished stone rubbings. After completion of the dissertation

I

received a grant from

the Research Board of the University of Illinois to cover expenses involved in revision ami finlil preparation ofllie IlUUluscript.

My intellectual debts are more diffk� lt to specify. Any list of those who

have made this work possible would have to include the Chinese and Japanese scholars whose names frequently appear in the notes; without their research into many of the complexities of the institutional and political history of this period, I could never .have attempted.a study covering a thousand years. I am

also indebted to the friends and teachers who have given me advice and criti­ cism through the various stages of this work; These include Karen Alvarez,

Hans Bielenstein, Michael Dalby, John Dardess, Albert Dien, Jack Dull, Lloyd Eastman, David Johnson; Richard Kraus, David Ransel, Robert Somers, Denis Twitchett, and Howard Wechsler.

I am

also grateful to Lily Hwa for checking

citations and other assistance. Finally, I must acknowledge the support of my husband Tom whose con­ stant enthusiasm and encouragement kept me working on frequently frustrat­ ing tasks.

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U'in (221206 DC)

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Former (Western) H.n (202

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Be A09)

Wang Mang (interregnum, or Hsin Dynasly){9 23) I laler (Eallern) Han (25�220)

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Wei

Shu

_

(220-265)

. �f-�) �'".�

7

Eastern

16 Kingdoms (317 440) Nurtlle

/

Eastern

Wei (534 550)

I

(Northern)

Wu

(222 280)

(221 264)

I

T

(386534)

�ste We

Northern

rn Wei

and Southern Dynasties

1

(534 556)

I

(Northern)

.

Chin (317 --420)

9) 7 4 r ) : ::�:

Ch'i (479-SOZ)

I

Uang (502 557)

t

T'ang (618�·906)

Five

I

Dynasties (907-960)

(960I 1219) Ming{1368-I644) Sung

!

Yuan (12601368)

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Ch'ing (J 644-1911)

Chronology of the Chinese Dyruzsties

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Ch'en(557 589)

�'('��� Sui (581 618)

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1 INTROD UCTION

It is well known that imperial China had an upper class unusual in world his­ tory. The men who occupied the highest places in the social, intellectual, and economic tife of the country also provided the staff for government offices.

Much of the attitudes and values of the upper class were as a consequence shaped by preparation for entry into the bureaucracy and experience as bureaucrats assigned to managing the administrative concerns of a huge empire. Yet within this

COIlllJlQll

framework, social stratification underwent

major shifts during the course of Chinese history. At the most general level, the imperial period can be divided into two eras, Han (202 B.C.-A.D. 220) through T'ang (618-906), and Sung (960-1216) through Ch'ing

1 9 1 1 ). In

(1644--

the early imperial period Chinese class structure was not radically

different from that of other premodern societies; the upper class was marked by wealth, way of life, maintenance of traditional values, access to political power; non-bureaucratic ties based on family, locality, or patronage were of

great significance in social and political life. I It was not until the late imperial period that the features peculiar to the Chinese system were fully developed. Economic and technological changes, and above all the extension of a

com­

petitive examination system for selection of officials increased opportunities for social mobility as well as circulation of power within tbe upper class; these developments intensified the bureaucratic orientation of the ruling

l;laSS? This book deals with the characteristics which made the social system of early imperial China different from that of later China. Its subject is the aris­ tocratic families. In the second and third centuries A.D., as China entered a prOlonged period of political disunity, there appeared an aristocracy com· posed of a few dozen families and a few thousand individuals. These families, their position assured by wealth, hereditary privilege, and the prestige of their names, dominated much of public life for the next three centuries. Their power was never absolute; in varying degrees throughout this period they were kept in check by emperors, court favorites, generals. and new men who rose through talent or luck. In the sixth and seventh centuries, the court and 1 f -

The Aristocratic Families of Early Imperial China

2

bureaucracy were strengthened and China reunified. Yet for nearly another three centuries, through the T'ang dynasty, members of the same o ld families ftlled many of the most influential social and governmental positions. Although these eminent families were similar enough to aristocracies else­ where to merit the description 'aristocratif '} they also had features which placed them within the Chinese tradition�ne was their eagerness to be associ­ ated with the imperial court. Although they had adequate private resources to hold themselves aloof from antagonistic rulers, the long-established ideal·of the gentieman-official retained its strength; whenever practicable aristocrats sought prestigious court positions. This attitude seems to have effectively countered any tendencies for the aristocratic families to become feudal lords with proprietary control over sections of the country. Another distinctive characteristic was the relatively limited importance of hereditary privilege and rank to the survival of these families. Until the Sui dynasty (581-618) aristo­ crats (and others) had hereditary access to government posts, but this right insured against impoverishment rather than guaranteed eminence. Aristocrats were also often given noble titles that could be passed to one son in succession for the duration of the dynasty. Such titles, however, never created a clear social hierarchy. Titled and untitled Lang-yeh Wangs appear to have been of equal SQcial status and both had greater social prestige than titled s ons of gen­ erals. �ird distinctive feature of the Chinese aristocratic 'families' .was their size. It is true that whenever status is hereditary the ruling stratum will be composed of families and extended families; hereditary status.irnplies family continuity. But in China, with traditional emphasis on family solidarity and no principle of primogeniture, aristocratic families grew into large kinship groups. One 'family' could include several hundred adult men. The boundaries of aristocratic status thus became entangled in questions of the branching and dispersal of lineages and the compilation of private and public genealogical records.

Scholarship on

the aristocratic families

Sources surviving from the Han through T'ang period are principally dynastic histories, poetry, belles-lettres, state papers, collections of anecdotes, a few origimil documents which have been found in the arid Northwest, and stone inscriptions which survive either intact or in transcription. These sources never directly address the questions asked by sodal historians; they treat prominent men as individuals not as members of families or social groups and only by chance do they discuss economic resources or local position. Yet the limitations of the sources have not prevented histOrians from detecting be­ neath the· surface signs that aristocratic families were of great social and politi-

Introduction

3

cal importance in this period. The evidence that they have elicited can be sum­ marized as follows:

(l) The dynastic histories of the Chin (265-420) and Northern and Southern Dynasties, while conforming to well-established forma ts, show an inordinate number of the eminent and powerful people of the time (high officials in particular) to be patrilineal relatives. Moreover, the authors of such histories often found it useful to group these men together a ccordi ng to family, that is, to concentrate as much on giving genealogies of families as biographies of men, tho ugh they never stated this explicitly. (2) The dynastic histories also show that certain family lines persistedfor centuries. Men described as P'eis of Ho-tung or Wangs of Lang-yeh are given biographies in t he dynastic histories from the time of the Han or Three Kingdoms through the T'ang or Five Dynasties (907.,-960). Fre­ q uent ly men from these families are described as descendants of famous men of that name whose biographies appear in earlier histories. (3) The genealogical tables for T'ang Chief Ministers included in the Hsin T'ang shu ( New T'ang history') provide the specific links between many of the men given biog raphies in the various d ynasti c histories. They also show that a few families in the T'ang had grown so large that a single gen­ eration could include several hundred men. (4) The Chinese were aware of the special character of these fa milies and had a number of terms to describe them, men-fa (great bur eaucratic houses), men-ti ( g r eat houses), shih-tlu (scholar-official families), shih-llu (hereditary families), kuei-tsu (noble families),yu-tsu (eminent families), kac-m-en (exalted house s), chu-hsing (famous names), and so on. (5) The system of recruitment to office used from 220 to 583 was fre quently criticized for selecting officials accord ing to fa mily rank, not virtue or ability as claimed. (6) In this period, e specially the Southern Dynasties birth was often referred to as a legitimate criterion for social status. There were; for instance,statements that men of less t han the most emment birth were . unsuitable for certain offices or for marriage to certain people. (7) Wealth, extravagance, arrogance, snobbishness,refmement, local domi­ nation characteristics commonly associated with aristocracies and en­ trenched power groups""" were at times attributed to members of the well­ known families. (8) Reco rds of the court politic s of the period show that a high proportion of lead ing men came from famous families and con t ain evidence of occasional struggles between members of such families and the emperors � (9) Genealogical research,an activity associated both with active kinship '

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The Aristocratic Families of Early Imperial

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China

groups and societies in which ancestry must be demonstrated, flourishe d in

this period. Genealogies were compiled not only of single families but also

of the whole social elite, a hundred to several hundred families, sometimes ranking families according to eminence. Not only the families themselves but also the government took interest in this activity. Chinese historians, from the Sung dynasty onward, made note of these features of the Han to T'ang period. Some of the interrelations between these features were also recognized; Chao

I (1727-1814), for instance, recognized

that emphasis on birth in social life was related to its use as a criterion for selecting officials and that both were related to the survival of families for centuries.) It is only in the last fifty to sixty years, however, that scholars, trying to comprehend China's political, institutional, or cultural history, have analyzed the nature and historical importance of these aristocratic families. Modem historians have asked why these families appeared and which of their many

a ttri butes

were essential to their eminence and durability.

The first modern historian to draw attention to the aristocratic families

was-Naito Torajiro (1866�1934).ln his effort to comprehend the course of Chinese history and distinguish its major epochs, he characterized China from the end of the Han through mid T'ang as a medieval, aristocratic age. He

stressed the cultural basis of the aristocratic-families, relating their appearance

to growth ofTespect for pedigree and changing attitudes towards scholarship and manners in the Later Han, Three Kingdoms and Chin.4 Yet because he attributed the decline of the aristocratic families after mid-T'ang to funda­ mental changes in the organization of society, he also implied that their

existence was related to social, economic, and 'institutional factors.s

Since Naito's time numerous scholars have attempted to till in the gaps in

his explanation. Starting in the 1920s Okazaki Fumio studied institutional developments related to the aristocratic families, especiany the nine-rank

recruitment system initiated in 220 which, despite its original rhetoric, within a century became a method of selecting officials by family status.6 He was

soori joined by the Chinese scholar Yang Ytin_ju,7 and institutional history has since remained the major approach of Chinese and Japanese historians

who study this period. Underlying

the work of

many of these scholars has

been the aSsumption that the establishment in 220 and abolition in

583 of the

. nine-rank system was the primary determinant of the rise and fall of the aris­ tocratic families.

In the 1930s a number of Chinese historians began to look for social and

economic explanations of historical changes. Wu Hsien-ch'ing, T'ao Hsi-sheng, and Ku Chi-kuang sought to explain the appearance of aristocratic families not in terms of cultural changes or institutional peculiarities but in terms of

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Introduction power, especially economic power.8 Comparing the aristocratic families to

the feudal nobility of Europe, they viewed their appearance as a resliit of the extension of the independent local power of certain families to the point where they were stronger than the rulers and could in a sense take over the nine-rank recruitment system and use it to give themselves hereditary privi­ leges. Conflicts with the state and emperors were stressed. Ku Chi-kuang, for instance, saw the reassertion of strong imperial

control as a major reason

for the decline of the aristocratic families at the end of the Northern and

Southern Dynasties.9 Responding to the same general intellectual stimulus, scholars like Yang Lien-sheng and Ch'en Yin-k'o tried to explain political events, such as factional disputes and dynastic changes, in terms of struggles between groups with different social and economic interests, giving a new significance to the aristocratic families as

Ii political power group�O

Ch'en

Yin-k'o iilterpreted early rang political struggles as conflicts between the Northwestern martial nobility and the Northeastern civil aristocracy, and late Tang disputes as conflicts between the old aristocratic families and the newly risen famities. The main contribution of these early, wide-ranging studies was to point to possibJe"cultural;institutional, and"economic explanations of the changes in

society between the Han and the T'ang. In the past thirty years almost all

aspects of the historical situation in which the aristocratic families flourished have received further attention. The most significant accomplishments of

these decades have been investigations of small segments of the political, economic, and institutional history of the period which have established limitations on the hypotheses scholars can reasonably propose about the aris­ tocratic families. A variety of detailed studies can now be brought to bear on the problem

of the relationship between the existence of aristocratic families and the

weakness of the numerous dynasties between the Han and the T'ang. More has been learned about the kinds of powers the government lost, who acquired them, and how the government eventually regained them. Chin Fa-ken, T'ang Chang-ju, Ho Ch'ang-chlin, and Kawakatsu Yoshio have studied the sparse evi­ dence for the economic position and military power of locaUy entrenched familiesY There can now be little doubt that fOI limited periods the central government lost almost all powers to local magnates. Yet from their studies it is also clear that the largest local magnates were not identical with the aristo­ cratic families whose names repeatedly appear in the history. Taking a differ­ ent perspective, Yen Keng-wang has shown that when central authority

(hsien), command­ (chou) administrators who could decide and

declined considerable autonomy was acquired by county ery

(chiin), and

prefectural

implement policies and choose their own subordinatesP Aristocrats would

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The Aristocratic Families of Early Imperial China

6

have profited from this system when they held such positions, as they did in the Northern Dynasties, but not when they disdained them. The process by which central control was rebuilt in the Northern Dynasties has been partially clarified by studies of the equal"field (chiin-t'ien) system of land distribution which strengthened the government's tax base and control over land­

ownership, and the militia (fu-ping) system, which made possible mobilization of large armies under central command.13 The purpose and effect of these measures waS to strengthen the central administration at the expense of local magnates. Unfortunately little has been learned about the impact of these policies on the aristocratic families prominent at court. The evolution and operation of the nine·rank system have been worked out in detail by Miyakawa Hisayuki, Miyazaki Ichisada. and others.14 The early view that this system provided great political power to the aristocratic families has had to be qualified; although aristocrats gained posts, even high ones, by virtue of their birth,and a large proportion oLaU known officials were from prominent families, real power was often in the hands of men of lower status.1S Yet at the same time attention has been brought to the great social and symbolic importance of the nine-rank system. Because the high status of specific families was made visible by the kinds of offices their men

held in the bureaucracy, any tendencies to esteem pedigree were strongly reinforced. Ochi Shigeaki has shown how this led to the recognition of three strata of upper claSs families in the Eastern Chin and Southern Dynasties.16 David Johnson has drawn attention to the compilation of officially-sponsored national genealogical compendiums which provided a textual basis for the increasingly stratified society.17 TheOries which attribute the existence of aristocratic families to either the nine-rank system OJ the weaknesses of the central government have somehow

to account for the survival of these families into the T'ang, after the nine-rank

system had been abolished and unified central control revived. One expla­

nation could be that the T'ang government was less strong OJ less bureaucratic than previously supposed. Yet analysis of administrative documents surviving

at Tun-huang has left little doubt that the T'ang government kept clo-se watch over local adminiStrative and fiScal affairs.18 Another explanation could be that the aristocratic families survived as a power grou� able to protect their common interests through political activities within the bureaucracy. The early theories of Ch'en Yin-k'o atong these lines, however, have not stood up to scrutiny; close studies of the factional politics of the T'ang have failed to produce any evidence that the aristocratic families formed a coherent or self­ conscious power group.19 A third explanation could be that persistence of aristocratk �c!al attitudes assured the prominence of the old families. A number of studies have attempted to assess the importance and strength of

7

In troduction

such attitudes. Niida Noboru examined the highly restricted marriage practices of aristocratic families in the T'ang. Takeda Ryilji, Ikeda On, Denis Twitchett. and David Johnson have made �reful studies

of references to the compilation

of national genealogical compendiums and a few surviving fragments.20 The·

attention given these compendiums by rulers arid the general public show that

distinguishing families by status remained pOlitically important well after the nine-rank system had been abolished.

Reasons for a � study

As progress is made in study of the social, political. and institutional his·

tory of early imperial China, the broad outlines of the aristocratic families have

come into clearer focus. Numerous problems of interpretation nevertheless remain. Scholars generally acknowledge that the aristocratic families were

rich, educated, socially exclUsive, and abie tagain high titles and offices. The principal interpretive issue is which of their characteristics were crucial to

their position: Many view these aristocratic families essentially as local gentry who gained enough power to be able to demand honors and perqUisites,

especially official titles and offices. Others see office-holding as the defming

feature of the aristocratic families, their status dependent on continued access to office. and the prestige it brought. Some, stressing this bureaucratic side of

the aristocratic families, conclude that tlleY were ultimately dependent on the

rulers.21 To illustrate the magnitude of these disagreements, it is as though

scholars cOj.lld not decide whether the aristocratic families were closer to the Roman patricians, whose position brought political privileges but derived

from wealth, to the Russian service nobility of the seventeenth century, who possessed extensive lande4 wea{th but were obligated to hold office to main­

tain their status, to the English aristocrats of the same period whose titles

defined their status but who often took positions in the military or govern,

ment for the economic rewards they offered, or even to the Fujiwara of Heian Japan, who preserved their wealth an.d prestige through undisputed control

over the cOurt.22.

.

.

One reason why so much confusion surrounqs the social and political

nature of the aristocratic families is that their basic features are stilI poorly delineated. Scholars have seldom been able to address questions of degree or

extent. It is known that many aristocrats held high offices, but not what pro­

portion of the members of an aristocratic family gained posts� nor the kinds

,of posts they held ; that the aristocratic families were accused of reluctance to marry anyone of lesser birth, but not how they defmed lesser birth or whom

they actually married; that many aristocratic families were considered large, but not how large they were nor how their size 9r composition changed.

The only way to corroborate generaiizations or replace accusations of pol-

The Aristocratic Families of Early Imperial Chi1U1

8

itical domination with evidence of its extent is to collect more information which can be analyzed systematically.

A great mass of Iargelyunexploited

data is incorporated within dynastic history biographies, funerary inscriptions, private writings, anecdotes, and so on. These sources seldom discuss the aris­ tocra ti c families per se;their value is that they contain hundreds {If thousands of items about the political experiences, social activities, family life, and intellectualattitudes of specific members of these families. Taken piece by piece this information is of little significance; one aristocrat-had eight brothers who

lield office, another lived and was buried at great distance from his 'native piaL'C.' Yet if-this information is sorted chronological ly and genealogically and the context of anecdotes and events explored, its potential is great: the characteristics o f the aristocratic families can be documented rather than simply imputed.

It is to make possible the kind of dose analysis needed for use o f these

linwieldy sources that I have narrowed my focus to one fami ly, the Po-ling · Ts uis. A case study of a single family has obvious limitations: some of a

family's characteristics may have been unique or accidental; there may have been several different types of aristocratic families, and so on. But a case

study is a good place to start if one wishes to gain It solid empirical basis for interpretations of the aristocratic families. A few

case

studi es have already

been undertaken by Chinese and Japanese scholars, but much work remains to be done.23

A major advantage of a case study is that within its framework ways can

be found ,;

to ask basic questions about the aristocratic families in concrete this book can be sub­

terms. The most important questions approached in

�s the nature of the aristo­

_sumed under two �!leralli!Les QDlliU'.ir¥- T

cratic families as kinship groups. How large were they? Should they be

thought of as powerful, organized lineages with re cognized heads and com­

mon activities like the Fujiwara in Heian Japan? Or were the members of the

aristocratic families more like seventeenth-century English nobles whose

status was hereditary and who were conscious of family ties but who were seldom organized on kinship l ines? No existing source discusses these issues

and no ea rly genealogy survives. Many aspects of the composition of the

Ts'uis, however, can be inferred by asking indirect questions. How closely

linked were the Ts'uis mentioned in historical sources? Can one detect con ­

tact between Ts'uis more d istantly related than first cousins? If so, what

kind? Can one find cases where Ts'uis acted in concert in political matters? Where they op posed each other? Did the Ts'uis as a whole have a common

graveyard or an cestra l temple? If not, what kind of subgroups had them? Can one fmd Ts'uis who moved away from where

the bulk Of their

rela tives lived?

Was thei r status or the status of their children the same as that of other Ts'uis?

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Introduction 'J

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line of inquiry concerns the dual nature of members of the aris·

tocratic families as bureaucrats and aristocrats, Although aristocracy and bureaucracy have often overlapped in world history, there are inherent con· flicts between these two roles: aristocrats have autonomous status, while bureaucrats depend on their institutional position; birth, the essential attribute of aristocrats,should be of no consequence in a bureaucracy which'must re­

ward above all institutional position and achievement. A number of scholars have tried to reconcile the apparent contradictions involved in aristocrats serving in the bureaucracy. Miyazaki, for instance, has shown how the

bureaucracy was'reorganized along more aristocratic lines. T'ang Chang-ju has pointed to some of the instability created by aristocrats' dependence on pol­ itical privileges. Cll'en Yin-k'o has emphasized the aloofness and pride of aristo­ crats who held office.24 Nevertheless,...no one has closely examined the ques­

tion from the viewpoint of the aristocratic families themselves. Did they hold

office primarily to maintain their status, or more to embellish it'! How depend­ ent were they on court favor? What share of their resources were e ffectively

private,beyond the control of the court? As part of a case study, ways can be found to ask these questions indirectly. Can one find Ts'uis who did not hold

office? If so, how did their status or the status of their children compare to other Ts'uis? Can one find occasions when the Is'uis held aloof from the

court? What were the consequences? Can one fwd situations where they had

to choose between preserving their private wealth or prestige and their formal

governmental position? Which did they choose,and what effect did their decision have?

Delimiting a subject A case study requires, first of all, � family deserving the name aristocratic.

Defining the aristocratic families and what made them aristocratic is not easy. The Chinese of the time, conscious of many social distinctions, had a rich

vocabulary of terms for families of great status or power. Unfortunately they

had if anything

too many different terms. None seems to have referred to a

specific group of known families, and the same family could be described in

different contexts with different terms. Therefore it is left to the modern his­

torian to determine which were the most significant distinctions among the elite families. Most scholars have either assumed that all familieS called'emi­ nent, long-established, or powerful were essentially comparable, or nave divided them into two groups, the aristocratic families and the local or prov­ incial elite.u But even d ividing these families into two levels obscures import­ ant distinctions. In this book the term aristocratic families is not used as a direct translation of any Chinese term (thOUgh it would be closest in conno-

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The Aristocratic Families of Early Imperial China

tation to men-fa). Rather it is used to refer to the very small number of famil­ ies whose members appeared over and over again in the dynastic histories, whose positions were not tied to transient political alignments, but werernore durable and independent. This autonomy came from diverse resources such as local power, legal privileges, and deeply ingrained respect for birth. In other words, what made a family aristocratic was hereditary high social status, independent of full court control.26 By defining the'aristocratic families in this way, I am excluding the families who in almost all dynasties gained great weaith and prestige as a result of their ties to the imperial family as relatives or early supporters. These families are called here the nobility (the closest terms in Chinese would be kuei-tsu or kuei-yu). They were usually given hereditary titles, privileges, and stipends,

and often were encouraged to continue intermarrying With the imperial fam­ ily. With so many legal and material advantages it is not surprising that noble families often survived and produced prominent men for three, four, or five generations. Only when these families proved able to survive full withdrawal ---�

gf imperial "p_a!!9nage are they counted as aristocratic famil�s.

Furthermore, the term aristocratic is limited here to families of the highest

stratum, whose national prestige was fully recognized. A number of recent scholars have drawn attention to the 'ruling class' or 'oligar�hy' of a hundred to several hundred families whose names were listed in national genealogical compendiums in the Northern and Southern Dynasties and T'arig.27 The noble and aristocratic families would be those families placed in the highest ranks in these works, comprising only a small portion of all the families listed. Although one cannot doubt that the appearance of an aristocracy and the appearance of a defmed ruling class were related phenomena, both based on common his- torical conditions and social attitudes, too little is known about the differ­ ences between them to assume that descriptions of the one apply equally well to the other: Therefore, to be properly cautious, it is best not to group them together until similarities can be proved. The problem of defmition would be Simplified if any of the rankings of families had been preserved. UnfOTtunately all that survive are summary'lists of the families in the ruling class of the T'ang, arranged by prefecture rather

than rank, An approximate list of the aiistocratic families could. be made

from the dynastic histories, based on how the social status of the family was

described in the dynastic-history biographies of its members, the number of prominent men froin the family, how members of the family were treated by others, with whom they associated or married, and s o on.28 But it would be difficult to know how many families t6 call aristocratic or to defend ranking one family higher than another. The closest one (.,m come to a contemporary

bthe historian and genealogist Liu fug

li �t of the great families is an essa ,---���--�

-

--.:::-

Introduction

11

h�y. His list had no official function; he merely

written in the mid-eig

mentioned in passing the names of the old families considered the most emi­

nent in the T'ang_ He lists the Wang,.Hsieh, Yiian, and Hsiao families who had

emigrated to the Southeast in the fourth century; the Chu, Chang, Ku,and Lu families native of that area; the Wang, Is'ui, Lu, U, and Cheng families of the

Northeast; the Wei, P'ei, Liu,Hsueh, Yang, and Tu of the Kuan-chung area

centered on Ch'ang-an; and the Yuan, Chang-sun, Yii-wen, Yii, Lu, Yiian, and Tou, non-Chinese of the Northern border area.29 Uu Fang's list can be used

for earlier centuries as long as it is realized that several of the most prominent

families of the Three Kingdoms, Chin, and Southern Dynasties (such as the

Hsun of Ying-ch'iian and the Ssu-ma of the Chin imperial house) were omitted because they did not survive into the Tang, and some of the families he men­ tioned (such as the Hsiao and the non-Chinese) would best be considered noble families in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, becoming aristocratic families by the time of the T'ang. For the purposes of a case study it would be as vain to seek a 'typical' aris­ tocratic family as it would be to seek a 'typical' poet or statesman. According to Liu Fang, in the T'ang the eminent families could be divided into four groups that differed in historical origins and experiences. Undoubtedly families in the same group also differed in significant ways. Since an aim of this

book is to study what made families aristocratic, what gave them high, heredi­

tary; independent status, the best choice is a f�m ily which illustrates these·

characteristics well. Therefure I have chosen one of the Northeastern families.

This group was especially

� for its longevity and independence from t�e

court. ����losely tied to an imRlHial h().1!!!�,�!tt:�reat Nort!!eastern families

ons:

nevertheless survive� a_vll!.�!�()f adverse c!rcumstances:�arb�.r.!!n_!!lYJ!si

alien dynasties and resent�s. From among the principal Northeastern families the Po-lingTs'uis were

chosen for two reasons. The first is that Ts'ui is a relatively uncommon sur­

name (compared with U and Wang. for instance).

By the T'ang men often

lightly laid claim to famous ancestral seats; if their surname was Wang they might call themselves Lang-yeh Wan! despite no actual·connection to either

Lang-yeh commandery or the famous lineage of that name.30 This fact poses

a serious problem to anyone using unedited funerary inscriptions and private writings which may contain false claims to eminent ancestry i Although no solution is likely to be entirely satisfactory, the number of non-aristocrats unwittingly included in the case study can be minimized by selecting a family with a less common surname; the fewer the men who bore a certain name the fewer the number of potential imposters.

The second reason for choosing the Ts'uis is that they provide one of the

best documented cases of a family that survived from the Han to the end of

J

12

111e Aristocratic Families of Early Imperiol China

the Tang. Almost all of the aristocratic families of the Three Kingdoms, Chin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties claimed to include among their ances­ tors men who served as officials in the Han.31 Genealogists of the Northern and Southern Dynasties and Tang undoubtedly had documents no longer available, but there is no way to estimate how critically they scrutinized these sources. Recent historians have , therefore, been reluctant to take these gen­ ealogies at face value. If the Han ancestors are not listed in the histories, modern scholars suspect that they may never have actually Jived. If they are listed, there is the suspicion that the family had simply chosen appropriate ancestors from the histories. Consequently, to investigate in even a tentative fashion the origins of the aristocratic families it is best to start with families whose genealogies appear accurate. Considerable evidence can be offered to substantiate the conclusion that the Ts'uis described in the Hou-Han shu were in fact the ancestors of the

Ts'uis in the Chin, Northern Dynasties, and Tang. First, Ts'uis of the North­

ern Dynasties and Tang regularly mentioned Ts'ui Yin, Yuan, and Shih of the later Han as their distant ancestors.3l Second , the Ts'uis in the Northern Wei

lived in the same place as these Ts'uis described in the Hou-Han shu. Third,

dynastic history biographies provide all of the necessary links from the Han to the Chin to the Northern Wei; one need not uSe the HSln T'ang shu genea­

logical tables at all. Finally, the Hsin T'ang shu genealogical tables show

no

sign of haVing been manipulated. There are no total blanks, that is generations

for which no names are supplied, and the number of generations listed between the famous men is quite reasonable, averaging thirty-one years. In few other

genealogical tables do these points tally so well.33

In preparing this book, one of the first decisions I had to make was whether to concentrate on a single well-documented period of time, such as the Tang dynasty, or to attempt to cover the mUre historical span of the Ts'uis from their appearance to their disappearance. On balance, given the present state of our knowledge , there Seemed to be more to gam by taking advantage of the unique opportunities afforded by a case study to acquire a long historical perspective. Most scholars have restricted themselves to the Han, the age' of division, or the T'ang. Thus, they have come to ask different questions and

speak in d ifferent terms, so that the actual continuities and changes between periods have been obscured by the lack of communication between historians studying successive dynasties. Moreover, within these periods they have

rriost

frequently approached the aristocratic families in,.!U1i,.c, analytic frameworks rather ihan searched for the dynamics of their development. It is my hope that viewing the changes in one family over the entire course of its histO!)' will

1 - ··

Introduction

13

provide a new perspective for detailed analyses of the aristocratic families in specific periods.

.pily for a thousand years, a major difficulty has been �

In tracing one fa

attaining consistenc . Not only did the Po-ling Ts'uis as a group change over­ time but the source- materials available differ from period to period. The {

dynastic historieslare the major source for this period, and the only one avail-

able for each dynasty. Their strength is their coverage of political careers. 34 Funerary inscriptions (obituaries carve-d on stone and buried at the grave),

surviving mainly from the sixth to tenth centuries, have been particularly valuable for showing whom the TS'uis married, where they were b uried, what they knew or thought about their ancestors, how they entered the bureauc­ racy, and what offices they held . Much of this information can be quantified. Moreover, the use of original rang documents provides a sense of immediacy not available from sources edited by later historians.35 The Hain

T'ang shu's

genealogical tables for T'ang Chief Ministers are also use ful mainly for the

rang. These tables supplement funerary inscriptions, outlining the kinship relationships of hundreds of Ts'uis and confirming the existence of concepts of lineage and branch.36 Anecdotes and miscellaneous writing, a further source, are the most uneven in coverage ; some men's writings have been pre­ served while others have been lost; anecdotes survive mainly from t he mid and late T'ang and then stress the unusual rather than the ordinary. Yet these sources have proved useful in assessing such factors as style , friendships, fam­ ily loyalties, and social prejudices. Arl:haeology provides a final but very limited source. To date only one report of the excavation of a Ts'ui tomb has been published. This tomb however provides valuable evidence of- the material life of one sixth-century Ts'ui official. 37 For the sake of continuity I have attempted to examine systematically the most basic characteristics of the Po-ling Ts'uis: that is, how many Ts'uis there were, when. and where they lived, what posts they held, whom they married. While much of this inf()rmation has been discussed in the .narrative and

interpretative sections, �or convenience

a few of the

topics

for which consider­

able material is available have been treated in appendices. Also for each period I have tried to evaluate the status of the Ts'uis and the extent to which it was

based on formal participation in the central government or informal factors such as local influence, style of life, and the prestige of birth.

It is only in

these two general areas, however, that the Ts'uis from the Han through the Tang are analyzed In constant terms. Details of such matters as the Ts'uis'

economic position. family life, and intellectual and cultural orientations are

discussed only when they are especially relevant

to the general historical

development of the Po-ling Ts'uis and where materials warrant.

f ---

, - ---

r - --

r---

The A ristocratic Families ofEarly Imperial China

14

A final decision involved in organizing this book was the relative weight to

be given the particular features of the Ts'uis as against the general features of the aristocratic families as a whole. To understand the Ts'uis one must be able to identify the attributes which they shared with other aristocratic families, the ones that made them an aristocratic family. Common traits should be related to common historical conditions; if many families had their origin in the Later Han and disappeared in the ninth and tenth centuries, their rise and decline should be explained with reference to shared historical situations, not unique experiences. To provide �he background necessary for seeing how the Ts'uis fit into the general development of the aristocratic families an overview of the aristocratic families as a whole is giveh in Chapter Two. On the other hand, there are dangers in accepting too readily existing assumptions or generalizations about the aristocratic families and d ismissing or playing down"features of the Ts'uis which do not fit well into current models. furthermore, at this stage of our understanding of the aristocratic families it would be unwise to rule but the pOSSibility of considerable diver­ sity. By the T' aog, when geographic separation was largely overcome and the aristocratic families intermarried extensively, there may have been a general 'aristocratic' type, yet one cannot assume as much similarity in earlier periods. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties some families were dislodged from their native place ; some were active at court earlier than others; North­ erners confronted ethnic hostility unknown by the Southerners, and so on. In order to avoid obscuring important distinctions that may have resulted from these experiences, in Chapters Three, Four, and Five , the Ts'uis are described strictly from sources pertaining to them, and any speculation based on what is known about other families is indicated as such.

o

o

2

T H E H I ST O R I C A L D EV E LO P M E N T OF T H E A R I STO C R ATIC F A M I LI E S

The aristocratic families were never a single, unified group. It took centuries for a clearly de fined aristocracy to emerge and even then new families ap· peared as o'ld ones died out or declined. Moreover, the country

was politically

divided for extended periods with parts ruled by non·Chinese, creating region· al and ethnic differences which distinguished groups of aristocratic families. For these reasons the history of the aristocratic families is not the history of a particular group of family lines, but the history of the rise, evolution, and

decline of the aristocratic families as a social category.

The Han upper class

A large proportion

of the aristocratic families of the third to eighth cen­

turies A.D. appear to have descended from the 'powerful families' (haD-tsu,

hao,chieh , ta-hsing, etc.) which'formed the Han upper class. Because China

proper was unified and a single imperial house was maintained for four centuries (with a brief interregnum when Wang Mang overthrew the Former Han), the Former and uter Han are considered among the great dynasties o f Chinese history. Nevertheless caution should be used i n estimating t h e degree

to which the

Han governmen t controlled life in the countryside. The dynastic

histories frequently mention 'powerful families' which dominated local areas,l

�ir status derived large ly from_L��pr!Y!!t�J!!�rmal matters:'iocal stan
owned land and had social and political influence. The largest of these. powerful families are described as containing hundred s of members and can prob. ably best be described as !,:ll!!ls, though little is known of their internal organ·

ization. 2

Magistrates and Grand Administrators imbued with the idea of

strong central control often tried to curb the influence of powerful families, but in cases of rebellions or border raids the government was glad to see them arm their follower s for self·defense.

Only a small number of t he members of these powerful families were of

national importance.3 Those

who occupied the highest

levels of the Han upper 15

V

The Aristocratic Families ofEarly Imperial China

16

class were men who had ex(..-ellent educations, refined cultural interests, and

maintained traditional norms of family life and behavior. Such men spent much of their time

ill the capital and were acquainted with other educated

men. The content of their intellectual life was affected by the requirements

of the bureaucracy and many of them were recommended for office . Yet un­

like in later periods, office-holding_in the Han seems to �ve beel! ()l!� ­ mon activity of the higm!st1evcl� �f the up er class, not its d�f.iting character­

"'"'i"Coin

p

cceptid into tm! rocial a�d cultuiai lrfeoft�

istic. MencouI
capital without being officials, and

it was not uncommon for men to decline

to serve or accept only preferred assign ments.4

In the Later Han men did not articulate fine distinctions of social status. 5

One reason could be that there were no sharp dividing lines, only differences in degree of wealth, power, and refinement . Birth was of importance only in the sense that wealth and education could easily be passed to one's sons and

nephews; the sons o f rich men might squander their inheritance and the sons of poor rnen might rise through diligen t study. Another reason could be that

upper-class men were more aware of what divided them than what united

them. Almost any official had received recommendations and appDintments from other higher officials, and given them to men lower than himself. To

these

men he was bound by vertical ties of gratitude and loyalty.6 And local

powerful families not active in the capital or bureaucracy had stronger ties to

families above or below them in their own district than to families 'of equiv­

alen.! status hundreds of miles away. '

�s in the second century

A number of developments in the Later Han contn1>1lted to making

possible the e levatitin of a few of these powerful families to the position of

.2!.!!Ul!:rat.ic.4milies of national importance. as jin increase in the aQ!.2!!Q!!l'y,.andstreng.th ofJru;aUy­ �e tre

�

lW�!H(Y!e 1lunili sl nue both to long-tetw Unwth 2f luge estaj�� �!Lt!:e

J!l£line in the power of the

central governlMnt. More large estates meant that

there were more estate owners who could dominate local affairs because o f the hundreds or thousands o f retainers, tenants, private soldiers, and some­

times also kinsmen on whom they could call. With the decline o f central auth­

ority and its collapse after

1 84, these local magnates had

to defend themselves

and their dependents. As they did so, fleeing to mountains or build ing forts,

their local power naturally increased.7 By the end of the Later Han no ruler

could ignore the threat such enclaves posed to the restoration of central auth­ ority.

4 ....se-. � 0ev -e7 1o -2!! -�m d:d -: n-:ny �nserY.atiy:e ,.mo.r.alisti ueYi!&..I�J�y _�!2! !J'

t ·

r

r

r

----

17

Historical development of the aristocratic families

who called themselves the 'pures' (ch 'ing-liu). l"hese 'pures' were,�olitical

: Iit�!!ii illi�

_

��imi:� � ���

f�cti;; o e ; ho prea�Jred t o r. � �l! E;_I�!�v:�� controlled the throne were corrupt and unsuited for political responsibility, . �� ciniftJiat theY-ShoIiid be���er��ei

� ir locaiiy-k;t�n7;;�)i�m, straTgbi:­ fo��arl. t�adiiion�m.Omi Standards. Altt;;ugh'ihe�p���s; w�re unsuccessful in their crusade against these 'inner court' groups in the

1 608, and in fact were

expelled from the government and persecuted, their ideas seem to have gained considerable currency.s These ideas became t he ideological basis for reforms

of the recruitment system and particularly the elevation of educated, locally respected families. They may have provided the seeds for a sense of class idenm

t

la

in earlier.

third trend

_

as an apparent increase in

the re$pYctforJ�e�:1n the

La er Han there were a number of cases where the sons, grandsons, and even

later descendants of outstanding men were honored for their birth, and given

every opportunity to achieve eminence themselves. For instance, descendants

of three generals who aided in the founding of the Later Han - Ma Yuan, Tou Jung, and Uang T'ung - each formed powerful noble families that produced

many prominent officials and empresses; as consortfamilies they periodically

gained great pow�r.9 In addition, the descendants of the high offICials Yang Chen and Yuan An, while never consort families, became recognized as the leading bureaucratic families and in many ways resembled the aristocratic

families of later centuries. They provided such an extraordinary share of the

three highest officials in the central government

(the Three Ducal Ministers)

that filling these posts carne almost to b e considered their hereditary right .1o

Effects of the nine-rank system The warlord struggles that brought an end to

the Han were not resolved

quickly and for several decades China was divided into three contending states wa... no · IP S' (the Three Kingdoms period). l 1 Th e Wei dynasty (220-65) founded b y Ts'ao II. 11M L b 5 - 1 ! b Ts'ao and his son P'ei in North China was the largest and most important o f

these. I t was succeeded b y the Western Chin

(265-316) w hich briefly reuni-

fied the country. One means the new rulers used to gain legitimacy and the

cooperation of locally powerful families was to reform the ment to offtce. In

system of recruit-

220 the nine-rank, Arbiter system (chiu-p'in chung-cheng) ,

was introduced .12 Basically a method of local recommendation, an Arbiter (chung-cheng) was appointed to each commandery (chiin, the unit which

superv!sed several counties) and after a few decades also to each prefecture

(chou, the highest unit of local administration). He was charged with classifying candidates for office into nine ranks of character and ability, closely

following the standards popularized earlier by the 'pure' movement. The

· r -

r - - --

18

The Aristocratic Families ofEarly Imperial China higher the rank a man received froin h i s local Arbiter, the higher h e could

enter the bureaucracy. The old system of ranking offices by salary was aban­ doned, and offices were also classified into nine ranks. The main diffe rence between this and earlier systems of local recommendation was that decisions were left not to the Grand Administrator, a stranger to the commandety, but to an Arbiter chosen from among t he local upper class who was supposed to be familiar with local opinion. Within three generationsl bythe end o f the Western Chin, t his new recruit· .

..�

��nt s�s�em SW!!l lQ.h�IU?lliiIDtate �_ a m.!i£.L�!!8�j!U��n-

Q.fIi�-hQ.I!!in&_b��e � "i��2.��,y_h9.�!l���!e!.E �in •

Birth.!-sta�.iUHJ

to reco$l!ize many arjst!?cr!ill£'.f!lm!lie� . Why should 'this have happened? It is

true that !power arid status' can probably be read behirid talk of character and

local respect , but that should also have been the case in the Later Han when

men were also selected for office on the basis of imputed virtues (though this tendency may have bee-n pushed further by having the person making the sele ction a member o f the local society himself). It was p robably the thoroughnesS of the new system, however, that made the biggest difference. In the Later

Han not being in office (and even not having been recommended) said

little directly about one's status. But the new system ranked all pro spective candidates systematically, creating an officially-designated hierarchy where

before there had only been informal and flexible distinctions of wealth and � refinement . lines were drawn through the upper class, and it is that the 2 �/' �. men � who found themselves in the highest level came to see them·

�.-

gradually

likely

\ selves as far superior to those in the next level. Then since aU men assigned

the highest rank could gain o ffice with little worry, office·holding (rather than personal refinement) soon became the easiest way to recognize that a man had high status. Once this association was fully made it apparently became diffi­ cult to

be accepted as a man of high status without holding o ffice at least

briefly or riommally.

- Although it was not originally intended that sons should be given the same ranks as their fathers, as it became recognized that these ranks divided men by social status, and -as status became niore Clearly associated with office-holding, only the sons of men who had received

high rank and gone on to hold office

had much of a chance of receiving- high ranks themselves.13 Growing respect' for pedigree probably also contributed to this change . �t any rate , b y the

�nning of the fourth cent!!!:)' the Arbiter system should no longer be con­ sidered a system o f local recommendatl£I!, but. rather a system of appoint- _ ment t o o ffice according to familx rank. Tne locus of decision-making had "-

Shifted from the comrnandery to the prefecture (probably by

250) and

eventually largety to the capital where fa mily records were kept by t he Depart­

ment of State_ Men began t o speak of grades of families; there were top.

Historical development of the aristocratic families

19

ranking families (chia-tsu), secondary houses (tz 'u-men), lesser houses (hou­ men), and houses subject to government corvee (i-men or san-wu men). Men's starting posts, and even the kinds Of posts they were given depended on fam­ ily rank and were visible signs of it. Many posts came to b e considered especially a ristocratic (Le. 'pure') and others suitable only for men from lower-ranking families ('impure'). Thus the bureaucracy itself underwent con­ siderable reorganization to accommodate changes in social stratification.14

Failures of central control

The leading families of the Western Chin, such as the Yang, Ch'en, Hstin, P'ei, lang-yeh �nd T'ai-yuan Wang, were almost all descended from Han upper­ class families. It can probably be assumed that they maintained or improved their local landholdings and economic independence. The Wei and Chin governments failed to establish full fiscal or military control over the popu­ lation, which indirectly facilitated the growth and maintenance of large estates. Ts'ao Ts'ao restored the finances of the central government by inaking a large portion of the population state dependents; some families became state tenants who paid rent and others became military households who provided soldiers. I s With this type of financial base it was less important for the govern­ ment to try to prevent powerful families from increasing their limdholdings; In fact, special economic privileges for officials were recognized. In the Chin they could possess large tracts of land and protect households of dependents from taxes, both in varying amounts according to their officiaf rank.16 The intention 'of this measure may have been to undermine locally powerful land­ lords who were not officials. But it could only hlive'helped those families placed high in the nine-rank system who could hold office without difficulty; their large landholdings received official recOgnition as appropriate to their poSition. The coUapse of the Western Chin fun damentally changed the political situ­ ation. Firsttorn apart by internal strife as imperial princes engaged in open warfare with each other; the Chin government was finally destroye d by the invasion of Hsiung-nu tribes who captured the capital in 3 1 1 . The'courses of action adopted 'by leading families when the court fell reveal their dual foundations. Many eminent men returned to their homes'and tried to organize defensive positions, clearly believing their local status worth protecting. The remainder, also a sizeable number, fled south, joining the new court as soon as they could. While personal safety was undoubtedly a major consideration, the chance to retain high court status probably also contributed to 'their ' decision to flee.

After this crisis two liugely independent aristocracies developed. In the

20

The Aristocratic Families ofEarly Imperial China

North there were powerful. famous families whose position rested e ntirely on private resources such as their local influence and the prestige of their way of life and past association with the Wei and {:hin courts. In the South, the great families formed an aristocracy that was intricately bound to the newly estab­ lished court and bureaucracy.

Aristocratic !OCiety in

the South

The Chinese who migrated south could not simply revive the Chin dyn­ asty. Centralized bureaucratic institutions were ill-suited to the South. a mountainous area with difficult communications and no tradition of close governmental control. Moreover for a century (from 1 84 to 280) the South bad been largely independent under the control of local powerful families. 1 7 What the emigres did was install a Chin prince a s emperor a t Chien-k'ang (modern Nanking), retain much of the power of the -court in their own hands, and leave much of the power in the provinces to military leaders and -locally influential families of the Wu area. In the Eastern Chin (31 7-420) there appear to have been two kinds of aristocratic families, the emigres and the local Wu familieS, each with distinctly different resources. Domination of the government was the major source of power for emigre families such as the lang-yeh and rai-yuan Wangs, Ch'en­ Chful Hsiehs and YiIIS, Ying-ch'uan HsUns and Viis. This was a period when public and private powers were especially confused, and the aristocratic fam­ ilies could use the governmental apparatus to enrich their oWn families. Through their domination of the court they saw that they were granted vast tracts of land and fiefs and that their sons gained respectable posts at early ages. In addition, they often used local or central posts to increase their pri­ vate resources, for instance, using corvee labor to reclaim land. i s By contrast, during the early decades of the Eastern Chin the great families of the South­ east such as the Wu-chiin Changs, Lus, and Kus, still living in the area that they had dominated for a century or more, enjoyed great local arid military power but less prestige or power at court. Despite some early antagonism, in time a number of them were incorporated into the aristocratic social system . The- 6migre families granted them the same privileges they gave themselves, perhaps fearing the consequences of their independence. This recognition raised them above the numerous families of local importance, which were similar to the 'powerful families' of the Han but were now disdained as han­ men, 'cold' families, ones with less than the highest social standing, no matter what their local power.19 The Eastern Chin is considered especially aristocratic, not only because the eminent Wang and Hsieh families dominated much of high court politics, but

1 - -·

r ·_

..

r-

r --

Historical development of the aristocratic families

21

also because they and similar families domlnated so much of the social and cultural life of the period, vividly described in the Shih-shuo hsin-yu (,C urrent Gossip' ) . Continuing trends started in the We i and Western Chin, the Eastern

Chin aristoc rats combined refined interests in poetry, calligraphy, and meta­

physics with social snobbery and per sona l extravagance, such as the use of

large retinues of retainers_ M an y of these basic �ultural attitudes , especiatIy

the emphasis on taste and refinement, remained important t hrough the Southern Dynasties.

Despite their eminence, the aristo crats' power was not unlimited or un­

challenged. Their weakest point was their military impotence . This proved a problem as early as t he 350s when the general Huan Wen usurped power at

court. After 400 the highe st political power was usually in the han d s of mili­

tary men such as Liu Yii, the first Sung emperor, who actually ruled from

404. All of the succeeding dynasties, the Sung (420-79), Ch'i (479503), Uang (1502-57), and Ch'en (557-89) were founded by generals of

about

obscure o r middling I>ackground. A number of the rulers of these dynast ie s proved strong and tried to counter the influence of the aristocratic familie s .

Members of the great familie s continued to hold honorable official posts�

and were a cti ve in court politics but their power to control -policy gradually ,

decreased.

In the competition between the rulers and the aristocratic families the key

symbolic issue was the emperor' s right to appoin t -and promote men witho ut regard to their family origin, solely on the basis of whethe r they could serve him loyally and well. Any assertion of such a right by the emperors was a

threat to the association of high social status and high office which formed

the foundation of the aristocratic families' position; if carried to extremes

aristocrats would have been excluded from offICe for lack of talent or loyalty.

The aristocratic families in a sense responded to these threats by carrying to

great heights emphasis on pedigre e . They showed corttempt for the emperors' re cruits

of lesser birth, refusing to treat them as social eq uals

.

20

They be came

very active in researching and d ocumenting family origins and published

numerous individual and group genealogies, some of which ranked families by status. TIle court did not oppose this activity but seems to have tried to take it over in order to show that social status was something which originated 21

from the court.

The appearance of aristocratic lineages By the Eastern Chin, the historical records begin to show dozens or more men from the same 'family', all in prominent positions. For insta nce the Chin shu gives biographies or brief references to eighty-nine lan g y eh -

,

The Aristocratic Families of Ea rly Imperial China

22

Wangs, seventy-six of whom were fourth cousins or closer.21 So far as is

known these Wangs, and a few unmentioned close relatives, may have been the only Lang-yeh Wangs in the South. Yet even in the case of long-established local clans, often the men who reached national prominence were all very

close relatives. For instapce, the Chin shu discusses twenty Wu�chiin Lus, all

third cousins or closer and the Sung shu (which covers it period of fifty years),

mentions eighteen \Vu.chiln Changs, all second cousins or closer. 21 Clearly

these Wangs, Lus, and Changs were diffetent from the local powerful clans of the Han who had at most a few members of n ational importance. The appearance of numerous cousins of aristocratic status is not surprising;

it was a natural result of ttie nine-rank system. Since the rank of ea ch' marr

was dett;rmined by that of his father, with each generation a larger group of relatives would share a 'common rank. The problem lies rather in determining whether the Wangs, Changs, and Lus with biographies in the histories are

simply an artificial category created by the recruitment system, or whether, whatever their origin, they came to form a distinct kinship group or subgroup. Sources which could be brought to bear on this problem are scarce and have not been adequately studied . It may he that these aristocratic Wangs and Changs formed at least minimal groups and here they are tentatively called lineages because their membership was sharply restricted to kinsmen whose common descent could be documented.24 The nature imd strength of the ties among the members of these lineages are difficult to dis(''Crn. Members of emigre families such as the Ch'en-chtin Hsiehs and Lang-yeh and T'ai-yuan Wangs were enmeshed in capital social and politieal l ife. They had contact of diverse sorts with their relatives, but these ties could be overridden by other considerations. Possibly t heir kinship ties were limited to common ancestor worship, attending each o thers weddings and funerals, and mutual responsi­ bility for th� prestige of their name.25 In the case of aristocratic lineages

within local Southeastern families, it. is unclear which kinship functions were carried out by the aristocratic lineage and which by. the larger clan , when it still existed.

26

Weaknesses in the sociahnd political systems of the Southem Dynasties The aristQcratic.s0cial system of the Southern Dynasties never provided

the foundation for a strong state. DUring the fourth and early

fifth centuries

when North China was divided among contending non-Chinese tribes, the

Eastern Chin and Sung were unable to take advantage of this disunity to en­ large their territory permanently. And after the North had been unified by the T'o-pa under the Northern Wei in the mid-fifth century, the best the

23

Historical development ofthe aristocratic families

Southern states could hope for was a stalemate. In the second half of the fifth century, the Sung and Ch'i courts were continually d isrupted by bloody intrigues as members of the imperial families murdered each other. The

foundCr of the Liang, Emperor Wu (r. S()2;:-49), brought peace to the court

and culturally his reign was the golden age of the Southern Dynasties. Yet his

government's administrative structure was inadequate for the burdens pJaced . upon it. This was proved by the great speed with which a Northern general . Hou Ching was able to attract enough soldiers and malcontents to swell his

army to perhaps a hundred thousand men and successfully besiege the capital Chieri·k'ang in

549. The Ch'en dynasty, which rose from the wreckage of this

rebellion, was never strong, and conquest by the more vigorous North was

inevitable.

Some of the weaknesses of these dynasties can be attributed to the exist­

ence of an �ristocratic social system. The inability of the state to raise and

support large armies was blamed even a t the time on expansion of the roBs of

privileged people with corvee exemptions?' The demands of aristocrats that . only men fro m their ranks be given certain posts imposed limits on the

efficiency and rationality of the central government- Moreover, the aristocrats ,

although associated closely with the court, do not seem t o have taker very

seriously their role as servants of the emperor or worked for the strengthening

of the state or the extension of its fISCal and military control.

Nevertheless, failure of the later Southern Dynasties to establish strong

states was not the result of increases in the power.or influence of the aristo­ cratic families. If anything, the emperors gained in the competition to set

standards of prestige and status. Early in the sixth century Emperor Wu o f

the Uang reformed t h e family r;mking system to raise the most distinguished

of the 'cold' families to the higi).est rank with its greater privileges with regard

to access to office, in this way giving weight to bureaucratic achievement over

pedigr�e.28 A n�mber of reasons can be given for the deciine in the. aut hority

of the. aristocratic families. According to the contemporary observ�r Yen

Chih-Cui, the aristocrats lost influence q ecause they were d egenerate; used to leiSure and wealth and placed in high ranking but u1)important posts, they

had become useless, their prestige unwarranted .

.(\S he saw it, real power had

fallen to others because the aristocrats failed 1<) make any effort to keep it for

themselves.29 Recent sch(}Iar � have also suggested that economic development

of the South and the spread of culture co uld have led to the rise of n�w men

and changes' in the political system.30

Whatever the reasons, while

the Hsiao

and Ch'en families, the imperial families of the eh'i, Liang. and Ch'en dyn·

asties, survived into t he T'ang, once·eminent emigre families such as the Hsieh and Hsiin died out or d isappeared.31

The Aristoctatic Families of Early Imperial China

24

Local autonomy in the North

The social and institutional system of the North during the fourth and fifth centuries has not been studied in so much depth as that of the South, in

part because it is less well documented. in part because the rulers of the North

were non-Chinese, complicating analysis of social and institutional develop­ ments. After the

fan of the Western Crun, for nearly ninety years North China

was in t1te hands of feuding tribesmen, none of whom was able to establish stable government. The Chin shu contains annals of the 'emperors' of the

II

successive non-Chinese governments, but does nct contain'biographies of

their officials or opponents. Therefore an that is known of Chinese in this period are chance references. As at the end of the Han, men were forced to

defend themselves; both families of national prominence and those with

purely local influence built fortresses in inaccessible places. Families not only moved their dependents and tenants with them but also often attracted hun­ dreds of new ones. The Chinese defense efforts were essentially matters of

self-preservation; there Was no hope of d riving the invaders away. Whenever

brief periods of peace intervened, members of the Chinese upper class accepted appointments or titles from the new rulers.32 Yet, even if they could attract Chinese officials, these short-Jived dynasties

had only limited

capacity to

govern. Most governmental functions must have been carried out on a local level by those with power Or influence. The non-Chinese group that fmally unified the North was the T'o-pa, a tribe o f the Hsien-pei. The Northern Wei dynasty is traditionaRy dated from

386, yet not until 398 had the TO-pa moved their capital south of the Great Wall to P'ing-ch'eng and adopted the name Wei or the title emperor. By the end of

398 most of Hopei had been conquered. Other important areas of

North China, such as Shensi, southern Shansi.-and northern Honan were not acquired until the 4205 after prolonged battles against the non-Chinese states of Ch'in and Hsia to the west and the Chinese state in the south. the Sung, In the

430s the empire was expanded to the northeast and northwest, and in

the 460s considerable territory south of the Yenow River was occupied.

From references in the Wei shu to the conquest of North China it is clear

that in the late fourth and early fifth centuries much of the power in North

China was in the hands of local magnates used to defending themselves. Many

were of eminent pedigree, their ancestors having served in the Wei and Chin courts.33 Despite their power, without a capital or court in which to congre­

gate none of the Chinese in the North in the fourth or early fifth century

possessed the elegance or philosophical and literary brilliance of the Wangs

and Hsiehs of the South. Instead it became the custom in the North for lead-

I

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25

Historical development of the aristocratic families

ing familie s to be

known for their stolid , family-centered Confucian virtues

and learning.

Reemergence of a bureaucratic focus to status

From the beginning the T'o-pa made use of Chinese advisors and officials and maintained the nine-rank system as a method of recr uiting offICials. Until

430s they seem to have relied most heavily on refugees from other parts such as Ch'ing-ho Ts'uis and scions of the Chin imperial house who fled north when their dynasty feU.34 It is not clear whether the 1"o-pa we re suspicious of the great families of Hopei, or whether these Chinese families, such as the Fan-yang Lus, Po-l ing Ts'uis, Chao-chiin Lis, and Po-hai Kaos, secure in their local position, were unwilling to become involved with the new state until its stability was better proved .3$ Families from further west and south such as the Ho-tung P'eis, Jung-yang Chengs, and Lung-hsi Lis, took even longer to enter the government for the obvious reaS()n that their native areas were not inrorporated into the Wei st ate until later. Nevertheless, a unified aristocracy was eventually formed out of this col­ lection of diverse locally famous families and a number of aristocratic refugees eminent at the court. This consolidation was accomplished through the re­ assertion of a strong national focus to status. Whether consciously or uncon­ sciously, in the second half of the fifth century the government began t o counter local autonomy by attracting numerous members of leading families into government service, offering them positions of power and prestige in exchange for tacit support of the a u tho rity of the court and involvement in its status hierarchy .36 In the 4908 aristocratic status was given an ev.en stronger national focus through the variou s reforms of Empe ror Hsiao-wen (r. 471 -99). The capital was moved from north Shansi to Lo-yang; the use of the Hsien-pei language or clothing in court was prohibited; intermarriage of Hsien-pei and Chinese elite families was encouraged; and the bureaucracy was restructured in accordance with developments in the Southern Dynasties. Another of Emperor Hsiao-wen's re forms was caned ' settling the lineage s' (ting-tsu). On the basis of uniform criteria, the lead families of the country were ranked, creating a visible nat ion al super-elite not unlike that in the South.37 Although the details of Emperor Hsiao-wen'$ reforms a re not well understood, a num­ ber of effects are clear. An urban, upper-class i.:ulture centered on the capital reappeared , altering the way of life of the leading families. At the bighest levels Hsien-pei and Chinese leading families came to form a nearly unified aristocracy. The Hsien.pei of course had long had their o wn ideas of noble the

of China,

�

, --- -

r

--.

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r -- ---

The Aristocratic Families of Early Imperial China

26

status and forms of tribal and lineage organization, but Hsiao-wen encour­ aged members of the imperial family and other high-ranking Hsien-pei families to intermarry with Chinese aristocratic families. He also designed a system for ranking Hsien-pei families and decreed that the highest eight families were to be considered o f the same rank as the highest Chinese families, the ' four cat­

egories of lineages' At the same time the Chinese families who were raised to _

the pinnacle of national prominence began to involve themselves in aspects o f court life previously reserved largely for noble Hsien-pei families. Members of

the families whose high status was recognized by the court not oniy married

into the imperial house, but participated in clique struggies and led armies. 38

By the 49{)s aristocratic lineages were also apparent in the North. Like the

local Wu families in the South, even in the cases of long-established families, the men who attained prominence were often aU close relatives, presumably

only a small portion of the whole local clan . For instance , all sixty-orie of the Lung-hsi Lis in the

Wei shu were fourth cousins or closer, descended from one

man in the early fifth century, and the sixty-six Fan-yang Lus sixth cousins or closer, descended from one man in the mid-to-Iate fourth century.39 Despite their national political prominence, many of these aristocratic lineages main­ tained close ties with their old local base and their kinsmen there, which pre­ sumably included relatives outside the aristocratic lineage.40

Differences between the Northern and Southern aristocratic families Of the three centuries from the fall of the Western Chin to the founding of the Tang, it was during the last half century of the Northern Wei, from about 480 to

530, that the leading Chinese families of the North most re-

. sembled. the S(>uthern aristocracy . As in the South, their social and political status was formany recognized by the government and they were given ample opportunity to take active roles at court. Yet the Northern aristocrats were closer to the WuJamilies than to the leadiilg emigre familie s. At the most general level, the Northern aristocratic families and the Wu families , while less glorious, had more diversified resources. Most of them had loca! j,ises and lineages beyond the control of the court. Moreover, even after they gained . opportunities for active political careers, they did not disdain the heavy responsibilities of provincial administration and military commands.

By contrast, the emigre families preferred to stay in the capital and con­

centrated on the power, privileges, and honors they could gain thrbugh influ­ ence at court. Compared to their counterparts in the North they always had greater influence in the policies and operations of the central government, even after their authority had been challenged by rulers and military men. But the courts in the South were unstable, which made this form of power

27

Historical development ofthe aristocratic families less dependable than that derived from local d omination o r administrative

authority. What gave autonomy to the emigre families was their privileges of

access to offices, especially 'pure' posts, and the prestige of thek pedigree and

style of life . The emigre families with their elegant and refmed culture and

disdain for men of low� r birth formed a small, self�ntained 'society' which included the aristocratic Wu families but stood at a great remove from the

next level in the social hierarchy. Such was not the case in the North. Perhaps

because their position was indeed less glorious, the Northern aristocratiC fam­

them, ilies showed less disdain for families ranking slightly lower, would marry -

and shared many of their cultural interests and activities.41

Victory of the garrison forces The most important event onhe siXth century was the rise to power of

a new group, the Northern garrison forces.

[n 523 a rebellion broke out, led

by HSien-pei (and Chinese who had acquired Hsien-pei culture), officers and soldiers of the Northern border garrisons.

By 534 the Northern Wei govern­

ment was fully defeated. The -rebels themselves were not united and two rival courts were established, the Eastern Wei

(534-50) and Western Wei (53457), succeeded respectively by the Cli'j (550-76) and Chou (557-8 1 ). In 576 the Chou court defeated the Ch'i, only to be overthrown by one of its nobles, who founded the Sui Dynasty (58 1 -6 1 8). This dynasty conquered the last remnants of the Southern Dynasties in 589, reunifying China for the first time in over 270 years. Through each of these short dynasties, in fact , through the founding of the T'ang, the garrison forces arid their descendants

remained politically dominant.

These events quickly altered the aristocratic system established by Emperor

Hsiao-wen. During the decade in which North China was torn apart by revolt,

the aristocratic families were highly vulnerable , facing far greater risks than they had a century and more earlier when the T'o-pa had conquered the

North, for they were no longer simply local magnates who could concentrate

on

self-defense but court officers and generals responsible for the preservation

of the government and a maj9r target of the rebels. Not only were many Chinese aristocrats killed in the revolt, but the government they tried to defend was defeated. .

-

-

The new rulers' attitudes toward the ChineSe aristocratic families can best

be described as arnbiyal<mt. One of the original causes of complaint on the

part of the garrison members was the dominance of Chinese and Chillese cul­ ture at court. Once they controlled the government they had no desire to

confirm the special political privileges of the Chinese aristocratic families. On

the other hand the new groups who gained power sought to be considered

28

The Aristocratic Families ofEarly Imperial China

aristocratic families themselves. Rather than try t o gain acceptance for a new list of aristocratic families, based on proximity to the new court, families from the garrisons (Chinese and non-Chinese) often claimed to be branches of families whose aristocratic status was firmly established by Emperor Hsiao­ wen's rankings. For instance, the rulers of the Northern Ch'i claimed to be

Po-hai Kaos, the rulers of the Sui to be Hua-yin Yangs, and the T'ang imperial

house to be Lung-hsi Lis. This practice was not limited to imperial houses. At one point the Yii-wen rulers of the Western Wei ordered all of their subordi­ nates to adopt 'native places' from the Kuan-chung (Ch'ang-an) area . Never­ theless, resistance to the prestige of the aristocratic families continued, and the new rulers often denigrated the presumptions of the old families or asserted the superiority of martial valor or Hsien-pei traditions. A number of years after making HSien-pei take Chinese ancestral seats the rulers of the Western Wei tried to reestablish the Hsien-pei tribal system and for a while

even forced Chinese to adopt o ld Hsien-pei names.42 Already in the late fifth century the Northern aristocratic families had begun to lose their local character as they became more involved in office­ holding and the social life of the capital. This process accelerated in the sixth century. From the available sources it is very difficult to detect what was happening outside the capital, but one trend is clear; by the early T'ang many men from aristocratic families had moved permanently to areas closer to the hVi>-capitals, Ch'ang-an and l.,.o-yang.43 While there seems to have been con­ siderable variation from family to family , in many cases the old local base no longer served any function as a focus for kinship activities. Why did so many aristocrats make permanent moves?- The capital undoubt· edly had cultural and social attractions, but aristocrats could have enjoyed

them for part

of the year and still retained ties to their local base. It is possible

that with instit�tional and political changes making both their local and court

positions precarious, many aristocrats decided it more important to try to

save their positions in the central government. The local base itself may have

weakened. With long term economic change and the equal-field system intro­

duced in 485, concentrated landholding may have become harder t o maintain or extend .44 Moreover, the military power of the aristocratic families - their capacity to defend their local area - may often have been reduced or elimin­

ated by the garrison rebels in the long battle for control of North China.45 At the same time it seems to have becOI:ne more difficult for aristocrats to gain and retain high offices. Both the Northern Ch'i and Northern Chou recruited many non-aristocrats for their merit or military talents.46 Then in the Sui the recruitment system was radically changed. In

583 the nine-rank

system was abolished with the result that pedigree was no longer an officially recognized criterion for assigning offices. At the same time , lw
r

r

Historical development of the aristocratic families

29

vtaUeformed so that officials could no longer choose their own subordinates, restricting considerably opportunities for patronage which aristocrats had often used .47 Because of these reforms, to maintain their status as officials,

aristocrats were obliged to seek posts on the new rulers' terms, developing

skills they needed, accepting standards of competence or diligence they

imposed, establishing personal connections where necessary. Many men may

have moved to the capital to devote more attention to this effort. By the mid-sixth century, the Northern aristocratic families had corne more closely to resemble the Southern aristocrats, bragging about their pedi­ gree and family glory.48 In part

this change could have been a cumulative

effect of Emperor Hsiao-wen's ranking of families; those at the top may have become more confident of their superiority. It may also have been a result of direct influence from the South since many Southerners were influential in

the social and intellectual life of the Northern Ch'i and Sui." Nevertheless, this change also appears to have had a defensive component. As their su­ premacy was challenged by military upstarts of non-Chinese culture, the aris­ tocratic families drew attention to what made them different: their long pedi­

grees and pure Chinese literati traditions. so

Social and

political realignment in the early Tang

8¥. the end of the Sui the composition and structure of the highest levels

of society had undergone important changes. The formal aristocracy of the

Northern and Southern Dynasties based on the nine-rank system had been abolished and many previously eminent families, especially from the Southern Dynasties, had disappeared. At the same time new families bad gained in status. A number of the leading Hsien-pei families of the Northern Wei, best considered a nobility in that period, such as the Yiian, Lu, Yu, Chang-sun ,

and so on, had survived the fall of their dynasty to become old families them­

selves. The same Was true with the imperial houses of the Southern Cn'i, liang, and Ch'en (the Hsiao and Ch'en families), considered upstarts in the

South when they first gained power, but accorded the- respect due aristocrats

after their dynasties had fallen .

As i s wen known. the T'ang Dynasty (61 S-906) achieved a degree of

strength

and stability surpassing any dynasty in the preceding four centuries.

Since the aristocratic families frrst emerged as the Later Han faltered, one

might have expected them to disappear with the re-creation of a centralized,

bureaucratic state. In the most fundamental sense this might be true, hut.

their disappearance was even slower than their emergence, taking a full three

centuries. In the T'ang men from aristocratic families were very much in evi­ dence. In the dynastic histories they do not 'look' like they did earlier; the

r

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The Aristocratic Families ofEarly Imperial China

30

histories no longer group together numerous relatives and discuss them in

genealogical order. In fact, biographies sometimes fail to mention that a man came from a famous family, even though he described himself as such in his

own writings. But such lapses are perhaps more a reflection of the attitudes o f men in the Five Dynasties and Sung, when the T'ang histories were written,

than of T'ang men. 51 The importance of the aristocratic families in the T'ang can be inferred from t he number of their members given biographies in the

two T'ang histories and the fact that T'ang men were avidly interested in

questions of birth and relative family standing. 52 Although they did not have the powers or prerogatives that they had had at their peak, men from aristo­

cratic families still stood at the top of t he social hierarchy and held important . .

political posts. 53

. In the early Tang tension can easily be detected between the aristocratic

families and the new ruling house, its close aSSOciates, and allies. S4 The rulers were attempting to build a strong and effective bureaucracy, an effort made

more difficult if men e steemed birth more than official rank. Moreover, proud of their own military and civil achievements, they resented the fact that the

upper class as a whole continued to respect and admire the older aristocratic families, wt ·se members in the early Tang were often only routine officials

and who even in earlier generations had never been associated with a dynasty as

glorious as the T'ang.5S The arist�ratic families further annoyed tile court

by preferring to marry within their own bounds, scorning proposals from the imperial house or its 'meritorious officials'. Emperor T'ai-tsung retaliated in 632 by ordering a thorough investigation of the genealogies and histories o f

the leading families, a s preparation for R . new genealogical compendium. When

this work (the

Chen-kuan shih-tsu chih) was completed six years later, the

emperor found that his own researchers supported the claims to eminence of

the aristocratic families, and he demanded a revision to give more credit to

current official position. Twenty years later when Emperor Kao-tsung com­ missioned a second genealogical compendium. even more thoroughly bureau­

cratic standards were applied .56 At the same time K�o2tsung even went so far as

to p rohibit intermarriage between members of seven of the oldest families

whose pretensions particularly aggravated leading members of the T'ang court (the Ch'ing-ho and Po-ling Ts'uis, Chao-chun and Lung-hsi Lis, Jung-yang

Chengs, T'?i�ytian Wangs, and Fan:yang Lus) . . The aristocratic families, however , were not vanquished by these efforts. After all, these statu.s compendiums did not confer privileges, and if they

departed too far from popular notions they would have simply been ignored, which seems to have been the fat� of the one Kao.tsung ordered.s7 The ban on intermarriage could not be enforced, and may in fact have considerably

raised the deSirability of the seven specific families named. It also appears

Historical development of the aristocratic families

31

likely that below these surface battles an unplanned accommodation was being worked out: members of aristocratic families used their many resources to prepare carefully for office, and the government allowed them to occupy a disproportionate number of posts. With the eminence of the T'ang well estab­ lished, the court stopped worrying about whether people also admired the old aristocratic families (who, after all, were fully integrated into court and capi. tal Ufe and posed no military or separatist threat). Whatever loss of talent the court may have incurred by failing to apply a strict merit principle was com· pensated by avoiding the social upheaval that might have resulted from too rapid an overhaul of the existing social structure.

Informal aristocracy By the mid T'ang few of the old aristocratic families seem to have formed lineages, distinct kinship groups with common activities. The descend­ ants of the fourth and fifth century lineages were by this time often only dis· tantly related, fifteenth or twentieth cousins. Moreover, many families had scattered, thereby losing their geographical focus.s8 Thus, by the T'ang the bonds which brought together members of different aristocratic families as social equals greatly outweighed the ties t o patrilineal kinsmen that divided them. The old aristocratic families in the T'ang are best seen as a status group, a community with a distinctive way of life, sustained by prestige more than power or wealth.s", What gave coherence to this status group of old families was marital exclusiveness. A restricted marriage·circle , into which entry was difficult to obtain except on the basis of the ascriptive criterion of b irth, visibly defined the membership of this group.60 By the eighth century, the aristocratic families justified this exclusiveness not so much by reference to pedigree per !Ie, that is, the glory of their ancestors, but rather stressed the differences they thought obtained in their own day. The old families viewed themselves (and outsiders often concurred) as superior in education, manners, and moral standards, especially those related to family Iife.61 Their ethos, because of its emphasis on quasi.ascriptive qualifies such as decorum and ritually controlled conduct, provided an excellent basis" for group solidarity; by bringing attention to characteristics that were largely a product of upbring· ing, not intelligence, it

was easier for the

old aristocratiC families to exclude

outsiders and retain a common identity. Men from aristocratic families seem to have had little difficu/ty gaining

positions in the T'ang bureaucracy.62

After the

nine·rank recruitment system

was abolished, a number of different procedures for selecting men for office

were tried , and a new system gradually developed. By 669 the basic rules for

32

The Aristocratic Families of Early lmperilll China

recruitment and placement had been established . From the kinds of sources existing today it is impossible to detect whether the aristocratic families influ­ enced this procf;ss, but for whatever reason the system of recruitment as it was developed was highly favorable to them. Although generally called the'

'examination' system, the T'ang recruitment system did not stress objective

literary competition to the extent that the later Ming ( 1 386-1 644) and Ch'ing (1644- 1 9 1 1 ) systems did. Emphasis wu also placed 011 deportment

and appearance, patronage was encouraged, and privileges were granted to the

so�and grandsons of officials.63 For instanCe , these sons and grandsons could

entcr government academies in order to prepare to take examinations. If they had few literary talents they could avoid examinations altogether and

use

the

protection privilege (yin), serving an apprenticeship before presenting them­

selves for the selection test

(hsiian). These opportunities were available to the

sons of all offICials, not merely members of aristocratic families. But there

was not enough room in the bureaucracy to absorb aU the sons of officials as

well as new men of great talent. Those who finally succeeded either had to do wen in the selection examination, or in the second half of the T'ang, had to

gain the aid of a patron. Men of old established families sh(}uld -have been wen prepared to fulfill either condition. The selection test Checked men for the

kind of deportment, maMers, and verbal skills needed

in good officials. Not

only are such characteristics usually class-related, but the old fiunilies were recognized as arbiters in all aspects of ritual and manners. And their maniage relations alone should have prOVided them with an ample supply of patrons.

Fmal

decline of the aristocratic families

The aristocJ3tic families, or at least significant numbers of their memo bers survived through the T'ang, despite clique struggles, the devastating .

Rebellion of An Lu-snan. institutional and fiscal reorganization, the growing power of palace eunuchs and independent Regional Commanders. Although affected by these events and developments. they continued to command respect and many of their members found places in the bureaucracy . Yet de­ spite this impressive record. the old families in the T'ang lacked the solid

foundation they had had earlier. In previous centuries the autonomy of their status had been assured by many resources: wealth, local power, lineage organ­ ization, political office, and prestige of pedigree. As a consequence, they had

been able to respond to most political and economic challenges, retreating to their home base or producing generals or scholars when circumstances warranted.

In the T'ang, however, the autonomy of the old families' status rested on

a much more precarious balance. Without a geographicany concentrated local

[ --

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Historical development of the aristocratic families

33

base the aristocratic families .could no longer survive except as professional bureaucrats; thus their fate was tied to the orderly operation of �he bureauc­ racy and its recruitment system. When tile bureaucracy collapsed in the late ninth century and the Tang dynasty was overthrown. members of the old

families ceased to be at the center of power and are mentioned less and less frequently in the histories.64 Many were undoubtedly killed in the rebellions

and wars that lasted nearly a century from 860 to 960. But what seems most important is that few of the new rulers found their services of value.65 They

did not need old aristocrats for legit imacy. stability. or experience. The old families had nothing left to offer.

,----

o

o

3

ORIGIN S OF THE T S ' U I S IN T H E HAN

the changing social and political meaning o f the term 'the Ts'uis o f Po-ling' one must start in the Han, for it is in this period that the Ts'uis first appeared in history. The Ts'uis who lived in the Han were very different than their descendants in lat er centuries. Although one of t he 'powerful families' often mentioned by historians of the Han, they were not yet a coherent lineage with a de fined relationship to the government. The Ts'uis were rat her an upper-class family which for several succeeding generations produced men who gained prominence in the capital; their status seems to have depended largely on informa l factors such as local influence and style of life. Besides helping to clarify the meaning of the term 'Po ling T·s'uis'. study of the Ts'uis in the Han provides a valuab le comparative perspective. A large number of the characteristics which the Ts'uis and other aristocratic families displayed in later centuries were already possessed by the Han Ts'uis and thus should not be considered the distinctive p r od uct of aristocratic privilege. To trace

.

-

Genealogists in the T'ang and Sung dynasties traced the origin of the Ts'ui family to a grandson of T'ai Kung, a semi-mythical recluse of Shantung a t the time of the Chou conquest (c. 1 1 00 B.C.) This grandson was enfeoffed at Ts'ui city, in the state of Ch'i, and took his name from the fief.1 Eleven generations latcr Ts'ui Shu, a minister of C h'i killed his overlord. Duke Chuang, set up a successor, and made himself prime minister. When the court historian recorded tliat Shu had killed his lord. Shu had the historian, and then his equally resolute successor, executed. B�fore long, thou h. another Ch'i minister avenged the ruler. killing Ts'ui Shu and his family. One son manag.ed to flee to the state of LLi.2 While some families had conflicting origin myths.3 there was lit tle dispute concerning the Ts'uis. Genealogists assumed that everyone alive in their day was descended from men who lived in ancient times. and that the origin of families could be traced to peo e mentioned in the ancient classics. There was no cont rove rsy ahout the Ts'ui ,

g

pi

family since the c1as.�ical texts mention no Ts'uis other than Shu and his sons .

34

Origins of the Ts'uis in the Han

35

The Former Han (202 B.C.-A.D. 9) Turning from legend to history, by the first century B.C. the Ts'ui fam­ ily was settled in An-p'ing county (haien).4 The city of An-p'ing has remained in virtually the same place since that time. It is situated in modern Hopei

province, in the great plain, about 200 km south and slightly west of Peking. In the administrative structure of the Former Han (A.D.

�) An-p'ing was one

of the counties of Cho commandery, which in tum formed a part of Yu

province (chau).s The boundaries were redrawn in AD. 1 22 so that An·p'ing was no longer in Cho commandery and Yu province, but became part of the

principality (kuo) of An-p'ing, in Chi province. In 1 46 the grave of Emperor Chih's father was given the title 'Po-ling', which became the name o f a county and commandery.6 In the last decades of the Han, An-p'ing county was some·

times a part of An-p'ing principality, sometimes a part of Po-ling commandery. From the beginning of the Chin dynasty in 265, for the next several centuries,

An-p'ing was a county of Po-ling. 7 As a consequence, the Ts'ui family of An­ p'ing is known in history as the Po·ling Ts'uis, and for convenience will be

referred to in that way for periods both before and after the existence of Po­ ling as an administrative unit. The earliest Ts'ui mentioned in the dynastic histories lived in the first cen­

tury B.C. Ts'ui Ch'ao in the reign of Emperor Chao (86-72 B.C.) rose from Attendant Official (ts 'ung-shih), a lower provincial post, to Attendant Censor

(shih yu-shih), a central government post ranked at 600 bushels and hence part of the regular bureaucracy.8 Ch'ao's son Shu held in succession the position of Grand Administrator (t'ai-shou, 2000 bushels) in four different commanderies.9 His eldest son Fa was an early supporter of Wang Mang, the usurper who ruled as emperor 9-23. Ts'ui Fa rose with him, eventually be­ coming Grand Minister of Works (t'af sSt/-kung, one of the Ducal Ministers) shortly before Wang Mang's death and his own consequent execution.10 Fa's younger brother Chuan reluctantly held a provincial post under Wang Mang but spent most of his life in retirement, devoting himself to scholarship.lI

Even from such scanty information, a number of inferences can be made

about the Ts'ills in the first century B.C. Four Ts'uis in succession held office. During the Former Han the bureaucratic institutions established by the brief Ch'in dynasty achieved relatively stable form. As the political power .of the b'ureaucracy increased through the Former Han, the status of the o fficial, always high in the Confucian tradition, was further reinforced. By the frrst century B.C. the potential bureaucratic role ofupper class men had affected social attitudes and upper class life . Modelling themselves on the pre·imperial lower nobility (shih), landlords and merchant's sought at least minimal edu-

The Aristocratic Families of Early Imperial China

36

cation and familiarity with Confucian values and manners. Promising sons received further education in the capital with the thought that they might gain official postS. 12 Since the Ts'ui family produced officials for three suc­ cessive generations, it clearly belonged to this educated upper class. These T�'uis had the resources to educate their sons, and those sons who attained office undoubtedly furthered the family's fortunes. One sign that the Ts'ui family had substantial private sources of income by the end of the Former Han is the fact that Chuan was able to decline posts out of preference for the life of the retired scholar . A second significant characteristic of these early Ts,uis is their proficiency in the Confucian tradition. Two of them, Fa and Chuan, were known for their classical scholarship. In the Former Han, with the emergence of the Confucian bureaucrat, ways had to be found to accommodate the values of personal loyalty and integrity which men acquired through the study of the classics and the often conflicting institutional demands imposed on them by the administrative tasks of the new government. The two brothers, Ts'ui Fa and Chuan, illustrate one of the ways in which this accommodation was achieved; they both concentrated on the more {)ccult aspects of Confucian­ ism which did not challenge the authority of the state . Chuan devoted his attention to the use of the Gassie of Changes for divination and Fa was known as an expert in the interpretation of portents.u Both had a pedantic air about them, continually citing classical precedents or analogies. Fa, for instance, advised Wang Mang on the proper rituals to be used during peasant rebeUions.14 Yet these two brothers divided on the most important issue of the day: Fa was eager to serve Wang Mang, perhaps in part because of his attempt� to reorder the state according to Confudan prmciples and ancient models, while Chuan saw Wang Mang as a usurper of legal authority and con­ sidered it a serious blemish on his own record that he had had anything to do with him. I S .

Th e Later Han (25-220) For the Later Han record has survived of seven Po-ling Ts·uis. Chuan's son I 'on account of illness' held no office. 16 1'8 son Yin (d. 92) had a negli· gible pOlitical career but acquired fame as a writer.17 Yin's son Yuan (771 42), also known for his literary talents, spent about ten years in office, end­ ing as an Administrator of a principality (kuo-hsiang, 2000 b ushels).18 A kins­ man Ch'i (d. c. 1 40), recognized for his literary talents and recommended for office, is best remembered for bold criticism of the powerful Liang Chi. 19 Yuan's son Shih (d. c. 1 70), author of two relatively long works, On Govern­ ment and Monthly Instrnctions for the Four Gasses ofPeople. was also an

37

Origins ofthe Ts 'uis in the Han able provincial administrator.'20 Ueh (d .

1 92), Shih's nephew

or the son of rus

cousin, had the longest and most successful career, serving first as Grand Administrator and Minister Minister

(ch 'ing, 2000 bushels) and eventually becoming Over the Masses (ssu-t u). one of the Ducal Ministers.'1 Ueh's sori

Chun reached the position of Grand Administrator of a commaridery.22

Table

1 gives the genealogy of this family.

The Hou-Han shu devotes a-chapter to the main line of this family, largely because Yin, Yuan, and Shih were highly regarded as writers. Each of these Table

1 : Genealogy of the Po-ling Ts Uif, Generations One to Fourteena

Generation

Ch'ao

I

2 3

Shu

I

I Pa

I Chuan

I I I I I I I I I

4

Yin

6

?

Shih

Lieh

HaD

I Chiin

I I

I

Chou-p'ing

Chih

10

Ts'an

11

HWI(!

12

k'uo

IJ

Ch'uaa

14

I

aSources: HHS

r-----

Yuan

I

8 9

, Chang

I

I I

Sl/la-19b; Chin shu 45121b; PS 32/1a; HTS 72C/42a, 44b.

r--- -

,--

r

-

38

The Aristocratic Families of Early imperiill China three was, in his own way, a colorful character, and much of their values,

experierices, an d way of life are revealed in their surviving essays and miscel­

laneous writings. A biography of Ch'i is cantained in the Hou-Han shu's chal'­ ter on 'Men of Letters' . Because of the existence of these varied sources, the

social position of these Later Han Ts ' uis can be described more accurately than that of their ancestors in the Former Han.

In the Later Han these Ts'uis were not merely a provincial elite family

whose members occasionally served in the

bureaucracy ; by this time they

were clearly a family well·known in the capital. Although the independence of local powerful families seems to have been on the increase in the Later Han, this development in no sense di minished an active capital culture. A sub­ stantial number of upper-class men were present in Lo-yang, enjoying intel­

lectual and cultural actiVities, observing or participating in poli t ical events. At the top of this society were a small number of 'consort' familieS. such as the

Ma. Tou, and Liang, closely tied to t he throne. Supplying generals, empresses,

and regents, these families gained vast wealth and hundreds of slaves. retainers, and clients, Also at the top of this society were a few great bureaucratic fam­ ilies, particularly the Yang and Yuan families.23 The best evidence of where the Ts'uis stood in this social hierarchy is

found in the names of their friends. In the first century' A.D. Ts 'ui Yin was a

good friend of K'ung Hsi24 and a cq ua in ted with Pan KU,2S both talented men

who came fro m families which valued learning but had not yet been signifi­

cantly involved in centrid-government politics. By cont r ast . he had never even

met Tau Hsien. from one of the most powerful families of the Later Han.26 Ts'ui Yuan made friends with some of the most creative intellectuals of the Later Han. One of the m . Wang Fu,27 was of obscure background and not

active in capital life . but Chang Heng,18 Ma Jung,29 and Tou Chang,30 were all leading figures in intellectual circle s of the time. Chang

Herig came from a

well-established local family. and Ma J ung and Tau Chang we re members of the famous consort families. Yiian associated more easily with members of

the Ma artd Tou families than his father had. but this may have been because

the Mas and Tous involved were men with literary rather than political interests. Shih, however. did associate with some of the leading officials of his day. The four men who arranged his funeral were Yiian Wei and Feng,31

of the eminent Yuan family, Yang Tz'u : 31 of the equally famous Yang family , and Tuan Ying, a high official of obscure background.33

. Later Han society, as interpre t ed here. was relatively open; what gave the

Ts'uis access to these higher social circles was not rimk or birth. but simply their way of life , They acted

as

men of high status were supposed to act.34 .

With adequate economic means and social opport.unities, they gain�d excellent educations; they knew how to act at funerals and when to defer to elders;

Origins of the Ts 'uis in the Han

39

they wrote elegant essays and prose-poems; they were respected in their local community ; they were asked to hold office and often accepted. All of these activities had other functions besides establishing status; for instance, their cultivation of traditional rituals and family practices served to strengthen the family unH. and literary pursuits satisfied their aesthetic inclinations. There

WdS

no clear line between the activities undertaken to demonstrate or estab.

.

.

lish their status and those undertaken to gain income to enable them to do

so. That is, upper-class men regularly held office, an activity which could be

protltable \ but one also undertaken because of the honor which it brought . Similarly, they normally derived much of their support from landownership , but the role of the man of local influence was also a part of their style of life ; upper-class men were supposed to be respected and influential in their com·

munities.

Traditions and style of life Mastery o f traditional learning and codes of behavior was the first requirement for high social status. Much of the Ts' uis' education seems to

have been acquired at home. Yin

i$ said to have studied with his father; he Classic ofChanges for divi­

also used his grandfather Chuan's study of the

nation, referring to it as a family text.3S Yuan continued a literary project started by his father. writing essays on the 'hundred officials'.36 Shih passed on his father's innovations in caUigraphic style.37 In his Moiuhly Instructions

for the Four Classes o/People,38

Shih described

a

system for making basic

education something shared by all members of the family , He stated that chil­ dren, age ten to fourteen, and youths age fifteen to twenty, should enter

lower and upper schools during lulls in agriculture, probably for several

0/ Filial Piety. the Analects, ClaSSics, but not the commentaries.39

months a year. Children were to study the Classic

and primers, and youths the Five

In the Later Han, men's conduct was judged against the standards of Con­ fucian familism. Those who received most praise (and in turn often recom­ mendations for office) were those able to JulfiU all of the basic norms of fam­ ily life such.as filial obedience, fraternal solidarity. and reverent performance of mourning and ancestor worship. Through the example of their devotion and character such men were expected to exert a good influence on their dis­ tant kinsmen and neighbors.40 The importance of these norms are seen in the biographies of these Ts'uis. After their father died

in 92, Ts'ui

Yilan and his

brothers are reported to have maintained a common household for several decades, demonstrating their great fFaternal solidarity.41 After Yiian's death in 1 42 his Wife, described as generous. well-educated, and frugal, helped main­ tain the traditions of this family, and even assisted her son Shih with his official duties as an administrator.41 Shih, according to his biography, per-

40

The Aristocratic Families ofEarly Imperial China formed strict mourning for his father, living in seclusion at the side of the

grave . He also retired from his post to mourn for his mother, a custom gaining wide practice in the period.43 It seems clear that growing attention to such fine points of family behavior was not simply a philosophical concern, but had in the later Han become a basis for drawing status d istinctions. Yiian and Shih, like many serious scholars, objected to the amount

of money

men felt compelled to spend on

funerals and buriais.44 Shih's major complaint seems to have been that lavish funerals and elaborate tombs had become �tatus symbols. Upstarts tried to elevate their social status by imitating the style of those of highest ranks,

.

I

while men fully qualified for high status but unable to put on costly displays were driven to despair. Families that could by no means afford expensive funerals had to endure them because o f fear that they might not meet general

expectations.45 The expenses involved ruined all sense of proportion: 'Thinking that their parents are approaching death, they do not offe r aSsistance, but rather economize on their support, planning for the supplies that will be

nee
Even though Ts'ui Shih called for economy, he recognized the need for correct performance of the traditional ritual observances. Which served t o reinforce family solidarity. His Monthly Instructions provided detailed guide­ lines for ancestral sacrifices held several times a year. Each time the family head had to undergo purification, arrange the food and utensils, sweep and wash.47 In addition, at other times d uring the year when the family head

made Wine, he was exhorted to take a reverent attitude for the wine was later to be used in sacrifices.48

A strong family system, maintained through careful performance of the Confucian family rituals, was probably a major reason why the Ts'ui family line proved so durab l e . The family proVided a stable context for the trans­

mission of culture, clearly a principal factor in the Ts'uis' prominence. Rela­ tives could also render concrete assistance. For instance, since YUan once risked violating the law to revenge his elder brother's death,49 it is likely that he would have sided with him in any disputes while he was living. Finally,

family solidarity was widely interpreted

as

a sign of moral superiority.

Another component of the ethos of these later Han Ts'uis was their life

in the capital. Most of the intellectual and cultural activities which upper·class men were traditionally supposed to engage in

could most easily be

pursued in

p in the

the city. Ts'ui Yin, Yuan, and rh'i, like other young men who grew u countryside , all went

to La-yang to study.SKI

Yin �udied at the Grand Acad­

emy where there were many famous scholars who engaged in endless disputes about different versions of the classics, interpretations of obscure characters, the relative value of different works, and sO on. 51 At the capital Y lian gained

r·

r

Origins of the Ts'uis in the Han

41

the admiration of his teacher, Chia K'uei, one of the greatest 'old text' scholars of the day. While there he also became proficient in astronomy, cal· endrical calculations, and
The common interests which the T.s'uis shared with their friends in the capital seem to have been literature, philosophy, and elegant living. The Hou·

Han shu records discussions on historical and philosophical points between Yin and K'ung Hsi, and Yuan and Chang Heng.S3 The Shih-shuo hsin-yu de· scribes the origins of the intellectual friendship of lieh and fhe classical

scholar Fu eh'ien . 54 Both Yuan and Shih were skilled in calligraphy and are considered founders of the 'grass' or 'draft' style.ss It was their literary ac­ complishments, however, which brought them the most fame . Yin, Yuan,

Ch'i, Shih, and lieh all had literary ability, and writings by all of them except lieh survived into the T'ang (and to a lesser degree survive today).56 Ts'ui Shih's two long works, On GovemmentS'1 and Monthly Instructions were written in plain expository style, but most of the other surviving writings are occasional pieces written in the highly allusive styles admired at the time . Yin was considered one of the 1 03 masters of the Han, Wei, Six Dynasties period

(202 B.C.-A.D. 589).58 The Wen-hsin tiao-/ung, a fifth·century work of

literary criticism, praised many of the works of Yin, Yilan , and Shih, especially

their admonitions, elegies, and e�ys. 59 One of Yuan's literary inscriptions was included in the

Wen hsUan, a sixth�ntury anthology,60

and writings by

all of them were cited in its seventh-century commentary. In the Later Han another attraction of the capital was the luxuries and elegant amusements that had become important symbols of high status. In one of his essays Ts'ui Yin reveals considerable fascination with this refined life . 'Buildings constructed in unusual style are decorated with circular doors, gilding, red pillars, carved columns, soaring pavilions, multistoried towers. Wine is set out in the banquet hall and music is played constantly in amuse­ ment terraces. At the height of the drinking, in the midst of music, fIne-looking girls come forward to serve.' At such feasts there would be dancers who 'shaking and letting fme silk fly, do the long-sleeve dance. their graceful

slender waists rising and falling.' There would also. be all sorts of exotic foods

to taste, such as 'Perch of Tung-fing [�ke) . . . flying fish of Kuan River. phoenix eggs of T'an Mountain, dragon wombs of the Yi.ieh Marshes.'

In cook­

ing them various spices would be uSed , sweet and sour would l>e adjusted to the appropriate level, allowing true culinary delights to be achieved . On the

more active side Yin described the joy of hunting, galloping on horses as fIne

as the famous ones of history and eagerly watching the flying arrows and dogs in pursuit. In the end, the best of the catch could be presented to the COOk.61 The pressure to demonstrate one's high status through elegant and lavish spending seems to have posed problems for both Yilan and Shih. As men·

r-- --

r --- -

r

--

r -

r - ----

The A ristocratic Families ofEarly Imperial China

42

tioned.above, both condemned extravagance in funerals. Yuan, however, is said to have made great sacrifices in order to keep 'guest-retainers'

(pin-k 'o),

a common practice of the upper class of the time , and also apparently had clients (men-sheng).62 Shih, perhaps frugal by temperament, was better able

to withstand pressures to live beyond his means.63 His resentment of the social pressures to spend money, however, are expressed clearly in

On Govern­

ment: 'Men all love wealth and high rank, elegant things such a s beautiful clothes, lovely adornments, jingling bells, perfumes and fine fragrances. During the day they think of it ; during the. night they dream of it. This is their only occupation, not for a moment is it absent from their thoughts.' These desires, he noted, soon lead them into crime or corruption, or at least create for them constant anxiety .64 Two further components of the Ts'uis' way of life which marked them as men of high status were their activities as local magnates and their service as officials; Since landownership and political office also served other important functions as sources of wealth and power, they deserve separate treatment.

Local base The Hou-Han

shu focuses on what made the Ts'uis outstanding men,

only. b riefly commenting on their economic resources and life in the country­ side. Nevertheless, it is clear from the Hou-Han shu that the Ts'uis spent much of their time at home in Hopei. For instance, Ts'ui Yuan lived at home· for

t

decades after his father died, and the solidarity of his ex ended family is said to have made a strong impression on the villagcrs(hsiang-i). Perhaps in order to stay close to his family and local interests, he did not hold office of any kind until he was over forty. Then at first he served only in the local com·

mandery in the low post of clerk (Ii). Later, after losing a post in the capital,

he

returned home for about another ten years.65 In the firSt century A.D. these TS'uis must have had substantial land·

holdings, for they had no other obvious means of support. From t he time Ts'ui Fa was executed in 23 until Ts'ui Yuan tooka post as Magistrate in about

1 35, the Ts'uis' service as officials was minimal; amounting to no more

than two or three years altogether; nevertheless they were able to live as scholars imd writers and travel la the capital. Without admitting any contradiction , the Hou-Han shu describes Ylian and Shih as· 'poor'. Yuan is said to have· had

no stores

of provisions and to have

barely been able to support his guest.retainers.66 When he died his son Shih is said to have had to sell fields and buildings to pay fOf his tomb . To recoup

the family's finances, Shih ignored public ridicule to start a brewing business.

In his business he is said to have never taken any more than he needed so that

he did not become rich, even his assignments in the provinces making him

43

Origins of the Ts'uis in the Han progressively poorer, with the result that when he died in about

1 70, he left

nothing but the house he lived in.67 Was the Ts'ui family's property gradually exhausted in the second century? Had it been divided too many times so that Shih's share was inadequate , forcing him to take up commerce? Or was the

historian merely showing that the Ts'uis were not as rich as many of their

social equals? In the Later Han men sharply distinguished between bad local magnates, powerful families who sought economic aggrandizement without

any respect for the virtue of moderation and the interests of neighboring

peasants whose lands they absorbed , and good local magnates, imbued with

the values of Confucian familism, who had no desire for excessive wealth, dis­

tributed any surplus as charity, and exerted a moral influence on their neigh­ bors and kinsmen.68 Perhaps the historians were stressing the modesty oCthe Ts' uis' means to show that they fit into the good rather than the bad local

magnate category, that their wealth was not excessive by contemporary stan­ dards, and that they were not greedy. Whatever the correct explanation, by

1 85 the fortunes of at least one part of the Ts'ui family were restored ; that

year, near the end of a long official career, Lieh was able to put up five million cash to become Minister Over the Masses.69

Although there is no way of knowing how much land the Ts'uis owned,

there is ample evidence that they were familiar with agricultunil matters.

Indeed, in one of his writings Ts'ui Yin gives a vivid description of the appear­

ance of the poor peasant:

You plow and hoe in the oppressive heat. On your back you produce

salt. Your shins are like burnt rafters; your skin is like leather that can­ not be pierced by an awl. Plodding like a wolf, your feet are sore and your shins afflicted. I would call you

a

vegetable, but the parts of your

body bend and stretch. I would call you a wild animal, but in appear­

ance you resemble a man. How is it that you received so little of life's fate? The nature bestowed on you is not pure. 70

Yin's son Ylian showed a more practIcal concern with farming, organizing

reclamation of larid when he was a Magistrate.7! Yuan's son Shih, in his two

major works, reveals extensive knowledge of technical aspects of fiumiIlg. The

Monthly Instructions for the Four Gasses ofPeople includes a timetable for all important farming activities.72 On Government contains passages explain­ ing the advantages of new sowing and plowing methods and the opening of

new lands. In it he also provided an explanation for the plight of poor

peasants, placing the blame directly on the behavior of the rich and powerful: Upper families have amassed great amounts of wealth and their houses and land resemble those of enfeoffed lords. Through bribery they get

those in charge of the government to act improperly. By supporting

The Aristocratic Families of Early

Imperial China

44

armed retainers they awe the common people. They make a speciality of killing the guiltless but are themselves immune from execution . . . As a consequence o f this, fhe lower families are tottering with nowhere to place their feet. Fathers and sons must bow their heads and serve the rich like slaves, personally bringing their wives and children to be ser­ vanis. Therefore , the rich have an excess of mats and yet daily weave, while the poor wear short clothes but still do not have enough at the end of the year. They can be slaves for generations and still n ot have sufficient food and clothing. Their whole life is labor, and death brings ' the grief of having their bones expoSed. If the harvest is slightly unsuc­ cessful, they must take to the road, perhaps ending up in gutters or ditches. They marry off their wives and sell their children . One cannot fully describe these heart-rendering and innard-destroying events which cause one to lose the joy of living.73 Despite his social concern for peasants in general or the peasants under his jurisdiction as an official, Shih was not entirely opposed to owning and man ­ aging large estates since his Monthly Instructions was essentially a guide for estate owners. This text provides excellent .evidence of the general character of the Ts'uis' local economic and social position. Although it was not written in the first person and does not explicitly state that it described Ts'uj Shih's own habits, it is only reasonable to assume that it is based on the rural routine with which he was familiar on his own estate or those of his friends and relatives. The Monthly Instructions provides a timetable for managing an estate which produced almost e verything needed for basic subsistence. It gives instructions for growing wheat; barley, minet, rice, and numerous varieties of vegetables; caring for fruit and nut trees; raising pigs; making sauces from beans, elm seeds, and fish eggs; preparing wine, vinegar, pickles, and various cakes and biscuits; weaving silk and hemp cloth; sewing clothes; collecting herbs; and making medicines. In- the Monthly Instructions Shih did not en­ vision an absentee landlord. The estate owner had to see that the most . efficient or appropriate methods were used for farming and that everything was started on time. For particularly important operations, he had to super­ vise personally. Work on such an esta te was shared among members of the owner's family, domestic servants, and probably tenant farmers. Even in the case of tenant farmers, however, the owner seems to have retained almost complete control over what was planted, when and where. Shih alS(' proposed that the estate owner actively engage in trading food­ stuffs and textiles throughout the year. Since the same item was often pur­ chased at one time of the year and sold at another, the aim of trading clearly was to profit from price fluctuation. For instance, glutinous millet was sold in

[ ---

Origins of the Ts 'uis in the Han

45

the third month of the lunar calendar just before it was planted in the fourth, and bought in the eighth, after the harvest. Cloth and raw silk were bought from the third t o the seventh months when the wea:her was warmest and there was least demand for clothes, and sold all at once in the tenth month, just at the beginning of winter when they would be most valuable .. Such mer· cantile activities were probably highly profitable, particularly if the estate owner sold on credit, reaping the added profits of high interest charges.74 In accordance with the accepted values of the time, to mitigate economic dominance of the village and surrounding area, Shih urged estate owners to maintain cordial relations with men of loeal standing and to preserve the solidarity of their kinsmen. According to the Monthly Instructions, after the completion of certain important ancestral sacrifices, men should make visits to their 'rulers, teachers; former superiors, clansmen, uncles. father's friends, their own friends, their maternal relatives, and the elders of the community'. There are also several references in this text to the need to offer charity to relatives, particulady orphans and widows. Here the rule was always 'closest first'. for instance, because supplies of grain are low in the third month, Shih recommended that relief be given to the impoverished: Pay att�ntion first to your nine'relations, starting with those who are closest. Neither should you endure other people's poverty if you have savings, nor should you exhaust the family's accumulated riches because you covet a good name. Measure your income to make your outlay, and stay in the middle.75 This passage expresses perfectly the dilemma faced by men like Ts'ui Shih: they had to spend money to demonstrate that they were generous, altruistic local landowners, but had to be wary of going too far and depleting the fam· ily's property. Shih urged that generosity be limited even in the matter of

relatives' funerals, which were certainly a concern of kinsmen due to Chinese mourning practices in which even third cousins had to mourn for each other

for brief periods. In the Monthly Instmctions Shih discussed appropriate relations with clans· men, and, as mentioned in Chapter Two, many upper class families in the Later

Han were parts of large local clans. Were the Ts'uis? The Hou-Han shu men·

tions only one An·p'ing Ts'ui not in the main family line, Ch'i. He is described

as of the same clan (tsung) as Yuan, and was of approximately the same social status, an educated man who was recommended for office. Nevertheless. YUan and Shih can hardly have felt. close to him because Shih accepted an · appointment under Uang Chi after Liang had murdered Ch'i. In addition, a funerary inscription mentions one other Po·ling An-p'ing Ts'ui, a man who had been a subordinate of the Grand Administrator of Po·ling, but his kinship

,---

,-

r -- - -

The Aristocratic Families of Early Imperial China

46

relationship to the other Tsi uis is unknown.76 Thus t here is no way of e sti­

mating even roughly how many Ts'uis lived in An-p'ing.

The importance of a local base to the surVival of the Ts'uis needs little proof. Not only was the benevolent local magna,te highly esteemed, but local landholding provided a stable source of wealth and inITuence. Even if in one generation no member of the family had the talent or the luck to gain influ­ ence in the capital, the family would not lose its position; it could even survive major political upheavals and wars. In the Monthly Instructions, Shih warned family heads to 'check the strength of their gates and walls' and to have their men practice archery in order to be ready to ward off the bandits who could be expected whenever food was in short supply.71 If he followed his own advice, the Ts'uis should have been well prepared to defend themselves during the anarchy and warlord-struggles .that accompanied the fall of the Han.

Office-holding The Ts'uis social position in the Later Han was enhanced by the fact that six members of the family held office in successive generations. Office­ holding, as in all periods of Chinese history, carried great honor. One should not overestimate, however, the power or wealth which the Ts'uis acquired through their bureaucratic careers. Few of the Ts'uis in the Later Han had long or successful careers. This does not· seem to be because they faced obstacles in gaining posts. None of these Ts'uis is described as frustrated in his attempt to gain office, and in their extant Writings none of them complaimid of being overlooked. They entered the bureaucracy through recommendations or direct appointments , t he com­ mon methods of the

period.78 Yin attracted the attentiOn of the e mperor

through his literary talents and as a consequence Tou Hsien, a powerful

official, appointed him as one of his subordinates. Yuan also first held office as a subordinate appointed by a consort family regent, but later reentered through recommendation by the Inspector (tz 'u-shih) of his province as a 'flourishing taient'

(mou lS 'ai). Shih entered the bureaucracy on the recom·

mendation of the Grand Administrator as 'one of extreme ftlial piety and singular conduct'

(chih-hsiao tu-hsing). Ch'i also gained office through a

recommendation by the Grand Administrator, in his case as 'filial and in­ corrupt'

(hsiao-lien). It can probably be assumed that a prominent local fam­

ily such as the Ts'uis could count on such recoinmendations by the Grand Administrator or Inspector.

. Connections could also be of use later in men's careers. In this period an

important step in promotions was patronage by a high official, particularly one of the five men entitled to chose their own junior officers (the Grand General, Grand Tutor, and the Three Ducal Ministers).?9 Ts'ul Yuan, Shih,

47

Origins of the Ts 'uis in the Han

and Lieh all received such appointments. Although the fact that their fathers

I I

and grandfathers had held office or otherwise gained prominence brought no fIxed privileges to these Ts'uis, it may very well have enabled them to attract the attention and patronage of important high officia1&; the Ts'uis were not unknown men but members of an established family. Even though these Ts'uis faced no great difficulties in gaining o ffice, their desire to serve seems to have had limitations. Yin, Yuan, Shih, and Ch'i all at times turned down posts. Yin is said to have been 'in no hurry to serve', and

during the few months that he held a post under Tou Hsien showed no desire

to advance. After submitting numerous memorials urging caution , he was

transferred to a post as Magistrate which he declined. In one essay he provided

a justification for his attitude. In it an imaginary critic accused him of keep­

ing aloof from ordinary men and ambitious officials and preferring the teach· ings o f the Taoists to the Confucian classics.80 Yin, in reply, argued that the great men of the past had adopted widely varying approaches t o public life , and that i n times o f peace they had often concentrated o n pleasant activities such as ritual. 'fussing with hat strings and arranging lapels, walking with measured steps.'81

Ts'ui Yuan may have shared some of his father's preference for the quiet scholarly life, for he did not hold office until he was over forty. Once he had begun his Career, however, he declined posts largely to avoid the distasteful expe riences which he repeatedly encountered. While still serving as a clerk,

for soine unknown reason he was arrested and imprisoned. Later he gained an appointment through the patronage of Teng Hsiin, a relative of the empress dowager; when she died her relatives were ruined and Ts'ui Yuan dismissed. He gained an appointment under

a member of the next consort family, Yen

HSien, but this family did not remain in power long, being outmanuevered by

the eunuch Sun Ch'eng.82 When Yuan again lo�t his post, he refused to let his frfends and clients speak up for him, and declined recommendations from his

locality or direct appointments under the next consort family. After Yuan regained office and apparently served well for over seven years, he had the misfortune to be accused of corruption by a visiting commissioner involved in partisan politics. With experiences like these,. it is not surprising that he· restrained his political ambition.

. . .

Ts'ui Ch'i had perhaps the most reason to refuse an assignment. He had gained the emnity of Liang Chi, by far the least scrupulous of the consort­

family strongmen·,83 Out of fear Ch'i retired, refusing an appointment as Magistrate. Nevertheless, Liang Chi soon sent an assassin to murder him�

Ts'ui Shih, like his father and grandfather (and many of his contempor­ aries) declined a number of direchppointments under high officials, perhaps because he did not want to involve himself in the necessary patron-client

48

The Aristocratic Familie� o[ Early Imperial China

relationships. Later, after a term as Grand Administrator, he did finally accept a post under liang Chi, a decision which led to his dismissal and loss of official status when the Liang family fell. Yet despite his distaste for court politics, Shih was at heart fascinated by political and administrative concerns. His com­ plaints, which were numerous, mainly concerned the absurd demands placed on Magistrates and Grand Administrators by t he insensitive, overly bureauc­ ratized central government. In On

Government he asserts that it had become

impossible for lower officials to develop the trust and affection of the people under them because they were rotated too frequently and-when

in office

were conStantly in fear of having minor shortcomings revealed_
to pursue their careers_ But as Ts'ui Shih lamented, the salaries for officials hardly covered subsistence : For one month's salary a person gets

20 hu of grain and 2000

{cash} .

Upper officials, even if they wish to observe economy still ought to have one follower. Even if they order that therc be no slaves, they ought instead to take a 'guest-retainer'. A 'guest-retainer' or a servant in one month needs 1000 [cash]

_

Fodder, fat, and meat are another

(eash] , and firewood, charcoal, and salted vegetables, are another

[cash] . Two people eat six

500 500

hu of grain_ The rest of the supplies are just

adequate to provide for the horses. How can one manage the expense of winter and summer clothing and quilts, the sacrifices of the four seasons, and entertaining guests, much less welcome one's parents and care for one's wives and children18S Nevertheless, salary was not the only source

of income from office-holding.

There were also tax exemptions and numerous opportunities (0 receive bribes

and gifts.86 A high official who served for decades, like Ts'ui Lieh, may very­

well have become rich through office holding. Lieh was the one Ts'ui to show no reluctance to pursue his career, eV,en 'buying' an office when co'ntributions were required, and remaining at court as warlords gained control in the 1 80s.81 In subsequent <:enturies Po-ling Ts'uis usually showed ,greater enthusiasm

for political careers. It is unlikely that all of Ts'ui Yin's and Shih's objections

had disappeared. Rather, as discussed in Chapter Two, concepts of social

r --- -

,-- ---

Origins o/the Ts 'uis in the Han

49

status had changed. In the Later Han, Yin, Yuan, and Shih, the best-known of these Ts'uis, seem to have viewed themselves as literati and gentlemen, and as such suited to holding office, but not obligated to do so. They could be accepted into leading social circles despite neglecting their official careers to

concentrate on matters such as literature and calligraphy. In later centuries

office and status were too closely tied for men to lightly renounce political

activities. With the fall of the Han, the Ts'ui family did not disappear; in fact , if any­ thing, their descendants mentioned in the histories held higher social and pol· itical positions. The dynastic histories do not provide any specific evidence for why the Ts'ui family survived while many other similar ones did not. Surely chance played a large role. Nevertheless, from the analysis I have given here of the Ts'uis' position in the Han, one need not be amazed at their sur· " vival. The major resources which they possessed at the end of the Later Han seem to have been first , a local base that provided a source of income and could be privately defended. and second, family traditions of the cultivation of Confucian education and ritual activities. These resources appear to have gained in importance with the social and political changes that occurred in

the late second

and early third century; as discussed in Chapter Two a large

proportion of the leading figures of the third century came from families with similar resources.

,-

-

-

r -

r----

o

o

4

T H E T S ' U I S IN T H E A R I S TO C R A T IC A G E

From the fall o ( the Han until the reunification o f the country under the Sui

Dynasty, the social and political systems o f China were distinctly aristocratic.

In this period large parts of the upper class gained recognized powers and privileges which could be transmitted to their children. Little is known en the

Ts'uis who lived d uring the Wei and Chin Dynasties and no Ts'uis served the Southern Dynasties. During the Northern Dynasties, however , a lineage o f

Ts'uis, still settled i n Po·ling, beCame on� of the highest aristocratic families. The dynastic histories mention more than a hundred o f their men, most of whom held office, a few occupying distinguished positions.

The Wei and Chin dynasties

(220-31 1 )

When the social and political structure of the Later Han dynasty col­ lapsed in the

1 808, the

area of the Ts'uis' home, mid-Hopei, was thrown into

almost continual upheaval . From

1 84 to 205 this region was periodically

under the control o f peasant rebels, including Chang (Meh, Chang Niu-chtieh, and Chang Yen . l As an area with dense population and good farmland, mid· Horei was also a prize frequently contested by rival warlords. Yuan Shao and his son Shang, scions of one of the most eminent Han families, controlled

much of the Northeast from 190 to

204.2 Ts'ui Ueh's son CMn was among

their supporters.3 After 204 T8'ao T5'ao ruled all of north China.

As discu�sed in Chapter Two, the state formed by the Wei and Chin was

different from the Later Han in several fundamental respects. The govern­ ment no longer even tried to prevent large-scale landholding. Unable to de­ pend on the -taxes and services of a large free peasantry the court concentrated on finding alternative sources of income. The iline�rank system, introduced in

220, came to provide the legal and institutional basis for a more rigid system

of social st ratiflcation. Prominent and respected local families gained nearly hereditary rights to office, independent of close government control. Men who were not the sons of bffitiais found it increasingly difficult to be ac-

50

The Ts 'uis in the aristocratic age

51

cepted as the social equals of men of distinguished ancestry and privileged access to office. During this period of political and institutional change, the Po-ling Is'uis continued to produce high officials. Although they were not one of the ten or twelve most prominent families, from the evidence available they seem to have been well..established in the socIal and political life of the capital. In the last decades of the later Han, Is' ui lieh and his son ChUn participated actively in national political affairs. In the next two generations, Is'ui Shih's great grandson Ts'an and Ts'an's son Hung rose to high rank in the Wei and Chin courts. As Is'an does not have a biography in the dynastic history only a few facts are known about him. He was a life-long friend of the high offiCial Hsii Yun, and both are said to have made names for themselves in Chi prov­ ince when young. In 252 or 253 Ts'an was recommended to Ssu-ma Shih (who then controlled the court) as one of the leading-gentlemen (shih) of the day, both upright and capable. In 256 he was involved in a discussion with the emperor concerning the relative merits of two ancient historical figures. Eventually Ts'an reached the high posts of President of the Board of Person­ nel (l�pu shting-shu) and Left Vice-president Qf the Department of State (tso p 'u-yeh, both rank three).4 More details are known about the life of Is'an's son Hung because he has a biography in the Chin shU. After serving as Left Assistant to the Department

of State (shang-shu tso-ch 'eng, rank six), Hung also rose to beCome President

of the Board of Personnel (rank three). From anecdotes in his biography, he appears to have been well known in the capital. In 291 or she-rtiy t hereafter he lost his post because of his association with the recently-ousted consort relative, Yang Chiin. Later Hung was reappointed to office, this time as Grand Minister of Agriculture (ta ssu-nung),a post which'he held until he died. His son K'uo also served the Chin as a Cavalier�attendant (san-chi shih-lang, rank

five). 5 It is interesting to note that both Is'an and Hung served as President of the Board of Personnel, one of the key offices responsible for the assignment of men to office. For full aristocratic domination of the bureaucracy, access to office was not enough; the great families had to be assured of �eceiving pre­ ferred posts. One of the ways they could control assignments was by domi­ nating the 80ard of Personnel. Not surprisingly, offices were often given out largely by family rank.6 Ts'ui Hung, however, received special praise because he actually selected capable people- and refused to admit visitors who had come to seek favors. 7 Hung's biography makes a special point to dissociate him from the 'gilded youth' of the period. the younger members of eminent families who avoided

The Aristocratic Families of Early Imperial China

52

worldly political responsibilities but were enthusiastic about new philosophical and literary ideas.8 Hung is described as an outspoken man who would tell

people to their face if they had faults but not talk behind their backs. He once

denounced someone for hypocrisy because he made a publk display of filial piety but privately acted quite differently. Because Huilg was such a stern

judge of character. there was a saying about him that 'the thorn of the scholars comes from Po-ling' .9

Invasions and disorder (31 1 -c.400) The princes of the Chin imperial house, by waging open battles against each other to secure control of the throne, nearly brought about the collapse of the

Chin court

in the fIrst decade of the fourth century. The ftnal blow,

however, was left to the Hsiung-nu and Chieh tribes. With their invasions, the Northeast was again devastated. What happened to the Ts'uis in these decades can only be imagined. It is

known that their home area, mid·Hopei, was seldom in the hand s of the same tribe for long. In

3 1 0 Shih

Lo, the Chieh chief and a particularly fierce tribes·

man, entered Po·ling. Although the Chin government tried to send assistance, fighting between the Chinese and the tribesmen continued in the area for several years.IO By 3 1 8 , having gained control of most o f the

East, Shih La

turned against the Hsiung·nu leader and formed his own dynasty, t he Later Chao, with its capital in Hopei. After defeating his main opponent in

329, a

certain degree ofstability was maintained in Hopei until the Shih clan was massacred in an uprising in

350. By this time a Hsien-pei state had formed in MU'jung cIano This state quickly

the Northeast under the leadership of tfie

defeated the Later Chao and took the dynastic name of (Former) Yen. Ts'ui I , a great-grandson o f Hung, took a post under this court, serving a s Director of the Imperial Library

(pi-ghu chien)Y

The Former Yen in turn was replaced

by the Tibetan Former Ch'in, which conquered the Northeast in

370. In 383

the Ch'in fell apart and was again repbiced in the East by a Mu·j ung state , the Later Yen, which lasted until 3 9 7 . 1 2

All that can safely b e said of the Ts'uis in this century is that despite

endemic warfare some of them at least stayed on in Po·ling, their reputation and local standing tntact. To have survived and retained their upper-class status strongly suggests that like other locally·established familie s they took to defending themselves, their neighbors, and clients.13

The Northern Wei (c. 400- 534)

In the Northern Wei the term 'the Po·ling Ts'uis' acquired a new mean·

r--

--

53

The Ts 'uis in the aristocratic age ing. From the Former Han through the period of invasions, in almost every

generation the Ts'ui family of Po-ling produced one or two men who gained government posts and whose names were preserved. If this Ts'ui family were

part of any larger kinship group, the record-keepers failed to make note of it.

In the Northern Wei, however, a larger group of Ts'uis gained great social and

political importance which could no longer be ignored by historians. This group was composed of the descendants of Ts'ui I of the Former Yen. It

ranged in size from ari extended family early in the dynasty to a lineage com­ prising several dozen men by its close. (For a simplified genealogy See Table

2.) Through the T'ang the Po-ling Ts'uis known in historical sources are over­ whelmingly the descendants o f this lineage .

The rise of this lineage of Ts'uis most probably depended on the conjunc­

tion or compounding of private, local resources and official recognition. From the beginning of the Northern Wei the Ts'uis were considered one of the lead­ ing families. Landed wealth, kinship organiZation, and a network of local social ties probably all contributed to securing their local position. The Northern Wei court, accepting the heritage of the Wei and Chin nine-rank system and the realities of local power, did not question the premise that members o f locally respected families of good pedigree were the appropriate candidates for office.14 In the

first few decades two Ts'uis were appointed Acting Grand

Administrator of their home cornmandery. a post frequently given to leading local magnates to facilitate acceptance o f T'o-pa rule .IS Two Ts'uis were also on a list of forty-two representatives of leading local families recruited by the T'o-pa in 43 1 . The purpose of this campaign seems to have been to gain the

services of men from the most influential families. A proclamation was issued

which stated that until then it had been necessary to emphasize military efforts to bring peace to the country, but now attempts could be made to revive discarded institutions and search for able men in hiding . 'We have

inquired of the 'various officers and they all praise Lu Hsiian of Fan-yang,

Ts'ui Clio of Po-ling, 11 'Ling of Chao-chun, Hsing Ying of Ho-chien, Kao Yiin

of Po-hai, Yu Ya o f Kuang-p'ing, Chang Wei of T'ai-yiia n, and so on. They are

all descendants of eminent men, of high standing in their communities, men

who can be taken as models.' Among the thirty-five other names on this list was an()ther Po-ling Ts'ui named Chien.16 The aristocratic recruitment system was tightened and formalized by Emperor Hsiao-wen

(t. 471 -499) who made an attempt to bring status more

directly under central control'. Without challenging the prestige of eminent

families, he issued an official list arranging specific lineages of the aristocratic

families in a highly articulated hierarchy. 17 With the perennial attraction o f

court honors, the aristocratic families were eager t o be included i n the highest ranks. The Ts'uis were among the families to profit most by this innovation

,

-

r

-

,---

r-- ------

r -

r--- - - --

r----

Table 2:

Simplified geneaioK(' of the Ta uts mentioned in Ch4pter 48

x xx ri i i Yi iT yu.L. iX X�. X� j' r . L,Y.n H�o�l�n. I � . T'�J!n I IYuxl ,hmx x XI , k U X h i , sh C K"Cl i . �L . 1 n H,1.n H,Lwei rI JungX j la n g l h .�'� .n 1 1 I Hon1� ,1u..r
. r--

�I

-r i l l

-

X

1

\

XI

Chien

X

I �.

X

s�u,

tsan

.

I

eh"

.

X

,

'i

X X X X ���'

'[

'" ("hen

l'il11l

X

I

XXX

.

(

H,L,,"

Shili,yOeh X

, Shll1
X

AI"

XX

xx

X

aSources: WS 49/7a- lOb. S6/1Sa-2la, S7/5b - 1 8b; PS 32; HTS, 72C/44b-60a.

X

Qu, X X

XX

Ching·yung

h

.

x xx

Mou, k'ai

X . Hai.n l l x X x X II X

14

('he

Il

I

i

!(,

17

Y,n pu IX

19

20

The Ts 'uis in the aristocratic age

55

since they were among those ranked the highest, the 'four categories of clans'

(ssu-hsing). 18

Two Ts'uis were involved in the mechanics of this ranking pro ­

cedure . 1 9 When it was completed it seems to have assured political positions

to all members of the lineage descended from Ts'ui I; parts of the lineage which had not yet been mentioned in the histories began to produce

prominent men. lO From this time on, political careers became a main focus of the· Ts'uis' attention and a majo r source of preStige,

power, and wealth.

Locally-based aristocratic lineage The locally-based, narrowly defined lineage of Ts'uis whose members readily gained prestigious offices may seem an anomalous phenomenon, an awkward balance of ascriptive and achieved status, of local and familial con­ cerns versus national and personal ones. And; in fact, this kinship s tructure lasted less than two Centuries_ Yet it was not unique to the Ts'uis; the

shu describes at:least

Wei

a dozen other locally-based lineages that achieved aristo­

cratic status in this period?' Apparently such lineages were a reasonable response to the conditions of the time. As mentioned in Chapter Two, a main stimulus for the transition from local clans, asSociations of local kinsmen and dependents organized to gain power through numbers to exclusive lineages based on clearly established common descent appears to have been the creation of national status dis­

tinctions: those privileged to hold high office through the nine-rank system

came to look down on lower-ranking kin�men. When, and even if, this process occurred with the Ts'uis cannot be determined. There is no solid evi­ dence that the Ts' uis ever formed a large clan. Moreover, even if they had, it is conceivable that only one family of Ts'uis remained in An-p'ing through the dislocations of the (ourth century. The

Wei shu does, however , contain

one hint that a lower-ranking Ts'ui lived in the vicinity, referring to an 'eastern

Ts'ui' of low status and inferior esteem tti him,

wang /ieh).22

From the Ts'uis' biographies the importance of their local base in Po-ling can be teadily inferred. Through the fifth century they spent much of their time there, derived their support from property there, took pride in their reputation as family and community men, and intermarried with neighboring aristocratic families. The most concrete evidence of the Ts'uis' connection with Po-ling is the discovery of grave sites: the grave of Ching-yung with an inscription dated 5 1 7 was found outside An-p'ing city, and other Nmthern Wei graves of Po-ling Ts'uis have been found a few miles away.23 The Ts'uis' biographies also often place them in Po-ling. Throughout the dynasty many Ts'uis served under the Prefect of Ting prefecture (the unit which included Po-ling), a respectable way to stay near home either before or after e ntering the regular bureaucracy . Z4 · 'n the early years of the Revolt of the Six Garri-

The Aristocratic Families of Etll'Iy Imperial China

56

sons (524-34) when Hsien-yu Hsiu-li rose in revolt in Ting prefe cture, Ts'ui Hsiao-yen brought his clansmen and retainers (twng-shu or tsung-ts'ung) from the village or villages where they lived int{) the walled city of Po-ling com­ mandery. In the 5305 Ts'ui Mien 'returned home' (huan-chia) while on assign­ ment in Ting prefecture. In the 5505 a Li from Po-ling while home had con­ tact with the elder brother of Ts'ui Hsien, who was described as a member of the leading local family.l5 Not only did the Ts'uis have a home in Po-ling but they also seem to have spent much of their time there rather than in the capital. In biographies there are frequent references to life in the countryside among villagers and kinsmen. For instance, ring is said to have sent seasonal greetings to .the elders among his villagers (hsiang-;en). When grain was scarce the villagers would help him. The biography ofT'ing's brother Chen says 'at home he was fIlial and a true friend ; his clan (twng-tsu) spoke highly of him.' Both Chieh and Hsiao-chih are said to have returned to their native village (hsiang) before they died; Yiian-hsien and Hsiao-yen apparently spent most of their lives there.26 In the Wei shu the Ts'uis' presence in their local community is always {fescribed as fitting the model of the paternalistic local leader, a model which had been used to legitimize the authority o f local magnates since the Later Han. In part this description must be viewed as conventional praise . 27 More­ over, even if it is granted that the Ts'uis had a reputation for their good re­ lations with their neighbors, it can probably be assumed that economic dependency of some sort underlay their neighbors' attitudes. The occasional references to landholding found in the Ts'uis' biographies are suggestive of extensive holdings. For instance, until about 475 all or a large part of the lineage was organized as one extended family, including ten to twenty adult men. When this large family broke up because of repeated famine years, it divided into smaller extended families. ring and this younger brother Chen are praised for their unselfish attitude when the property was divided; they 'yielded the lands and houses and ancestral property, keeping only the grave fields and a bare house'. T'ing and Chen stayed together (even though their father was long dead) and in fact their household did not even divide after both of their deaths.28 Thus, even when the Ts'uis' lands had to be divided, the brothers who are described as having received the smanest share were able to stay together, 'study continuously' , and leave their sons in the position to maintain a common household for another generation. Part of the image (and possibly the reality) of the Ts'uis as a model local family was the maintenance of a strong family system. This can be seen in the description of the family of T'ing and his brother Chen. T'ing had six sons and Chen had two. After T'ing and his wife and Chen haa an died, the nom­ inal head of the household was Chen's wife_ She had the right to control the

The Ts 'uis in the aristocratic age family property. The

Wei shu

57

made special note o f the organization and soli­

darity of this family: After Hsiao-fen's uncle Chen died, Hsiao-fen and his brothers served their aunt nee Li as though she were their own mother. Morning and evening they would [inquire whether} she were warm or cold. When· ever they left or came back, they would report. Family affairs, large and small, were aU decided through consultation with her. When the brothers went out, if they obtained even a slight bit of wealth, it was

aU put in Madame Li's storehouse. Each season when it was divided she

would supervise. It went on like this for over twenty years. They also looked after their cousins {her children) Hsiian-po and Tzu-lang as though they were their own brothers.l9 Even though the widowed aunt was the nominal head of the household, it

appears that T'ing's eldest son Hsiao-fen made most decisions and took full control after her death. The household he managed was quite large : five

brothers, two cousins, seven sons, seven nephews, and two cousins once­ removed (the sons of his cousins). Since some of these men died young, not an of them were alive at the same time, but if women are added there must often have been over thirty people living together, not counting servants. According to the

Wei shu :

Hsiao-fen and his brothers were aU mial, kind, and generous. The younger brothers Hsiao-yen and Hsiao-clieng died first. Hsiao-fen and the others all wept bitterly and ate no meat, only vegetables, to the extent that their appearance suffered. People who saw them lamented it. Hsiao-wei and the others obeyed Hsiao-fen's orders in all matters. In sitting

or

eating, coming or going, they would not presume to do any­

thing that Hsiao-fen had not ordered. They got up when the cock crowed and made dawn visits to inquire of his health. Never did one

cash or a foot of cloth enter their private apartments. For weddings and

funerals, when there were [special} needs, they would collect money

and then distribute it. The wives all liked each other and shared what they had

Of

lacked.3O

Formality in family relations appears always to have been admired, par­ ticularly when a person who had reached very high rank continued to show respect toward

his aging parents. For instance, although Ts'ui Hsien became

one of the most important people in the Northern Ch'i court, his b iography reports that each morning he and his brothers visited their mother , kneeled,

and asked after her affairs. In the evenings they would taste her food and check on her bedchamber.31

r----

r

-- --

r --- -- -

r -- - - - -

,--- -- --

58

The Aristocratic Families of Early Imperial Chino. Ts'uis' relations with more distant relatives not members of their house­ hold arc less easily detected. At a minimum, from the Ts'uis' adherence t o

Confucian family virtues and from the{�ct that they lived i n close proximity, one can infer that they had contact with each other at least at funerals and major festivals that involved ancestral sacrifices.

The Chao-chuo lis, with

whom the Ts'uis extensively intermarried , are said to have assembled each year for the spring and fall she festivals, an occasion when sacrifices were offered to ancestors.32 One Po-ling Ts'ui, as evidence that he 'did not seek favors from his powerful fourth cousin, is said to have never visited him except on lucky and unlucky occasions (births, weddings, and funerals).33 The obvious presumption is that other Ts'uis sought each others' aid more readily, Nevertheless, one can draw no conclusions about how the Ts'uis managed their common affairs, nor how far their common activities extended. Even if the Ts'uis living in Po-ling had only the most minimal o rganization, throughout the fifth century it was undoubtedly an advantage for a Ts'ui to live among his relatives. Regular contact between Ts'uls concentrated in An­ p'ing created the social context for the preservation of the old traditions o f upper class life. Boys whose fathers had died young o r had left o n assignments could study the classics with their uncles or cousins; books could be lent or copied_ In the first century of the Northern Wei the capital P'ing-ch'eng

(in

North Shansi) did not serve as a cultural center, and Ts'uis are never said to have gone to the capital to study as they had in the Han. Nor are t hey de­

scribed as studying under famous teachers elsewhere. Until the capital was moved to Lo-yang in

493-6 the only easy way for these Ts'uis to

acquire an

education and the demeanor of an official would have been through their relatives, both paternal and maternal. Education , manners, and style of life

were described as critical to the position of the Ts'uis in the Han, and a similar argument will be made for the T'ang. Relatively speaking, such matters were not as important in the Northern Wei, because the Ts'uis' local power and the recruitment system assured their status. In this period there were, in fact, some boorish, ilI-educated, o r unprincipled Ts'uis who b ecause of their family status gained office and made good marriages.34 Nevertheless, literacy was always assumed on the part of the Chinese elite, and several of the Ts'uis are described as particularly fond of study. 35 Tsuan was a legal scholar and Hsiao­ cheng an expert on mourning rituals; Chii-lun's sister and her husband wrote poems to each other; an anecdote indicates that one Ts'ui had a large library including over 1 0 ,000 volumes.36 With regard to the preservation of the traditional upper-class style of life, relatives through marriage could be as important as lineage members. In the Northern Wei most of the Ts'uis' known marriages were arranged with other prominent families of Hopei. This contrasts with what happened later in the

The Tr'uis in the aristocratic age

59

T'ang when the Ts'uis frequently marIied Lung-hsi Lis and T'ai-yiian Wangs, erilinent

families from further west whom they must have mbt at the capital.

In the Northern Dynasties there were no marriages for which record has sur­

vived with either of these families. In the Northern Wei, ten Ts'uis married Chao-chan Lis (of a nearby county), two others married

unidentified Lis, two

married Cha-Iu Weis (of mid HOpei) , three married Po-hai Kaos (of mid­ -

HOpei), one

married a Fan-yang

Lu (of Hopei), one married

a Sung, two

married lung-yang Chengs (somewhat further away in Honan), and , in

addition, oile married a person surnamed Yang. Two Ts'ui girls became imperial concubines and one married into the important Hsien-pel Lu family, ,

perhaps also for political expediency. 37

The role of marriages in establishing links between the leading families of a

well in the marriages between Po-ling Ts'uis and Chao­ Us, the two leading clans of Ting prefecture .38 Over half of the marriages to Chao..chiin Lis are known through three funerary inscriptions. The earliest of these insciipt ions, dated 5 1 7, states that the mother and grandmother of Ts'ui Ching;yung were both Chao-chiin Lis, and in fact were niece and aunt (a cross-cousin marriage).39 The inscription dated 574 mentions two Chao-chiln region is seen especially

chiln

lis, father and daughter, who both married Po-ling Ts'uis. The first of these marriages must hav� bee n during the Northern Wei.40 Thelhird, written in

approximately 538 , shows a very complex pattern ofintermarriages between the ten children of li Hsien and other prominent fatnilies, including several

Po-ling Ts'uis.41 , Indeed , li Hsien's funeral must have brought together a large

share of the great families of the Northeast . His eldest son married a Kuang­

p'ing Sung girl. The se cond married Ts'ui Kai's daughter. The fourth and fifth

married Fan-yang Lu girls. The eldest daughter married Ts'ui Chung-che, the second daughter a Po-hai Kao,

the third Ts'ui Chii{lun), the fourth a T'o-pa

prince, and the fifth a lung-yang Cheng. In this period marriages between first, second, and third cousins appear to

have been common (much more so than they were later in the T'ang), cre­

ating a 'tight circle of people who

intermarried. The complexity of the inter­

can be seen by looking at the sitUation from the point of view of Table 3). She marrie d U Hsi-tsung. Her husband's brother U Hsi-jen married her second cousin , the daughter of Ts'ui Hsiao-fen , whose wife and aurit were also Lis. Her husband's sister married her fourth cousin, Ts'ui Chung-che. Her first cousin , Ts'w Cha-hm married an other sister of her husband , and Chfi·lun's sister married a fourth cousin of her husban d U I . Kai's daughter had several children. A son, U HSii-hsun married a Ts'ui relations

Ts'ui Kai's daughter (see

,

girl, and a daughter married Ts'ui Shu-ts'an; the son of her husband's sister

and her own fourth cousin (thUS the young couple were first cousins on the Li side and at the same time fifth cousins on the Ts'ui side) .42 It should be noted

Table

3: Simplified diagram o[Po-ling Ts'ui and Chao-chun Li marrillges"

T. K 'un (Generation

I

I T. Ching

15)

I

I Li Shu-huan .. T.D.

�_+ Li I

, T. I

_ _ _ .,. _ ,. _ 1 ..

T.D.

3d

u

'

T. Pien I

I

T. T'jng

, T. '" Ts'ui D. " Daughter

a Sources: ·See Chapter 4, n. 37.

'

,....

'"

Li D.

4th cousins

.... ..... _ - - - _ .. .

T. Chulllt�h e

.... ' 1' ''

I

Li Hsien

+_ _ __i � _:,: ��� _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ___/ I i T. ChO-iun

--�, T. Yu I

..

=

I

Li D.

T, Kai i

i

Li D.

T. Shu-Is'an

/_L�� 1

Li Hsi-tsung '" T.D,

�

r Li D.

I

Li HSUchsUn '" T.D.

I

li Hsi-jen

=

=

I

I

T. HSiao-fen

T.D,

I

Li D. '" T. Chen

The Ts 'uis in the aristocratic age

61

that the Chinese generation rule seems to have been strictly followed. People could marry their distant cousins, but not those cousins' children.43

If it is remembered tbl}t both the Ts' ui and Li families intermarried with

the Sung, Kao, Lu, and Cheng famifies, the situation becomes even more com­ plex. For instance, one of Li Hsien's daughters married Cheng Tao-yung

whose cousin married Ts'ui Hsin whose brother Chung-che, as mentioned above. married another of Li Hsien's daughters.'" If the details of more marriages were known,

the interrelations would become even more

entangled.

After all, a man had ties not only to all of his paternal relatives, to his

mother's and wife's relatives. but also to his b rothers' wives' relatives, sisters'

husbands' relatives, his daughters' husbands' relatives, and so on. The frequency of intermarriage between the Po-ling Ts'uis and Chao-chun Lis suggests that in looking for spouses for one's children it was usual first to ask maternal relatives if they

had a

suitable candidate. An anecdote in the

Wei

shu confirms that this was the accepted procedure. Ts'ui Chii-Iun's elder sister was proving difficult to marry. While talented. she was blind in one eye and

'neither inner nor outer relatives sought her'. Her father, Ts'ui I, had already died, which made her position even worse. Finally the family felt that they would have to marry her to someone of lower rank. At that point the girl's aunt, who had married a Chao-chtin ti, offered to have her own son marry

the girl to preserve the family honor. This anecdote also confirms that only in

extreme circumstances would the Po-ling Ts'uis- consider marrying people of lower status.4S

Official recognition and political careen The Ts'uis in the Northern Dynasties have been described as aristocrats

because they stood at the top of the social hierarchy generation after gener­ ation, their position protected by wealth, privilege, and custom. The major privilege the Ts'uis possessed was easy access to office. In traditional China, where office served as a route to both social honor and political power, this was not a trivial privilege. Yet the e ffects of office-holding are not easily

analyZed. From holding office did the Ts'uis gain mainly prestige which per­ petuated their fame and thus ensured the privileged treatment o f their sons? Or did the importance of their official careers reside more in the political

power they could wield as officials? Did the aristocratic families maintain their eminence through control ever the government machinery?

The best way to approa ch this question is to examine the Ts'uis' official

careers. The activities of the Ts'uis in the Wei bureaucracy can be documented relatively fully because of the special nature of the

Wei $hu . Its

author, Wei

Shou, made use of genealogies and family records which were still readily available in 55 1 -4 when the history was written.46 In the

I

- --

, - - ----

r-- ---

Wei shu are

,-

-

listed

r-- -

62

The Aristocratic Families ofEarly Imperial China

eighty descendants of Ts'ui I; fifty-one of whom belong to the Northern Wei,

their careers falling largely before 534.47 Although there are some omissions for the period

400-70, thereafter almost everyone appears to have

been

included. Indeed, even some men who died young or declined to hold office

ate listed.48 Since the

Wei shu mentions only a small proportion of all Northern Wei

offiCials, there is no way of knowing what percentage of the bureaucracy was composed of Po-ling Ts'uis or even what percentage were members otaristo­ cratic families. The Ts'uis can be compared to other great families, however, all of whom'received detailed treatment. According to the number of officials ranked five or higher, the Po-ling Ts'uis with thirty-four such officials would place fifth among Chinese families, sixth if Hsien-pei families are also inc1uded.49 In other words, very few other families surpassed the Ts'uis.

Only three facts are known uniformly for each of these fifty-one Northern

Wei Ts'uis: his final bureaucratic post, his position in the lineage, and the approximate period in which he lived. From the last post a man held, the rank he attained can be determined but not the types of offices he held, for it was not uncommon to switch from central to provincial or civil to military posts. The Northern Wei court did not rank o fficef> until the early 49Os. In 499 Emperor Hsiao-wen lowered the ranks of civil government posts and this later hierarchy wa� used for the test of the dynasty. so Using this later list,. the ranks achieved by Po-ling Ts'uis in the Northern Wei are shown below in Table

4.

The overall performance of these Ts'uis is impressive ; twenty-nine percent reached ranks one, two, or three, and another thirty-five percent reached ranks four or five. The men who are listed as not holding any office often died before they had a chance to d o so; there is only one case of a man who is

stated to have declined to serve at al1;51 The t hree men who held local posts

Were the civil subordinates of the Grand Administrator or Prefect (tz 'u-shih) in their home area and were not members of the regulare bureaucracy. 52 Such posts were easily acquired by men from locally important families . Other Ts'uis occasionally are reported to have held such posts early in their careers, even as early as their teens, before going on to enter the regular bureauc­ racy.S3 From Table 4 it is also apparent that no one held a post lower than rank seven.

This is because

in the nine-rank system starting positions were pegged

to family status. Until about

490, using

Emperor Hsiao-wen's first

list

of

ranks, most Ts'uis started in rank five. After that date, using his later list , all Ts'uis started in at least rank seven which was approximately equal to rank five under the earlier system. S4 Typical starting posts were Protege (jeng

ch 'ao-ch 'ing), Professors in the Grand Academy (ta-hsiieh po-shih), and

63

The Ts 'uis in the aristocratic age Table 4: Ranks attained by fifty-one Ts 'uis in the period 400-534 3 Number of Men who Rank

2 3

. held t hat rank

2

3

Percentage

4%

6%

10

1 9%

4

12

23%

5

6

1 2%

6

7

8

9 local

posts

none recorded Total ,

3 4

0

6% &%

0

3

8 51

6%

16%

1 00%

3Sources: WS 49/7a-lOb, 56/1 5a-21a, 57/5b- 1 8b.

Administrative Aide or Registrar to the Minister Over the Masses (ssuct'u hsing ts'an-chiin and ssu-t'u chu-pu). The ranks these Ts'uis attained were °not at all affected by whether they were eldest sons or in the primary line of the lineage. For instance, thirty per­ cent of eldest sons and twenty-nine l1ercent of younger sons reached rank one to three. However, the segment of the lineage which would later be called branch two was mme successful in placing its members' in the highest positions, with over half reaching ranks one to three. ss The types of posts Ts'uis held changed during the course of the Northern Wei as theirparticipafion'in the government increased. Before430, few of the Hopei families who subsequently took leading positions had done much more than serve as administrators in their own lo calities. In 43 1 Ts'ui Cho (a grandson of I) declined a central government offer, instead taking a low local post in his own commandery, but his cousin Yu did hold regular posts in this period, ending his career as Grand Administrator. 56 In the mid fifth century careers in the provinces were standard for the Ts'uis. Four Ts'uis' careers fall largely between 450 and 480, two attaining the post of Prefect and two that of Grand Administrator. Ts'ui Chien, for instance, in the 470s was one of t hose assig,led to governing the newly con­ quered areas south of the Yellow River. Although provincialposts as Grand Administrators and Prefects did not bring the fame of central government

64

The Aristocratic Families ofEarly Imperial China offices, they did bring great power over men and money. It is important to realize that although the Northern Wei dynasty survived for a century and

half, it was not a strongly centralized empire. As a matter of expediency

a

provincial administrators were anowed great leeway both in how they ran their offices and whom they chose to help them. 57 Because of this system, although the court controlled general policy and could favor one individual at the expense of another, members Of the great families, as a whole, wielded much of the power of the state. Nevertheless, from the point of view of the Ts'uis, from

430 to 480 they probably did not spend enough time on official alter their standing as local magnates or reduce their depen­

assignments to

dence on private wealth. 58

In the last two decades of the fifth century

as

court life was Sinified and

the capital moved to Lo-yang, Po-ling Ts'uis spent more years in OfflCC and

took more active roles in military matters and central government affairs. Thirty-eight Ts'uis' careers fall between 480 and

534. Of these, twenty-five

reached rank four or higher, serving as Prefects, Generals, or high court officials. Particularly significant were the Ts'uis increasing military activities. Presumably the Ts'ws, like other leading local families, had defended them­ selves in Hopei during the fourth century invasions. If so, they retained many of these skills and concerns, and the To-pa rulers, rather than trying to

eradicate the Ts' uis' military power, used it within their own system. In the

Northern Wei at least thirty Ts'uis held posts which surely or probably

involved military dUties, such as Generals, Prefects, or members of their military staffs.59 Each Prefect had a eivil staff recruited locally, of lower rank· ing officials, and a separate military

staff subordinate to him in his capacity as

general. A Prefect-General could normally choose his own staff members, and could, if he wished, take them with him on later assignments.

At least twenty·

two Ts'uis served as military staff members under Prefects or Generals. Early

in their careers they often served as Administrative Aides (u'an-chun), rank nine to six. Later they would hold the posts of Chief Aides (chang-lhih) or Majors (ssu-ma), which if under first or second rank generals were

relatively

high, rank four, posts. In the later hair of the Northern Wei twenty Ts'uis gained titles as Generals rank four or higher. Although titles as generals were given to almost aU higher officials, most of these Ts'uis had, in fact, active military experiences. Ts'ui

his campaigns 499-504; Yu and Jung joined Kao Chao's expedition into Szechuan in 5 1 4; in 520 Mo was an Adjunct General attached to Prince Shih­

Ching-yung and Yu both joined Prince Ying of Chung-shan on against the South,

tsun of Huai-nan on his campaign against tbe South.60 At least twelve others took part in campaigns under the emergency conditions of the Revolt of the Six Garrisons (discussed below). Although only one or two of the Ts'uis in

r

The Ts 'uis in the aristocratic age

65

this period are best viewed as military men, almost all of them seem to have possessed basic martial skills which they could use when needed .6 1 Between 490 and 534 fourteen Ts'uis held important posts in the central government, of rank four or higher (not counting civil titles which involved no duties such as Dignitary of the Highest Rank [Hung .ftln-$SU] ). One Ts'ui was a President of a BoaEd (pu-shmlg-mu, rank three), one was a Minister (ch ';ng, rank three), six were Vice-ministers (Bluzo-ch 'ing, rank four), three were Left Assistant of the Department of State (shllng-ahu tso-ch'eng), one was Left Chief Aide to the Minister Over the Masses ($SU-t'u Iso chang-shih, rank three), two held high positions in the courts of the heir apparent (tai­ tzu chia-ling, and tai-tzu shu-tzu, both rank four), three served as Left Chief of Secretaries (tao chung-l,tl1lg chiang, rank four), and so on. The fourteen Ts'uis who held these posts can be considered major officers in the central bureaucracy. By gaining these high posts, they probably helped maintain the prestige of the Ts'ui name, serving as proof that the respect their family received was not undeserved. Moreover, they were placed in positions of con­ siderable influence. With so many Ts'uis (and so many of their maternal and affmal relatives) occupying positions in the higher bureaucracy, measures detrimental to the interests of the aristocratic families would have been diffi­ cult to carry out. Despite these high posts, the influence of the Po-ling Ts'uis on major policy decisions should not be overestimated. Although a small elite of aristo­ cratic families held many high offices, they were not an oligarchy that directed the political life of the country with the emperor or his representative acting asprimus interpares.62 There is no record that any of the fourteen Ts'uis holding higher central government posts were involved in the formation of court policies; they are not mentioned in accounts of political events of the period , such as are found in the Tzu-chlh t 'ung-chien. One never hears of the Ts'OO, or members of other leading Chinese families for that matter, deposing emperors or manipulating their succession. When such affairs occurred, they were carried out by members of the imperial family or other great Hsien-pei clans. After Emperor Hsiao-wen died, power did not fan into the hands of the highest Chinese offlCials, but rather to the T'o.pa princes ann later relatives of the empresses. While Ts'uis joined these factions, they never dominated them.63 The power the Ts'uis gained from holding office is perhaps better described as bureaucratic than political, and in this period the bureaucracy was not especially strong. With regard to the prestige of government posts, it is interesting to·note that the fme distinctions between posts elaborated during the Three King­ doms,-chin, and Southern DynastieS were not observed by the Northern Wei. Although the concepts of 'pure' and 'impure' were recognized, it is difficult

I

---

,----- -�-

r-- -----

r

--

The A ristocratic Families ofEarly Imperial China

66

to discern much pattern in appointments. Most of the Ts'uis' starting posts were 'pure' ones, but later they held both 'pure' and 'impure' posts: some of them received prestigious 'pure' posts, such as Cavalier-consultant (san-chi chang-shih) after successful military campaigns, although military service was certainly not a pure occupation.64 Yet, as in the Southern Dynasties, appoint­ ments as Grand Arbiter (ta chung-cheng) of one's home prefecture do seem to have carried great prestige. They also involved actual duties; Ts'uiHsiao­ fen's biography says that while Grand Arbiter he was admired for cutting down the lists (apparently of men privileged for office) 65 In this period three Ts'uis are known to-have served as Grand Arbiters, interestingly enough, each the first son of the fust son of a first son.66 The careers of two second cousins, T'ing (445-503) and Ching-yung (461517) can serve to illustrate the Ts'uis' official careers in the late Northern Wei. The eldest son of a Grand Administrator, T'ing was orphaned while still young. Described as poor but generous, he was praised for his fraternal soli­ darity. He liked to act as the leader of the local gentlemen and recognized the talents of a number of men who later rose to prominence. Recommended as a 'flourishing talent' probably in the late 470s, he started his official career as a Professor of the Secretariat (rank five, old system) and next was made Vice­ president (rank four). He acquired imperial favor, and in addition to being promoted and enfeoffed as a Viscount, his daughter was made an imperial concubine. After turning down a position as Chief Aide to an important gen­ eral in 494, he was given a fourth rank military title and made Prefect of Kuang {in Shantung), where he is said to have governed well . When the emperor visited the nearby Yen prefecture in 495, he summoned T'ing and talked about strategies for governing border areas. The emperor also gave him a copy of his own literary works, and told the offiCers in attendance that if all his provincial officials were like T'ing, he would have nothing to worry about. While a Prefect, T'ing wrote a memorial against punishing the entire families of runaway criminals,and also asked to have the system of appoint­ ing iron officials reinstated . Then, when the emperor 'settled the lineagei-, he had T'ing made Grand Arbiter of his home prefecture, apparently without leaving his previous post. After Emperor Hsiao-wen died in 499 Ting repeat­ edly requested to retire, and was eventually replaced .soon after 500. Next, against his wishes, he had to take a post in the central government under the powerful Prince of Pei-hai . In 503 at the age of fifty-nine T'ing died in that post. His former subordinates in Kuang prefecture, out of fondness and grief, erected a bronze statue in h� memory at a Buddhist temple outside that city.67 Ts'ui Ching-yung, sixteen years younger than his- second cousin T'ing, was the younger son of a Prefect. In 488 Ching-yung was given his rust office, as the Registrar of the Minister over the Masses (rank six) and next was made .

The Ts 'uis in the aristocratic age Secretary

67

(lang-chung, rank six) in the Department o f State. When Emperor

Hsiao-wen was reforming the ranking system, he added to Ching·yung's duties

of Secretary of the Board of Personnel. In 498 he was given a military 500 his mother died and he · took leave to mourn her. When the mourning was over he was promoted to that

post under the crown prince (rank five). Soon after

fourth rank general and assisted in the defeat of the Southern forces at I-yang. For his merit he was promoted to Vice-minister of the Treasury {rank four}.

given a third rank military title and made a Baron. Having aiquired a consider­ able reputation for military valor, when the court decided to pacify the Khitan in

508-1 1, Ching-yung was made Prefect of Ying in the Northeast. His biogra­

phy relates that because he returned horses of the Ku-mo-hsi tribe which strayed into his territory the tribe peaceably accepted his supervision. In

5 15

he was promoted to rank three, but unfortunately just when he received this promotion he got sick:. After an illness lasting two years, he died, age fifty­ seven.68 Neither T'ing nor Ching·yung can be said to have had great political influ· ence, though T'ing served for over twenty yeais, Ching-yung close to thirty. On the other hand, from b iographical accounts such as these, office-holding seems to have been art agreeable profession. Because of the nine-rank system, initial appointments were acquired without any difficulty. Promotion to at

least rank five appears to have been routine, requiring neither exceptional

ability or merit. Moreover, in the Northern Wei (unlike during the Later Han or Chin or later in the Northern Ch'i), Ts'uis seldom had to worry about being

dismissed from office or being punished because ofpower struggles. For

instance, in SOl when the princes lost power to Kao

Chao, Ts'uis who had

been associated with these princes did not suffer any consequences. There are a few cases of men being dismissed from office, but they generally regained their positions within a brief period." Outside of family and community

actiVities, office-holding was the major, perhaps only, occupation of these Ts'uis. Centuries earlier in the later

Han, the main accomplishments of Ts'ui

Yin and Ytian were in literature; they served in office for only about one and

ten years respectively. But in the 'Northern Wei, men often gained office in

their teens or early twenties and served continuously until their death, some· time.s forty or fifty years altogether . 'JO When the author of the

Wei shu wished

to praise T'ing, he described how conscientious T'ing had been in carrying out

his duties as Prefect, or how succesSful he was in maintaining harmony in his family and community.

The Revolt of the Six Garrisons

of the pol­ social organ-

The Revolt of the Six Garrisons not only diverted the course itical development of the Northern Dynasties, but also disrupted

68

The Aristocratic Families ofEarly Imperial China

ization at all levels. The complexity of the Ts'uis' position in the Northern Wei can be viewed in their response to this crisis. As Hopei was one of the areas which suffered most from this revolt, their local base and the physical safety of their families were jeopardized. At the same time the dynasty which had given them so many honors appeared in imminent danger of succumbing to the garrison rebels, proponents of old Hsien·pei ways who could not be counted on to treat the aristocratic families generously. The Ts'uis could no longer hold on to everything; they had to decide which of their assets and positions they most valued and concentrate on preserving them. Since the Ts'uis' personalities and talents differed, and since the military situation was constant ly shifting, by the end of the ten years of war Ts'uis had taken diver· gent routes; A schism appeared in the Po·ling Ts'ui lineage ; several Ts'uis joined the Western court at Ch'ang·an and neither they nor their descendants returned to Hopei. Biographies in the

Wei shu, Pei-Ch 'i shu. and Chou shu describe the experi.

ences of twenty.four Po·ling Ts'uis in this period. In the first five years, from 523 to

528. rebels attacked and gained con trol of much of Northeast and

Northwest China, including Hopei, where the Ts'uis lived. 7I On the Southern borders the court also had to face rebelling Man tribes and incursions by the Southern stllte of Liang. Nevertheless, the Wei court retained its authority, sent out armies, and won a number of victories; Then, in

528, the

Wei court's

strongest general , Erh·chu Jung (from the garrisons himself), decided to purge tJle court of the influence of Empress Dowager Hu (who had just had installed an infant emperor after apparently killing his predecessor). He had the empress and new child emperor killed and appointed yet another emperor.

Over two thousand court officials weTe ordered to come to Ho-ch'iao outside Lo·yang to greet the new emperor, where Erh·chu Jung had them slaughtered

en

masse. Loyalties then became confused: Was Erh-chu Jung to be obeyed,

or should loyal o fficials jOin the groups resisting him? A T'o·pa prince, aided

by an army from the Southern state of liang, led a campaign against Erh·chu

Jung. He took Lo·yang briefly in 529, but failed to gain the support he

expected . In 530 the Wei emperor had Erh-chu Jung killed, but found that

Jung's death did not destroy the powe r of his armies still under the control of his relatives. In less than a year Erh·chu Shih·lung had this emperor deposed

and a new one enthroned. A new struggle for supremacy ensued. t his time won by Kao Huan, a general who had served under Erh-chu Jung. In

532 K ao

Huan destroyed the whole Erh·chu clan. From that time Emperor Hsiao·wu began to grow suspicious o f Kao Huan and made overtures to other military leaders, particularly Ho·pa Yiieh and his successor Yii·wen T'ai in Ch'ang.an. In

534 this emperor joined them in Ch·ang·an . Kao

Huan appointed a second

r-

r -- - -

The Ts uis in the aristocratic age

69

emperor, leading to the division into Eastern and Western courts which lasted until 576.

In the first stage of the revolt all Ts'uis seem to have rallied around the Wei

court . At least two Ts'uis were caught in dangerous positions at the outbreak of the revolt. In 524, soon after the revolt started, rebels attacked Nan-ch'in

in Kansu where Ts'ui Yu was Prefect. Yu killed his own daughter to keep her

out of the hands of the rebels, and then was killed himself.72 The next year Ts'ui Ping, who was Prefect of Yen (present Peking), was besieged by the

rebel Tu Lo-chou, but managed to hold out for nearly a year. His second son Chung-che convinced the court to let him bring reinforcements. Chung·che unfortunately was killed in the battle and Ping had to lead his forces out o f

the city, fleeing to Ting prefecture. 73

Ts'ui- Hsiao-yen is the only Ts'ui specifically described as home in Po-ling

when the two hundred thousand surrendered garrison troops who had been settled in Ting prefecture rebelled again in 526. Hsiao-yen brought his kins­

men and dependents into the commandery capital. When the city fell to the

rebels they executed Hsiao-yen because they were afraid that with his local reputation he could incite resistance among the populace . ?4 Even after t h e magnitude of the revolt was fully evident Ts'uis d i d not shirk dangerous assignments. Ts'ui Yen-po and Ts'ui Mo both accepted com­

missions to participate in the Western campaigris and a cquired reputations as excellent generals. Both met their death in battle, Yen-po in 526, Mo in 5 2 8 . 7S

In 524 Ts'ui Yiian-chen took the post of Grand Administrator of P'ing-yang

(in Shansi) and Adjunct General ordered to suppress the. rebelling Shan-hu

tribes. His position was later upgraded to Prefect and he was made a Marquis as a reward for his successes. In 528 when Erh-chu Jung took La-yang, Yiian­ chen refused to submit to his forces and died defending his city.76 Ts'ui

Hsiao-fen in 525 accepted an assignment to counter an attack from the South­

ern state of Uang. Later that year when Yiian Ch'a's clique fell at court, Hsiao-fen was purged. He even had to flee from arrest when one

of his brothers

was falsely accused of siding with the rebels. After an amnesty he reappeared, and in

527 accepted Empress Hu's request that he save the city of P'eng­

ch'eng from attack by Uang." In a similar spirit in 526 Ts'ui Kai, an experienced Grand Administrator,

agreed to head Yin prefecture, newly created to serve as a base between areas held by the rebels. He realized the hopelessness of his assignment : as a newly­ established prefecture Yin had neither food nor weapons. To inspire confi­

dence he brought along his whole family (the 'hundred mouths'), against the advice of others, saying, 'When you accept a salary from someone you take on hts worries', and 'The government certainly knew that the city was small

r

--

r --

,-

r - - - --

,--

-

The Aristocratic Families ofEarly lmperilll China

70

and its forces weak; they have assigned me my place to die .' Kai would not even let his fourteen-su i son and youngest daughter leave. When the rebels

attacked, Kai's forces suffered great casualties and could hold out less than a week. Kai and his eldest son who was assisting him were both killed.78 His n�phew Chii-lun

(forty sui) whom he had brought along as his Chief Aide and

Adjunct General survived the battle . By feigning incompetence ChU-lun was able to avoid appointment under the victorious rebel Ko Jung. He then organ­ ized an escape party which with luck and courage -reached. the capital. 79 In the first five years of the revolt only one Po-ling Ts'ui, Ts'ui Hsin, seems to have remained at the capital, free from the danger

of rebel attacks. But it

was then his fate to be among the court officials executed by Erh-chu Jung at Ho-ch'iao in 528.80 In the second five years of warfare the Ts'uis were separated by more

diverse fates; Hsiao-fen, Chtl-Iun, Hsiao-chih, Tzu-lang, Chi-liang, and Mien continued to accept appointments from Erh-chu Jung and whoever succeeded him in controlling the court. Ts'ui Hsiao-chih, after years in military posts, grew tired of strife and in 530 returned to Po·ling to 'lead his kinsmen and devote himself to practicing ritual and proprieties.' His relatives (tsung-ch 'in) tried to convince him to accept the apPointments offered to him, reputedly

arguing. 'Glory is what men desire.- Why do you hide away?' He did not answer

and in the end died at home, telling his sons to refuse even posthumous offices for him.81 In this period Ts'uis several times ended up on opposite sides, sometimes

through the accidents of changing alliances, sometimes because they responded differently to the conflicting demands placed on their lQyalties. For instance, although a number of Ts'uis ac-cepted appointments from Erh-chu lung when he was in .control of the court, Ts'ui Hsien, probably in his twenties, joined a

group of Po-hai Kaos who organized local resistance to Erh-chu Jung and his

relatives.82 Through this connection, Hsien became an early ally of Kao Huan, the power behind the Eastern Wei. Two of Hsien's fourth cQusins, of approxi­ mately the same age, ended up on t he opposite side. Ts'ui Shih-chien and Shih-yueh, in their teens when their father Kai was killed by the rebels in 526,

may have been drafted into their army. At any rate, by 532 both were serving tmder Hoopa Sheng and followed him when he sided with Vii-wen T'ai, for the next several decades serving in high posts under the Western courts.83 . The conflicting demands faced by members of aristocratic families can be seen from the perspective of Ts'ui HSiao-fen and his immediate family in 534. Several of Hsiao-fen's second and third cousins had died defending the court; one had died resisting Erh·chu Jung. His brother Hsiao-yen had been killed by rebels in Po-ling and another had given up political activity and returned home. Hsiao·fen himself had devoted years to defending the southern borders and

71

The Ts 'uis in the aristocratic age

by 532 held first rank court titles and the position of President o f the Board of Personnel. Wei Shou, his nephew by both blood and marriage (the son of

his sister and the husband of his brother's da�hter) sensed danger and retired.84 But Hsiao·fen held on, having already survived numerous factional struggles and purges. Then in 534 he was executed by Kao Huan, accused of not keep· ing close enough watch on the emperor who had just fled to Ch'ang-an. His

family members (chia�k'ou) in Lo-yang were made captives and transported to the northern capital at Chin-yang. His four youngest sons all died there.85 His sons and nephews who survived acted in contradictory ways. The eldest son Mien, an experienced official who had escaped arrest� went to see Kao Huan at Chin-yang and was able to gain his favor. It may have been through Mien's efforts that the remaining family members were released in 535 or 536.

A year or two later Mien was able to return home to Ting prefecture where he found that his mother nee Li had already died.86 The reaction of Hsiao-fen's second son Hsiian-yu was just the opposite. On learning that Kao H uan had executed his father, he joined his father's former superior, Emperor Hsiao-

WU,

by then Kao Huan's enemy in Ch'ang-an. HSiian-yu apparently impressed

this emperm, who commented, 'The ways of fIlial piety and loyalty are com·

bined in this one family:87 Hsiian-yu then served the Western court until his

death in 584� Hsiao-fen had an orphaned nephew Ang whom he had favored

and who. was a member o f his extended family.

A young man in

534, Ang

may have been among those arrested. Despite the execution o f his un c1e , he soon became an intimate of Kao Huan's son Ch'eng. Ang rose with Kao Ch'eng to play active roles in the Eastern Wei and Ch'i courts.88 The conflicting paths taken by Po-ling Ts'uis in this decade clearly demon­ strate that they were not a group which held family councils to· decide on common policies. Nor did any 'main house' take the lead. Yet the Ts'uis' behavior in this period does testify to the strength of kinship ties to close relatives. Most of these Ts'uis had brothers, cousins, sons, and nephews on whom they could depend in emergencies. Hsiao-chili joined his older brother Hsiao-fen as a General when Hsiao-fen undertook defense of the southern

borders. In 53 1 when Hsiao-fen was again sent to hold the South

hiS cousin

Tzu-lang came along as his Major, and when Hsiao-fen was transferred to

another area, Tzu-lang followed him there. When Ping was Prefect of Yen, his second son Chung-che led an army to relieve him. When Kai was made Prefect

of Yin, he appointed his nephew Chii-Iun as his Chief Aide and brought along

his eldest son to help with the defense.

After the city fell and Kai and Shih­

yuan were killed, Chii·!un escaped and made his way to Lo-yang, but because he had not had enough time to properly bury his uncle, he secretly returned to the enemy area, reburied the body, found his relatives, and escorted them back to the capital.89

The Aristocratic Families ofEarly lmperiid China

72

The actions taken by Ts'uis in this decade also reveal the importance they placed on their role as officials. They did not take advantage of disorder to strengthen their local position or become local satraps. No matter what their sense of duty to relatives and neighbors, almost all of these Ts'uis put first their responsibility as officials to their immediate superiors and above all to the dynasty. The Confucian ideal of political loyalty may have been an important element motivating their behavior, but self·interest should not be overlooked. The Wei court had become a bulwark protecting their right to high office. The Ts'uis were probably willing to fight to preserve the status quo because the honor of holding high office was worth much more to them than local power or the position of local satrap.

The Successor States: Eastern and Western Wei, Ch'i, Chou, and Sui

The period from the division of the court in 534 to the founding of the T'ang in 6 1 8 witnessed a major shift in the social and political base of the Po· ling Ts'uis. A number of Ts'uis moved to Ch'ang-an with the establishment of the Western Wei court and neither they nor their descendants returned to Hopei. They continued to call themselves Po-ling Ts'uis, greatly extending the meaning of the term. The position of the Ts'uis who stayed in the East be­ came less stable as it was more difficult for them to maintain both their local position and their role as bureaucrats. Some lines disappeared from record and many individual Ts'uis moved away from Po-ling, settling further south­ west in the direction of the two capitals. A basic problem in the interpretation of the aristocratic families in the · Northern Dynasties is assessing the significance of their political activities. Did they maintain their status because of their privileges of access to office or did they preserve these privileges because of their private, local power and pres­ tige? In the case of the Ts'uis it is clear that in the fourth century, when there was no well-established government with honors to bestow, a family could maintain its prestige and power with little help from the court. But two cen· turies later the political situation had changed. In the tumultuous politics of the mid sixth century a number of Ts'uis were forced to choose between office·holding and preserving their local position, or between high but danger­ ous positions and low but secure ones. On the whole, the Ts'uis in the T'ang are descended from those Ts'uis who continued to serve in this period, even gaining high rank and recognition but not becoming embroiled at court. Apparently these were the Ts'uis best able to preserve their families' social and political position.

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The Ts'uis in the aristocratic age

73

Military careers of the Ch 'ang-an Ts'uis The Ts'uis active fro m

534 to 618 can be divided into two categories: a

handful of men with military talents and duties who served with distinction under the Western Wei, Chou, and Sui courts, and the much larger number who remained in the East. The careers of the Ts'uis who settled in Ch'ang-an

deserve detailed treatment because from the perspective of a hundred or even two hundred years later they seem to have made wise choices. Although they

abandoned any land they owned in Hopei, and although they no longer had a lineage behind them, through political and military talents and loyalty to the throne, they were able to establish lines which flourished through the T'ang.

Ts'ui Hstian-yu, Shih-chien, and Shih-yileh were the most influential Ts' uis to serve the Western Wei and Chou.90 In the

530s and 540s each o f the three

served in military capacities ; in the early 550& each reached the position of Grand General of Cavalry

(pillo-chi ta chillng-chun).91 Hstian-yu was also well

educated in matters of ritual and military strategy and took part in the effort to redesign the bureaucracy using the nomenclature from the ancient Chou period. In the

550s and the

560s an three of these Ts'uis served as Inspectors­

general (tu-tu) and Governors-general (tsung-kuan). These important posts involved both military and civil supervision of large Breas of the country, often including ten or more prefectures. By the late 560s their sons had

joined them in serving the Northern C�ou court.92

All of the Ch'ang-an Ts'uis proved dependable and talented generals and

provincia! officials. They devoted themselves, as far as the records show, to

their immediate families and their governmental duties. These activities can be illustrated by summarizing the career of Ts'ui Shih-yaeh. In 532 at age 21 M Shih-yiieh first held office as an Administrative Aide to Ho-pa Sheng.

Within a year or two he had been promoted to Inspector-general of Fortifi­ cations (/ang-ch 'eng tu-tu) with a third rank military title. He and his elder

brother Shih-chien both served under Ho-pa Sheng on campaigns against Liang. However, when they were attacked by another Northern general Hou Ching they sought refuge with their former enemies, the Uang court. Ya-wen T'ai then urged them to come to Ch'ang-an. Able to leave in

536,

they were

attacked by Hou Ching and less than haIf their party survived . Once he arrived in Ch'ang-an Shih-yileh was then promoted to Inspector-general, and in

537-

8 participated in campaigns against the Eastern Wei court. On his return' he

was made Administrator of the capital (chmK-chao-chiin shou). From that

time, about 540, till his death in 575, Shih·yaeh was promoted seven times. By about 544 he was a second rank general, and a few years later reached rank

one . Under the military system of the time he was one of the highest one hun-

, .

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The Aristocratic Families ofEarly Imperial China

74

dred military officers of the country. His next promotion made him one of the highest fifty generals, in charge of one of the twenty-four armies. This sys· tem was soon reorganized and Shih-yueh was given in succession command of various regional armies and prefectures. In the early 5608 he was made Prefect of Liang (in West Kansu) and Governor-general of Military Affairs in the three neighboring prefectures of Uang, !(an, and Kua. After serving on a campaign against Ch'j in 564 he received his last position as Grand General, Grand Inspector·general of thirteen military bases, three prefectures, and eleven frontier posts and Head of one of the bases, all in the area around Lo-yang . contested between Ch'j and Chou.93 Thus, Shih-ytieh's -career lasted over thirty years, at least fifteen years spent in rank one posts with great military and administrative authority. In the Western Wei and Chou the position of these Ts'uis seems to have been very secure despite the fact that they had no independent source of power. They had no local ba� in the Northwest, and did not join as generals with loyal armies under them, One can argue that the Yii-wen rulers were only primus inter pares, the leading reprj:sentative of a group of military fam­ ilies all of similar origin in the Northern Wei garrison system. A degree of familiarity existed between these families, the Yii.wen, Yii·ch'ih, Ho-pa, U, Yang, Chao, Chang-sun, and so on.94 But the Ts'uis were basically outsiders, descendant.s of an eminent Chinese family with no connection to the garri­ sons. They were treated well, but never became part of the inner circle around the rulers. Somewhat closer relations were established with the Sui ruling house. Shih· yiieh's sons Hung·tu and Hung-sheng, Shih-chien's son P'eng, and Hsuan-yu's son Chung-fang were all involved in the brief struggles which led to Yang Chien's usurpation of the position of emperor in 580 and the establishment of the Sui dyna,sty the following year. Chung-fang had known Yang Chien since his youth, having gone to school with him. When Emperor HSUan died and Yang Chien became regent, Chung-fang attached him�lf immediately to Yang Chien, that night submitting a list of eighteen items in need of close attention.9S Meanwhile Ts'ul P'eng, Shih-chien's son, was sent to capture one of Yii-wen T'ai's sons, a tential enemy.96 A few weeks later Ts'ui Hung-tu

Po

was appointed a Commander of an Expeditionary Army (hsing-chiln t$Ung­ kuan) to join in the attack on Yii-ch'ih Ch'iung, the most dangerous o pponent of Yang Chien. Hung-tu defeated Yii·ch'ih Ch'iung and allowed his brother Ht:ng·sheng to take Ch'iung's head. For their achievements Hung·tu was made a Duke and Hung·sheng a Marquis, both receiving first rank offices.97 Because of Hung·tu's contribution to the founding of the Sui, two mar·

riages were arranged between his family and the new imperial family. In 584 Hung·tu's younger sister was married to Emperor Wen's third sOn, the Prince

r

The Ts 'uis in the aristocratic age

75

of Ch'in. Later the daughter of his brother Hung.sheng became the consort of one of Emperor Wen's grandsons.98 While it was a n honor to have marriage connections with the imperial family, as it turned out, Hung-tu and Hung­ sheng were connected to the wrong prince . In 597 the Prince of Ch'in was de­

moted, and three years later died after a long illness. Their sister, the prince's

consort, was accused of having poisoned him out of jealousy and was ordered

to commit sUicide.99 Her niece , the other Ts'ui consort , was also d ismissed.

Hung-tu pleaded illness to avoid this unpleasant situation but Hung-sheng lost his post.

100

One clue to the success of the Ch'ang-an Ts'uis was their unquestioned loy­ alty to the throne and their superiors. They had no local interests or kinsmen to divert their attention , and in fact the two separate families seem to have had little contact with each other (though both belonged, genealogically, to branch two). 101 Their dependence on impedal favor increased their value to the rulers, as is weB illustrated in an incident which occurred in

580.

An

official warned Yang Chien that Ts'ui Hung-tu was inappropriate for a leading position in the campaign against Yii-ch'ih Ch'iung since he had once· b een in Ch' iung's employ (probably as a subordinate military officer). In fact Hung. tll's relationship to Yii-ch'jh Ch'iung went even further, his sister having married Ch'iung's son. Yang Chien, to·reassure the officers, decided point someone

he personally could trust

to ap­

to keep watch over the campaign .

Of all his close associates he chose T8'ui ChungJang, Hung-tu's fourth cousin, apparently fully satisfied that Chung-fang's persohal loyalty to him or general loyalty to the throne would overcome any lingering lineage solidarity.l02 Although it was the seven Ts'uis discussed above who played the most important political roles in the governments at ell'ang-an and secured the status of their families, the names of a few of their. sons and brothers are listed in their biographies, the genealogical tables of the Hsin

tang shu, and

T'ang funerary inscriptions. For instance, Hung-tu and Hung-sheng are shown on the genealogical tables to have had four younger brothers and six sons and

nephews (the existence of several confinne d by funerary inscriptions.)103 One brother is shown only with a noble title (as Duke); the other three held high posts, ranks three to five. TiI'ui P'eng had an elder brother who setved as a first rank general and Prefect, and he had three sons who held rank five posts.104 Chung.fang had a brother with a noble title and rank six post, and six sons, two with rank five and six posts.

lOS

Until the end of the Sui these Ch'ang-an Ts'uis held prominent positions.

For instance, Chung-fang serving as President of the Board of Population (min­ pu

sJuzng.shu).

But before the Sui was overthrown in

6 1 8 , Ts'ui Chung·fang,

P'eng, Hung-tu and Hung-sheng had apparently all died. 1.06 For three success·

ive generations Po-ling Ts'uis had played active military roles in support of the

The Aristocratic Families of Early Imperial China

76

Northern and Western Wei, Chuu. and Sui dynasties. This tradition failed at the end o f the Sui. None of their sons were involved on either side in the rebellions which overthrew the Sui house and eventually established the new T'ang dynasty . Political careers of Ts'uis in the East

In the Eastern Wei. Northern Ch'i, and Sui, the Ts'uis who stayed in Hope i followed a pattern different from those in t he West. A few retired from political life; many m ore held routine posts; and three emerged as valued advisors of the Kao ru lers . Thus mid to late sixth century was a time of heightened contrasts: of all the periods from the Han thro ugh the Tang it was in the Ea,stern Wei and Northern Ch'i courts, especially 535 to 560, that Po­ ling Ts'uis were mo st prominent and most powerful at court . Yet behind this apparent glory the overall position of the Ts'uis began to slip, espe cially after the defeat of the Northern Ch'i in 576 and the supremacy of the Chou and Sui courts centered. at Ch'ang-an. The three prominent Ts'uis - Hsien, Chi-shu, and Ang - never had the security of their third and fourth cousins in the Western court. Depending always on the support of the r ulers, in the highly unstable political situation they received abuse as often as courte�. The rise of these three Ts'uis began in 536 w hen Kao Huan, interested primarily in military affairs, turned over responsibility for the civil administration to his fifteen-year-old son Ch'eng. Ch'eng was eager to suppress the illegal acts and excesses of his father's early followers, many of whom had previous experience only with warfare and failed to perceive that their new territories could not be plundered indefi­ nite ly . 107 Each of the three Ts'uis assisted Kao Ch'eng with setting up a more stable government, though their exact assignments were quite different . The elde st , Chi-$hu was assigned the task of supervising the puppet Wei emperor, acting as the Kao family's jepresentative at court. Ts'ui Hsien's main role seems to have been to discipline the generals and other ne wly powe rful men. In the 540s the youngest, Ang, was closely associated with legal and insti­ tutional reform. lOS Each of these Ts'uis, but especially Hsien, received marks of honor. On one occasion , Kao Ch'eng even yielded to Ts'ui Hsien when he met him out riding.1oo Kao Huan once took his hand and told him: You have made

those far and near dignified and honest and have the groups of nobles to accept the law. I have seen many men who can clash swo rds or break t hrough enemy lines. However, you are the first I have seen who acts as an official should act. Now your honor and rank you ha ve earned for yourself. I, Kao Hua n, and my son have

brought

no way to repay you . I lO

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The Ts 'uis in the aristocratic age

77

Despite such preferential treatment, the careers of each of these Ts'uis were marred by crises in which not only were their positions jeopardized, but also their lives and their dignity. In 543 Kao Huan wanted to have Hsien executed in order to placate a supporter who had defected . Hsien came quite

close to being beaten, but in the end esca pe d . l 1 1 I n 546 there were again

demands for Hsien's execution.uz His worst experience, however, came in

549 with the death of his patron Kao Ch'eng. Both Chi-shu and Hsien had

acquired many enemies who now accused them of disloyaity. No incriminat­ ing evidence could be found, despite a search of Hsien's private papers; never­

theless, Hsien and Chi-shu were beaten and sent to the Northern borders as

convicts where Hsien was kept in an underground cell at nigh1 . After over a year had passed they were allowed to return . I II Both Hsien and Chi-shu held high office during the next decade, but their influence was not as great as it had been earlier. Ts'ui Ang, by contrast, maintained his position throughout the reign of Emperor Wen-hsuan (550-9), Kao Ch'eng's brother who became the first

Northern Ch'i emperor. Ang joined in formulating the ritual for the new court and was given charge of a commission of forty-three people entrusted with revising the Jaw codey4 In the late 550s Chi-shu and Hsien were the Left and Right Vice-presidents of the Department of State, very

high posts in the civil

hierarchy.lls In 559 Hsien died. The emperor , known for his erratic and cruel

behavior, then killed Hsien's wife . 1 I6 Despite this outrageous treatment of his third cousin's wife, Ts'ui Ang did not refuse to replace Hsien as Vice­

president. 1I7 The first major crisis in Ang's career occurred later that year. Yang Yin, who had just gained great power as regent for the new boy em­

peror, had had a grudge against Ang for many years. Consequently Ang and Chi-shu both lost their posts and shortly thereafter Ang was purged of his status as an officiaL In 564 he was reinstated but died the year after.l Is In the early 5608 Chi-shu also regained office, but it proved difficult to keep. Several

times he was demoted or dismissed. Finally in 573 he was executed in a major purge of high offtcials which seems to have resulted from an increase in Chinese-Hsien-pei antagonisms as the state faltered.119 One interesting feature of the activities of these Ts'uis in the Northern Ch'i court is their close association with each other. Hsien in the beginning tried to depend on Chi-shu's favor. l2o Some personal animosity developed between them,121 but they continued to be viewed as political partners by their op­

ponents, and in 549 they were punished together. Ang also is said to have

advanced in part through their help, and there are refe rences to the 'Three

22 In Ts'uis', including Ang. l

S60 both he and Chi·shu were punished together.

In no other period from the Han through the T'ang is there such clear evidence of Po·ling Ts'uis collaborating in court politics. Yet these three Ts' uis cannot

r -

-

r

--

I

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,

-

The A ristocratic Families of Early Imperial China

78

be accused of conspiring to further aristocratic independence. They were aU identifIed with strengthening the power of the state, especially through more vigorous enforcement of the laws. They did try to curtail the power of the newly ascendant military offlcers, but not the power of the emperors.1la Besides these three Ts'uis, only three other Po-ling Ts'uis ih the East were given biographies in the dynastic histories� Po-chien, a Grand Administrator admired as a 'kind official', has a biography in the Pei-Ch 'i shu, and I('uo and

Che, father and son, were given biographies in the Sui shu for their accomplish­

ments as scholars}24 Seventy other Ts'uis who lived in this period, however, are known from a variety of other sources. The Wei shu gives the names and offices of twenty.fIve Po-ling Ts'uis who lived in the period 534-49, about

or Pei shih makes reference to the later careers of these men. The Pet shih also pro­

half of whom were stili alive in 550.125 Occasionally the Pei-Ch 'i shu

vides a few items of information about Ts'uis who lived afte r 550. For instance, it mentions four brothers known for their scholarship in the late Northern Ch'i and Sui,l26 In addition to these references, T' ang inscriptions mention eleven Ts'uis in the Ch'i and Sui as ancestors of T'ang men, and the Hsin T'ang shu genealogical tables prqvide the names of another seventeen Ts'uis in this period not known from other sources. 127 Because these sources

are very uneVen, only general observations can be made about the large ·num. ber of Ts'uis living in the East in this period.l28

First of all, through the Eastern Wei and Ch'i gaining office seems to have

been easy and routine . The

Wei shu

lists numerous sons and younger brothers

holding the common early posts of Administrative Aides. In the Northern Ch'i, Ts'uis continued regularly to hold high offices, e specially as Prefects and GrClnd Administrators, but also as higher central government officials. From the Sui on, however, as far as one can tell from the sources, Ts'uis more fre­ quently held lower posts. Only three of these Hopei Ts'uis a re known to have held posts rank four or higher in. the Sui, whereas ten are known to have held county or lower prefectural posts.

In the Ch'i and Sui some lines declined progressively in political import­ ance and eventually disappeared from record. ·What genealogists later termed ' the fifth branch of the Ts'ui lineage disappeared entirely. Members of this branch frrst appeared in the 480s or 49Os; b y 525 two men had reached rank

three and one had reached rank five. Between 525 and 550, however, six men

reached only rank seven, one reached rank six, but none gained higher posts. Of three brothers described as possessing no real talents, one joined Hou

Ching's rebellion, 547-8; and the other two died in prisQn for his involve·

ment .129 Nothing more is heard of this branch in later periods, even in funer­

ary inscriptions. The. schematic genealogy below gives the ranks of each o f these men i n branch five .

79

The Ts 'uis in the aristocratic age o I .

I

I 7

7

I

3

I

o

I

I

i

I

7

7

5

I

7

r-J-----,

6

0

0

The fifth branch of the Po-ling Ts'uis was perhaps never very firmly estab­

lished , but even in once flourishing segments of -the lineage, it slow decline can

be seen. For instance, Ts'ui Ping, in the first branch, entered the b ureaucracy

in the 480s. When the Revolt of the Six Garrisons broke out, he was over

sixty, held third rank posts, and had see n at least three of his five sons enter the b ureaucracy. He and aU of his sons served during the years o f war. He

attained a first rank post, two sons second rank ones, three others fo urth rank

ones. l30 In

5 35

he and his soris and grandsons were among the most success­

ful of the Po-ling Ts'uis, in part at least because of their rnartial talents. In the next two generations this military tradition appears to have been lost. While the names of seven of Ping's grandsons and great-grandsons are preserved, only one attained any particular distinction. None ·have biographies in the hi

OJ '; shu or" Sui shu, although a few details are mentioned in the Pei shih.

The genealogical tables in the Hsin

131

T'ang shu do not list any prominent men

from this segment of the lineage until the nintA century, and such a gap naturally creates suspicion.132 Two funerary inscriptions dated

636 and 660

each mention a third generation grandson of Ping.133 These two men each

held relatively low posts, the tast post of one was county Magistrate and of the other Major of a Prefect. One had a son who reached only rank eight before he died

in 637. The ranks achieved by Ts'ui Ping and his descendants

are shown below in genealogical fashion :

J

1

I

4 i

5

I

4

i 6

I

4 I i 4

I • 5

2

I

4 I

6

I

2

n I

8

Branch one did not disappear altogether, but almost all of its members ill the Tang descended from a cousin of ping.l34

80

The Aristocratic Families ofEarly Imperial China

Why did the Ts'uis gradually lose their assured position in the middle ranks of the bureaucracy? One answer seems to be increased competition. AD of the

aristocratic families had grown rapidly in the Northern Wei.135 Emperor Hsiao­ wen's notion of treating equally all members of expanding lineages simply was

not practical, and as early as

5 1 8 complaints were voiced of insufficient posts

for all the qualified men. The President of the Board of Personnel, a member of one of the great families, wanted to assure the continuance of aristocratic privileges and therefore advocated a rotation system whereby posts would be

filled automatically by the person who had been out of office the longest. 136

Another temporary method of coping with a surplus of officiaJs was the con­ tinual creation of new administrative units whose purpose was solely to supply posts to members of the powerful fami1ies.137 Another reason for inCl"eased competition was the fact that the Northern Wei and its aristocratic allies had been defeated. After the division of the court in

534, more and more posts

went to successful military officers, many from the old garrison system. After aU, both courts drew much of their strength from the garrison armies who had revolted in part to protest Chinese dominance in the government. Both the Eastern and Western courts employed members of the most eminent lineages, including the Po·ling Ts'uis, but neither had strong biases in their favor. Hsien· pet and Chinese of lesser lineage occupied many leading postS.13i

The Sui reforms of provincial administration and recruitment procedures must have posed further obstacles for the aristocratic families. These reforms were designed to strengthen central control in .il aspects of the government.

As mentioned above, in the Northern Dynasties Prefects, in effect, were inde·

pendent rulers who could only be controlled by demotion or transfer. Much of the political power of the aristocratic families came from this system,

which made nepotism, favoritism, and corruption all too easy. In 583 all commanderies then under the control of the Sui were abolished, over

500 in

all, leaving two rather than three levels in the system of local administration. Besides tightening central control, this step cut administrative cost since the

number of commanderies and prefectures had proliferated since the

Han. It

was also decreed that all regular bureaucrats in the provinces would receive their appointments fro m the central government instead o f the Prefect, a step which both reduced the autonomy of Prefects and the number of posts which

could be acquired through personal connections:J39 To reform the recruit­

ment process, the nine-rank system was abolished . In its place the system of

recommendations from the prefectures which had been started in the Han, and never completely abandoned since then, was expanded. In time, this developed into a formal examination system.l40

The purpose of these reforms was not to deny official positions to mem­ bers of well·known families: the goal rather was to make merit and loyalty

1 - - -----

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The Ts 'uis in the aristoClYltic age

81

obligatory. Educated Ts'uis who were willing to accept the direction o f the court could still get office, and clearly many did. The greatest ehange for them probably was starting near the bottom of the hierarchy and slow promotion. For instance, one Ts'ui who passed an examination

in 60 1 at age twenty-six

held military posts till the end of the Sui and was still occupying low county

and prefectural posts in the early 1'ang.141 Thus, while these reforms did not

exclude Ts'uis, they did make political careers more tiresome, especially for

the less talented or less ambitious members of the lineage who could not enter the bureaucracy through family status and then fmd a friend or relative to appoint them to staff pOsitions. Some of them may have concluded that the anticipated rewards were insufficient for the required effort and withdrawn from active political life.

Deterioration of the local base In the late sixth century the Ts'ui lineage lost its local character, and the Ts'uis' local base in Hopei lost its old function of providing a refuge during periods of political insecurity. Between the Northern Ch'i and the early T ang, the politically active Ts'uis seem all to have

left the An-p'ing area. There is no

way to know whether politically inactive Ts'uis remained in An-p'ing. Of

those Ts'uis who are known some still lived in mid-Hopei, but the majority

had scattered, moving further south or west.14Z

In two cases the date when the home base was shifted is known with some precision� In the 550s Ts'ui Po-chien was a Grand Administrator of Nan-ehO­ lu for seven years. After he died his family remained there, apparently seeing little to gain from the journey back to An-p'ing, about

100 km to the

north.l43 In about the saine period Ts'ui Ang's family established a base in

P'u-wu county in Ch'ang-shan, about 1 00 km west of An-p"mg. Although his father

and uncles had lived in Po-ling in the 520s and early 530s, by 565

Ang's association with Ch'ang-shan was sufficiently strong that when he died in the capital Yeh his body was not buried there o r returned to An-p'ing, but

taken to Ch'ang-shan where an elaborate tomb was constructed . The inscrip­

tions for him and his two wives each say that the bodies were returned to the

home in his second wife

'old graveyard', one adding 'at Ch'ang-shan'. Apparently Ang had a

the area, for at the time of her death twenty-two years later

was living in 'the old home in Kuo-su-ch'uan in P'u-wu county.'!44 The reasons why Aug and his sons preferred Ch'ang-shan to Po-ling as a burial site and home are not known. Had Ang inherited land there? Had he bought land there because it was more profitable or more easily acquired than land in Po­

ling? Had one of his sons or nephews held a post there?

Ts'ul Ang and Po-chien and the other politically active Ts'uis who left An­ p'ing did not move at the same time or to

r · --

r -

r - ----

I

--

the same place; their specific

r -- _.-

,

-

82

The Aristocratic Families of Early Imperial China reasons for moving probably were as varied as the places they chose. Yet it cannot be accidental that so many Ts'uis left their centuries-old home base

within a period of two to three generations. What these Ts'uis had in common

was little reason to maintain a base in An-p'ing. Since many of the aristocratic families of the Northeast dispersed in this period, this change in the Ts'uis'

organization should probably be related to general historical conditions, not

individual decisions or any unique situation in An-p'ing.

Almost all of the social, political, and economic developments of the late sixth century could have contributed to undermining the Ts'uis' local base in Po-ling. First, the Sui capital must have held many attractions. As political

status and power became more elusive, and gaining office came to require at least minimal effort. ambitious Ts'uis may have wanted to concentrate more of their attention in the capital as tbe center of power. The capital also was a major cultural center. In the Northern Ch'j and Sui several Ts'liis became members of the literary academies.145 This increased interest in intellectual matters, although in part a response to the impetus of new trends from the South, probably also had a defensive component ; although they had to admit that the garrison troops and their allies had gained full military supremacy, the Chinese aristocratic families could point to their own association with the old tradition of the

civil official educated in the classics and Uterature to

justify their retaining eminent positions. Yet any activit ies which attracted Ts'uis away from An.p'ing would have undermined the pOSition o f the Ts'ws left there ; the fewer the number of eminent men among their neighbors the more 'provincial' life there became. Moreover, lineage organiZation or general kinship solidarity would have become more difficult to maintain

if the most

ambitious or most dedicated Ts'uis ,prefefred to raise their sons in the capital. Without concerted e ffort kinship solidarity could easily deteriorate.l46

.

In the late sixth century the impact of long-term economic change may have begun to be felt.

On this important subject cOncrete information is

scanty. Through the fifth century the Ts'uis' economic base must have been landholdings in or near An-p'ing. The agricultural economy of the Northeast, disrupted by the invasions of the fourth century, probably reached its nadir

in about 400, and families like the Ts'uis who could offer protection probably

gained control of vast tracts of land and numerous dependent peasants. There­ after , however , political consolidation would have allowed' steady reconstruc­ tion and repopulation of devastated areas. The equal-field system, introduced in 485, made it possible for poor peasants to gain land of their own rather

than become dependents of large landowners.147 The Ts'uis probably had no difficulty holding on to the lands they aIready possessed, since the Northern Wei and Ch'i land systems all allowed large allotments for officials and slave· owners (and the government might not have been able to take land away from

83

The Ts 'uis in the aristocratic age

powerful families if it had tried). Yet the Ts'uis may have found it impossible to

increase their holdingS in Po-ling rapidly enough to keep up with the

growth of the lineage (which approximately doubled every generation from

380 to 530) without some of them leaving the An-p'ing area. Since each

household was economically independent, private income from land must have come to vary widely, and a man who was one

of five brothers may not

have received much property when he and his brothers separated. For the

Ts'uis who spent their whole adult lives as officials, loss of income from the old family estates could easily be compensated from other sources, as can be

seen in the case of the three Ts'uis who joined the Western Wei and prospered

despite the fact that they had abandoned any land they owned

in Hopei. Yet

it made the Ts'uis more dependent on office and may have been a major reason why Ts'uis did not return to An-p'ing after assignments elsewhere. Moreover, declining inheritances may have been a reason why the descendants of politically inactive or unsuccessful Ts'uis are seldom found in later historical sources. Although politically successful Ts'uis could find alternative sources of income, private income was essential for anyone else. Their status depended in pait on an income adequate to maintain an upper-class style of life. 148 The final blow to the Ts'uis' pOSition in An-p'ing may have been a change in the local power -Structure. The Sui court, intent on t ightening central con­ trol, may have quietly encouraged provincial officials to harass local mag­ nates.l49 One step it cleady did take was the abolition of local patronage positions. As discussed earlier, through the Northern Wei and Ch'i, residence in Po-ling offered political opportunities to less ambitious Ts'uis who could easily acquire unclassed but respectable local pO-sitions. Even men who were already regular officials could try to gain positions on the military staff of the Prefect of Ting prefecture if they wished to return home. With the Sui reform Ts'uis could no longer gain posts without leaving An-p'ing. To view these changes in larger terms, the Ts'uis known in history can b e said t o have lost their local orientation a s a n indirect result of t h e strong cen­ tralizing- efforts of the Northern Dynasties and Sui which changed oppor­ tunities for power and status. Many

if not most Ts'uis chose to adopt which­

ever policy would maintain their elite position even if doing so entailed sacrificing their long-praised

kin and community solidarity. Those who, on

the contrary, placed first their local position eventually disappeared from record .

The prestige o/pedigree Although the Ts'uis may have lost their local base in the

Sui, they did

not become entirely dependent on the favor of the rulers for their survival. They had another essentially private resource, the prestige of their family

84

The Aristocratic Families of Early Imperial China name. The symbolic power which 'family' possessed in this period can be divided into two related but distinguishable components, the belief in the moral significance of family behavior elaborated by Han Confucianism and

the fascination with ancestry which developed first in the Southern Dynasties as society became more obviously aristocratic. As elaborated in the Later Han, the basic assumptions of Confucian pa­ ternalistic familism were that filial piety is the root o f all virtue, that good men are family men, and that harmonious relations with kinsmen lead to generosity and solidarity with neighbors in ever widening circles. As seen in Chapter Three, already in the Later Han local magnates such as the Ts'uis drew much of their legitimacy from cultivation of correct family and com­ munity relations. In the early stages of the development o f an aristocratic system , Confucian familism justified paternalistic social relations with neigh­ bors (often tenants or other economic dependents) and explained why certain families could occupy prominent places generation after generation since good men influenced their sons to be good by their conduct in the family. In the

Northern Wei, the aristocratic families seem at first to have found this paternal­ istic familism an adequate ideological base, for indeed they were, as in the Later Han, local magnates living among kinsmen. As high praise the

Wei shu

described Ts'ui T'ing and his brother Chen as both perfect family men and

beloved by t heir neighbors. ISO

From the late fifth century on, as the Northern aristocrats acquired a stronger central and bureaucratic focus, the aristocratic values current in the Southern dynasties were more frequently evoked. In the Three Kingdoms, Chin, and Southern Dynasties, as society moved further and further from

the Han model, status becoming increasingly hierarchial and hereditary, ideo­

logical support for this system had to be found . The aristocrats did not argue that they should be viewed as comparable to the eIifeoffed lords of the pre­ Han feudal ifeng-chien) system. Rather symbolic support for the great emi­ nence of a: sman number of families was found in the ideal of the shih

(gentleman-smolar-official) which had Originally legitimized the entire edu­ cated scholarly class. In the Southern Dynasties aristocrats equated their own smal l group with the

shih, giving the term exclusive and hereditary conno­

tations which it carded into the SUi and early T'ang.ls,

Even stronger symbolic support for the position of the aristocratic families

was f{lund in the growing fascination with pedigree. The original emphasis

on

the moral influence of close relatives was transformed to include long-dead ancestors. Since as centuries passed the pedigree of each of the aristocratic

families became more impressive, it was only natural that men wouid come to hold them in awe . A major sign of growing interest in ancestry is the rise of

genealogicaJ scholarship . In the South from the late fourth century on, gen-

,-------

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85

The Ts 'uis in the aristocratic age

eaiogies o f all the prominent families began to be compiled, allowing the pub­ lic to analyze differences in pedigree. Scholars specializing in genealogy found a welcome market for their writings from this period through the rang. 152 From the end o f the fifth century interest in pedigree grew also in the North. In the

490s the publication of a list ranking the eminent

families

served to focus this interest, and the names of the families at the top of this list remained famous through the rang. As late as the ninth century some

Ts'uis bragged of being among the highest families in this ranking. ! 53 Under

the successor states several further genealogical works were compiled. One of

these went so far as to d iscriminate between the standing of individual Po-ling Ts'uis}S4 In the case of the Ts'uis, by the sixth century references to inherited status and its importance in social and politicai life commonly appear in biographical accounts. For instan(.'e, Ts'ui I's sister worried about the unfortunate conse­ quences of marrying her niece to someone of lower status; Ts'ui Chi-shu, who was skilled in medicine, was praised for treating even poor and low-status people; a protege of Ts'ui Hsien's declined an appointment on the excuse that his status was not sufficiently high_ISS In the Northern Ch'i the desire to make fine distinctions in iriherited status reached a peak. One element of this

attitude was the need sOme men felt to say 'my clan is better than your clan' .

Ts'ui Hsien , the powerful minister and advisor to Kao Ch'eng, seems to have been easily provoked by other people's family pride_ For example, a Chao­

chtin U was asked by an envoy of the. Southern state of liang to comment on

the various Ts'uis of An-p'ing. He replied that since Yin in the Later Han, there had been none with any literary talents. Ts'w Hsien got

so

angry when

he heard of this retort that when this Li came to apologize he refused to see him_l56 On another occasion a Ch'ing-ho Ts'ui told a Fan-yang Lu, 'The only

flourishing houses in the realm are yours and mine. The Po-[lingJ Ts'uis and Chao- (chiin} Lis, what are they?' Ts'ui Hsien was so infuriated that he told Kao Ch'eng (the effective ruler) that this Ch'ing.ho Ts'ui looked down on Ch'eng and almost had Ch'eng execute him.ls7 Aristocratic notions of birth did not develop independently of social and

political conditions, but once formed they persisted for generations. As long as men were fascinated by questions of pedigree, the Ts'uis would be assured special treatment; no legal ruling was necessary. A further consequence of this emphasis on birth and ranking in the Sixth century may have been an

increased self-consciousness on the part of the aristocratic families. In the

Northern Ch'i these families were busy establishing relative standing. Yet as the position of these families was challenged by the supremacy of relatively new families from the Northwest, squabbles between the Ch'ing-ho and Po­ ling Ts'uis would have lost their importance. As will be discussed in the next

r

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.

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The Aristocratic Families ofEarly Imperial China

86

chapter, in the T'ang emphasis on birth took a different form; members of the old families grouped themselves together and asserted that they as a whole were better and more refined than the newer families holding high positions in society.

o

o

5

T H E TS' U I S AS AN OLD FAMILY IN THE r A NG

In the Sui the Ts'uis' position seemed precarious, their reactions at times

defensive . In the early T'ang, however, they regained a secure hold on emi­ nence. The hundreds, perhaps thousands, of men who called themselves

Po·

ling Ts'uis in the T'ang n o longer formed a great proVincial family. Provincial affairs were left to other families while the Ts'uis sought national honors. As

members of an 'old family' with an envied pedigree, Ts'ui men gained official

posts and their daughters and sisters were in demand as brides. The Ts'uis

boasted of no special privileges, demanded no deference to their pedigree or blood. They acted in public at least as though they were the same as other

members of the upper class. the Ts'uis married only among families of like status, but otherwise d id not hoid themselves aloof from prominent poli­

ticians or literati of non -aristocratic background _

A s discussed i n the previous chapter, the Ts'uis strong local base and privi­

leged access to office had both been lost in the Sui. Although the Ts'uis

.

retained the prestige of their pedigree and of their civil and cultural traditions into the early T'ang, prestige alone was hardiy adequate to preserve the old families' status for centuries. T'ang China, however, is not the only place

where an aristocracy survived after its· original sources of power and status

had disappeared . Old elites, with their resources of wealth and influence, have often been abie to develop the qualities needed in the new era. Moreover, by

forming exclusive status group communities that stress their antiquity, purity,

and refmement, they have often been able to preserve and enhance their pres­ tige . This prestige , especially when combined with other resources such as

wealth and training, has allowed members of the old elite to compete success­

fully for valued positions in society decades, even centuries, after more con­

crete forms of power have passed to other hands. The enduring prestige of the old elite has also often offered them an excellent bargaining position from in the new society. 1 All of

which to help shape the distribution of power

these procesSes appear to have taken place in the early !'ang.

In the seventh century a number of concurrent developments helped shape

the transformation of the aristocratic families. Near exclusion from the highest 87

88

The Aristocratic Families of Early Imperial China political councils in the Sui seems to have drawn the old families closer to

each other, making them more aware of their common history and interests, less eager to compete among themselves for standing. By the early T'ang, having apparently learned the value of exclusiveness, they made a point of marrying onlY 1lmong themselves (except with the heaviest inducements). Emperor T'ai-tsung in

632 complained that the Northeastern ssu-hsing (the 496), the Ts'uis, Lus, Lis, and

highest rank assigned by Emperor Hsiao-wen in

Chengs, although in decline f.or generations, still relied on their old status, loved to boast of their greatness and to call themselves the (gentleman-officials). In

shih-ta-fu

638, again

cataloging their shortcomings, he admitted, 'I do not understand why people esteem them'. 2 Yet clearly many did value connections with them, and even some of T'ai-tsung's leading court officials

sought marriages with the old Northeastern families. A ban on intermarriage among the seven old families imposed by Emperor Kao-tsung in

659 seems to

have served only to raise the prestige of the specific families named.3 At the same time the old families avoided the stigma of being nothing more than a remnant of a forgotten age by drawing attention not so much to their ancestry as to their current attributes, their qualities

as

shih-ta-fu. In this way

they may have been able to gain a powerful ally in the 'provincial elite', the numerous long-established Chinese families of somewhat less than aristocratic status.4 This stratum had been gaining greater political influence through Sui and early T'ang attempts at wider recruitment, yet rather than oppose the old aristocrats, members of the provincial elite seem to have sought to share in their prestige. They did not consider themselves upstarts, and by no means disparaged a good pedigree; instead they publicized their own ancestry and family traditions and called themselves shih-tll-fu. S

The early Tang was also the period when the basic features for the new

recruitment system were worked out.6 The Ts'uis adapted well to the new system, using their many resources to master its requirements. As discussed in the previous chapter, many Ts'uis moved to Lo-yang, the secondary capital, probably in part to give themselves a better chance to gain bureaucratic posts. Yet it was not solely the old families who adapted. The recruitment system, as it evolved over the course of the hundred years,

S80 to 680, proved

highly

favorable to them. As will be discussed below, while recognizing no differ­ ences in family status, this system allowed connections to be of use at numer­ ous levels, placed emphasis on deportment and manners, and gave special privileges to the sons of officials, especially higher officials. system was flexible enough bureaucracy.

so

The recruitment

that virtually every Ts'ui could enter the

How and why the system of recruitment developed in this direction cannot be documented, for it does not seem to have resulted from conscious, publicly

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1 -

.. .,

The

89

Ts 'uis as an oldfamily in the Tang

debated decisions, but instead was the product of informal compromises worked out slowly in the context of the political and social realities of the time, its social effects perhaps only dimly understood by those involved. 7 The Sui and T'ang courts wanted to revive the glories of the Han dynasty, and to do so they needed a strong and vigorous bureaucracy and army.- Govern­ mental procedures had t o be tightened and the loyalty and ability of officials closely scrutinized. Although the Sui and Tang recruitment systems are famous for their emphasis on demonstrable talent and merit, it should be kept in mind that these attributes

are

open to varying defmitions. Had the

Sui and T'ang courts wanted men of humble background with no personal connections or powerful relatives, they could have opened the government academies to all, eliminated or severely restricted the protection privilege , pun­

ished any Prefect who lient as a candidate the mediocre son of a local power­ ful family, at the placement level given preference to those who had passed

examinations, and so on. Why were few efforts made in these directions? The court may have feared the consequences of pushing the aristocratic families

too far. Or, while wary of aristocratic dominance at high levels, they may have been relatively unconcerned with the social composition of the bureauc­ racy as a whole, perhaps even gratified to see the socially-arrogant aristocrats humbly petitioning for minor official posts. It is also possible that most of the decisions to be made in institutionalizing the recruitment system were left to the bureaucrats themselves. Some of these bureaucrats were of aristocratic

birth, but numerically many more probably were fro m the provincial elite. This group had no need, symbolic or material. to ftght for the final destruction of all forms of aristocratic status, and may very well have approved of methods of recruiting offICials which favored long.established educated families.s However it was arrived at, this compromise between the old families and the T'ang ruling house proved stable. Mter the fust three reigns it is d ifficult to detect any Sign that the emperors viewed the existence of old aristocratic

families as a major social or political danger. Members of old families trained their sons to be capable and loyal bureaucrats and acknowledged the glory of the ruling house. With time the ties of the ruling house to the
Chinese

shih-ta-fu ways disappeared. When regional military forces threatened

the integrity of the dynasty in the later half of the T' ang, the rulers found in

the members of the old families committed bureaucrats and loyal supporters. Because of the durability of this compromise, the relations between the

Ts'uis and the state no longer shifted with each new political event, as they seemed to do during the Northern Dynasties. In the analysis of the Is'uis' pol­ itical careers, marriages, and values presented below few chronological changes are noted, for, even though details were known of hundreds of Ts'uis who

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The Aristocratic Families of Early Imperial China

90

lived in the T'ang, statistical differences between Ts'uis who lived in the early, middle, or late 1'ang could seldom be detected.

Dimensions of the Po-ling Ts'uis Although T'ang sources frequently refer to the great, old, or famous families, the size, composition, or organization of these families is never dis­

cussed. II Before considering the survival of the Po-ling Ts'uis, who these Ts'uis

were and their ties to each other needs to be examined . The term 'a Ts'ui of Po-ling' had great meaning during the 1'ang, but it seems to have become a term more important for its class connotations than its kinship denotations.

Here 'the Po-ling Ts'uis' will be defmed as all those who called themselves and were called by others Po-ling Ts'uis, including neither all biological descend­ ants of the earlier Ts'uis, nor excluding those whose claim to kinship was weak. As discussed in the previous chapter, it is possible that in the late sixth cen· tury many Ts'uis disappeared entirely from history. tf they slipped out of the upper class, their connection with the well-known Ts'uis was probably for­ gotten by the general public and perhaps by themselves. They were not 'tne Po-ling Ts'uis' . Moreover,. a small proportion of people called Po-ling Ts'uis probably had no blood relationship with the earlier Ts'uis. While fraud may

have occaSionally occurred, it is just as likely that sloppy history was respon­ sible. A reasonable e stimate is that five to ten percent of those who were called Po-ling Ts'uis in the T'ang were actually from unrelated families.1o The dynastic histories, the

Chiu T'ang shu and Hsin T'ang shu, contain

biographies for twenty separate groups of Po-ling Ts'uis, but only in eight

cases is enough information supplied to connect these T'ang Ts'uis to men known in the Northern Dynasties or Sui. They show that 1'ang Ts'uis traced their ancestry to only four men of the sixth century, two who had served the Northern Ch'i and two the Northern ChouY Many more Po-ling Ts'uis are listed in the Hsin

T'ang shu's genealogical tables for the families which pro­ I, the genealogical

duced Chief Ministers. However, as discussed in Appendix

tables appear to have been constructed from a variety of sources, some of

which had biases in favor of higher officials and their relatives. These tables are valuable in giving some sense of the size of the group of people called Po­

ling Ts'uis and their division into branches, but provide neither a complete list

nor a random sample of the Ts'uis. Funerary inscriptions, seventy-four of which have been used here, have proved the most valuable source for the T'ang. They provide excellent details on ancestry, marriages, and family ties. With regard to political careers, how­ ever, a distinction must be made. The drafts for inscriptions preserved by rilen

The Ts'uis as an old family in the T'ang of letters and surviving today in the

91

Ch'iian Tang wen tend to be for the close

relatives of important men. But inscriptions which have survived through acci­ dent because the original stone was found and copied have no such biases. The fifty-six such excavated inscriptions used here mention

1 60 adult Ts'ui

men. These men are the closest one can corne to ordinary Ts'uiS; many had no relatives within

lIVe or six generations who attained enough prominence to

be given a biography in the dynastic histories. A major premise of this chapter is that these

1 60 men

can be taken as a fair representation of the much larger

group of people who were known is Po-ling Ts'uis ill the 1'ang.12

How many Ts'uis were there?No source approaches completeness; even

the H8in

T'ang shu genealogical tables, which list 458 T'ang Po-ling Ts'uis, One' way an estimate can

omit many men's fathers and even more men's sons.

be made is to compare the information from different sources. Thirty-eight

percent of the

i 60 adult

Ts'ui men mentioned on excavated funerary inscrip­

tions can be found on the genealogical tables. Assuming that the inscriptions represent a near random sample of the Ts'ui� and therefore that this pro­ portion is approximately correct (that is, that these tables give about thirty­ eight percent of all the Ts'ui men), one could estimate that about

1 1 50 P0-

ling Ts'ui men survived to adulthood in the T'ang. From all the sources used

known. to the Ts uis as a clan or lineage, but these terms do not appear appropriate (at least if they are used in the strict sense of here the names of 583 T'ang Ts'm men are Historians frequently refer

'

an organized kinship group with common activities). In the early T'ang de­ scendants of the lineage a ctive in the Northern Wei could b e as distantly

related as sixth cousins, by the end of the T'ang, fifteenth or sixteenth

cousins. In these centuries no geographical focus brought together such dis­ tantly related men. The kinsmen, if any, left behind in An-p'ing seem to have meant little to the politically active Ts'uis. Even those praised for their love

of their kinsmen are never described as returning to An-p'ing for festivals,

funerals, or visits to graves.13

shown in Tables 5 and 6 the Ts'uis had scattered; they lived elsewhere and established graveyards elsewhere. 14 They settled in several areas of Honan As

and Hopei with a particularly high number choosing the secondary capital Lo­

yang. Not only did they maintain residences in Lo-yang (in at least ten differ­ ent wards), but from the very first years of the Tang many Ts'uis were bury­

ing their relatives in the Mang Mountains outside La-yang, even returnitlg the

bodies to La-yang if they died in Ch'ang-an or elsewhere.

IS

Yet the Ts'uis in

La-yang did not maintain a common graveyard and no source suggests they

held common ancestor worshiP or assembled for ceremonies. Even the sub­

divisions of the Po-ling Ts'uis recognized by genealogists. the branches, d o not seem to have been active kinship groups. Members of the same branch were

92

The Aristocratic Faml1ies 0/Early Imperial China Table

5: Areas o/actual residence or regiStration 0/ T'ang Po-ling Ts'uis, in (l{Jproximate chronological order8

Name

Branch

Location

Modern Province

An-hsi

Hopei

1

Ching-ching

Hopei

3 TI1n-li

2

Haien-yang

Shensi

Yu-cl1
Shensi

5 Jib-yung

3

Ling-eh'ang

Honan

Ch'ang-an-Lo-yang

Shensi, Honan

1 J en-shih 2 Hsing-kung

4 Ssu-ku

2 2

6 Mien

7 Chih

8 Wu-po

9 Ning

1 0 Wen-hsiu

1 2 Hsiian-liang

3 3

1 4 Yen

2

1 1 KUang-yiian

13

Shan

3

I S I-sun

Kuang-clil'ien eh'ang-an

Shel!!si

Wei-chou

Honan

Ch'en-liu

Honan

Ling-eh'ang

Honan

Shao-i

Hopei

Wei-chou

Honan

La-yang '

Honan

Ku-ch'eng

Hupei

8Sources: 1 ) ers 74/1 4a. HTS 99/13a; 2) ers 1 90A/1Sa, HTS 201/8b; 3) HTS 106/7a; 4) Ins. 6; 5) ers 99/1 a, HTS 1 21/3a; 6) ers i88/lOb, 81'5 1 29/3a; crw 3 3 8/10a; 7) III$. 1 8; 8) CIS 1 81B/7a; 9) crs 1 1 7/3b, 81'S 1 44/5a; 10) III$. 48; 1 1 ) HTS 141/1a; 1 2) 8TS 164/16a; ( 3) Ins. 49; 14) Ins. 39; 1 5) cwrs 69/6b.

Table 6:

Burial piaces o/ T'ang Po-ling Ts 'uiS and their wives (but not their ma"ied daughters) No. of excav.

No. or other

ins. which

Place

1 Hopei

2 Ch'aog-an area

3 Lo-yang area

4 Other areas o( Honan

ins. which

mention

mention

burial there

burial there

Total

0

S

9

32

5

4 23 3

5

4

Sources: 1 ) Ins. 44,48,50,53,54; 2) Ins. 38,4.3,46,55,58; 3) Ins. 1 ,3 ,:5,6,7,8,10,14, 1 8, 19,22,23,24,2:5,26,27,29,3 2,33 ,34,35,36,42,57,60,62,63,64,65,67,70,74; 4) Ins. 4 1 ,45,49.66.

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The Ts 'uis as an old family in the Tang

93

buried in different areas of the Mang Mountains , in one case within a few days of each other

.16

The only functioning kinship groups that can be seen among T'ang Ts'uis

were much smaller, the size of the classical 'small clan' (hslao-tsung) com­ posed of people related within five generations on the male line. Most of the

members of tMs group would be mourJlling relatives and therefo re required by ritual to join

in each others' funerals. In some cases at least they also main­

tained common ancestral sacrifices. Appendix II, an annotated genealogy of forty-three descendants of Ts'ui Yen, illustrates the ties which could exist

among such close felatives. During the eighth century, when all of these Ts'uis were third cousins or closer, there are repeated references to mutual aid. They maintained a common graveyard , and during the Rebellion of An Lu-shan they moved as a group to the Southeast . Even

if they did not

meet regularly, since so many Ts'uis were officiaEs in

the capital they could not avoid occasional contact with each other. If their

kinship meant nothing else, it does seem to have resulted in use of correct kin­

ship terminology ; Ts'uis referred to each other as 'uncle', 'cousin', 'nephew', in accordance with their respective generation rather than their respective

age ! ' The fact that they were willing to do so, and

did not try to manipulate in power, demonstrates

their genealogy to correspond to current differences

both exact genealogical knowledge and a high degree of respect for its

importance. 18

ties do not seem t o have had major effects on the or social behavior; distantly related Ts'uis treated each other approximately as they treated members of other prominent old families, most Neve!!'theless, kinsltip

Ts'uis' political

of whom could be considered distant relatives through marriage . In political disputes that split the bureaucracy Ts'uis seem to have been as likely to

oppose other Ts'uis as to support them, and public suspicion was not aroused

when distantly related

Po-ling Ts'uis held high office

simultaneously. For

instance, when Ts'ui Chih was Chief Minister he was suspected of having allowed

his family ties to his seCond cousin !.eng to

his political judg­ with much more dis­

cloud

ment, but no questions were raised about his relations

tant relatives YUan-lOeh and Hsuan-liang. In fact, no suspicion was called for smce he did not get along with e ither. 19 All considered; probably the best term for the

Po-ling Ts'uis in the T'ang

is 'lineage of identification', indicating thltt the Ts'uris recognized their com­ mon ancestry for status purposes but had no co rporate identity. 20

The status group of old families Although there was no ritual

or

geographical unity

to the Ts'uis In the

T'ang tItey were not a diverse heterogeneous assortment of people but remark-

r----

r-- - -

, - -- -

r --- --

r

-----

94

The Aristocratoc Families ofEarly Imperial China

ably similar in social and political position. Even though the old families may have profited indirectly from the increasing bureaucratic influence of the provincial elite, they did not merge into it . They could not afford to do so ; their prestige as symbolic head of the shih-ta-fu required that they remain both aloof and distinctive. The way the old families maintained their prestige was through formation of a self-conscious status group, a community proud of its honor and tra­ ditions. This status group can best be analyzed in terms of its social distance from outsiders and its distinctive way of life . · Exclusive marriage practices,

based on the ascciptive criterion of birth, established the boundaries of this group and made possillie group solidarity. To the extent that their ethos dif­ fered from that of other upper�class groups in society, it also reinforced group consciousness. This status group preserved its position not simply by asserting its honor, nor by any overt monopolization of the resources of society. Rather, members of the old families mastered the requirements for entry into the b ureaucracy. This success in turn served as proof of the superi­ ority of the old families' ways.

Below, the nature of this status group of old families will be discussed on the basis of information collected about the Po-ling Ts'uis. Although the Ts'uis are perhaps an artificial category, not forming a genuine group them­ selves in the Tang, still they were an important element in the status group of

old families, and offer a reasonable perspective from which to view it.

MarrifJge circle The ruling class of the T'ang has been identified by recent authors as the three hundred or more provincial elite families listed

in govemment spon­

sored status compendiums (probably less than one percent of the popu. Iation).21 While this interpretation of T'ang stratifieation is undoubtedly his­ torically valid, at the time the Po-ling Ts'uis could not accept it. In arranging marriages they restricted themselves largely to the mu�h smaller group of old families.· A list of the known marriages o f T'ang Po-ling Ts'uis,

1 08 altogether, is

given in Appendix Ill. Ninety percent of these marriages are known from

funerary inscriptions, where listing the spouse of the person who had died

was standard procedure ; therefore, it seems unlikely that wives or husbands were mentioned only when they came from prominent families. Since for six­ teen o f these

1 08 marriages the ancestral home o f the

spouse's family is not

given, only the remaining ninety-two can be used in assessing the social status of Po-ling Ts'uL marriage partners.22 From this list of marriages there can be no doubt that the Ts'uis were con­ scious of their membership in an exclusive status group (see Table 7). Eighty-

The Ts 'uis as an old family in the Tang

95

Table 7: Family origins of the spouses of ninety-two T'ang Po-ling

Ts'uisa

Spouse's family otiiin

Other

Other

Seven

old

prom.

Not

families

families

families

prom.

Total

.

Politically import-

ant Ts'uis or their

29

6

5

0

40

Ts'uis

19

21

10

2

52

Total

48

close relatives

Other Po-ling

(52%) 27 (30%) 15 (16%) 2 (2%) 92 (100%)

aSources: See Appendix III. two percent of their marriages were with the twenty-nine old families surviv­ ing from the Northern and Southern Dynasties mentioned by Liu Fang.23 All but two of their remaining marriages were to other prominent families in the provincial elite.24 Within the Po-ling Ts' uis a distinction

can

be made between

the average person and those with political importance. Almost three-quarters of the politically important men and their close relatives married other mem­ bers of the seven families forbidden to intermarry by Emperor Kao-tsung in 659.25 Thus it is apparent that even within the old families, the seven 'North­ eastern' ones considered themselves distinct. Politically important Ts'uis, the ones who would have had the least difficulty rmding marriage partners

for

their children, almost always chose other members of these seven families. Such exclusive marriage practices can only have been based on an acute sense of status distinctions and honor. Yet the Ts'uis were reluctant to admit

tha t they chose marriage partners on the basis of birth.

Instead, it was the .

virtue of the old families or the Northeastern families which they claimed determined their marriage choices. For instance, all but two of the eighteen

known marriages of the family described in Appendix II were with

Lus, Us,

Chengs, or Wangs. K'ai's wife, a T'ai-yuan Wang by birth, was praised for arranging marriages with the 'plain families of the Eastern·Plain', (shah-tung

sz.rmen) rather than with the powerful (ch'uan-yu).26 Leng, another member of this family, had seven daughters and three sons. His second wife, a Lung-hsi Li, is said to have taken seriously the task of fmding them husbands and wives. She observed that among the descendants of men of great wealth and rank

96

The Aristocratic Families ofEarly Imperial Chino (leao-liang kuei-yin) there were few who were not arrogant. Therefore, she (chiu-tsu)."

chose instead spouses from the old families

The political effects of this small marriage circle will be discussed in regard to bureaucratic patronage and connections. Before that, it Is necessary to

examine the ethos which allowed the old families to believe that they were superior to other groups in the upper class (those K'ai's wife termed 'the powerful').

Family relations and personal depo.rtment In any society cultivation of traditionally prescribed, useful, and dis­ tinctive characteristics adds legitimacy to the position of the elite and can serve as a basis for group solidarity. The ethos which the T'ang old families cultivated was not one of flashy brilliance and they did not vie for leadership in new cultural and intellectual movements. Rather they represented them­

selves and were described by others as the perfect combination of the culti­ vated

shih-fa-fa

and the virtuous family man. As in the Northern Wei they

continued to derive much of their legitimacy from fulfilling the norms of

family life first fully elaborated in the Later Han. And continuing a trend developed in the Southern Dynasties and adopted by the Northern families in the Northern Ch'i and Sui, they also supported claims to superiority by point­ ing to their cultural refmement and traditional literati skills. As mentioned above; the provincial elite cultivated many of the same characteristics. Yet

the old families were recognized as the leaders in these matters; they set the

standards and appear to have made the most concerted efforts to achieve them. Of course, not every Ts'ui fully lived up to the ideal image of a member of the old families. Ts'uis differed in personality and encountered varying cir­ cumstances. Ts'ui Sun was roundly condemned for failing to attend -to his mother's burial

or

to visit his sister, a nun.l8 Yet enough Ts'uis (and Lus,

Chengs, and Us) acted in accord with the ideal to maintain its force into the mid ninth century, leading an emperor to be anxious that his daughter could

not live up to the standards of

the

Northeastern families into which he had

married her. 29

An excellent perspective on the traditions and values of the old families is

provided by the family described in Appendix II whose leading members were Ts'ui Mien, Yu-fu, Leng, and Chili. According to the

Chiu rang shu, 'This

family, through its integrity, economy, ritual activities, and orderliness was a

model for the

shih stratum'. 30

The history of this family is well documented

through the survival of thirteen funerary inscriptions and five other private_ biographies, ranging in date from

705

to 873, half of them written by relatives.

Mien's family descended from one of the Ts'uis who moved to Ch'ang-an in the Western Wei, but by

r-- ---

700 the family had

1-----

moved again to Lo_yang.31 In

r ---- -

r----

The Ts 'uis as an old family in the Tang

97

this family solidarity was not an empty phrase but a part of daily conduct. The descendants of Ts'ui K'ai

(d. 705) remained close through the eighth cen­ 646)

tury. There is even some evidence that aU of the descendants of Yen (d.

maintained contact through the 820s.32 Men were as willing to take in their widowed sisters as their widowed sisters-in·law, and orphans were regularly

cared for by aunts and uncles. K'ai in the late seventh century took in both his sister and his brother's wife and supported their children. His son Mien in the early eighth century took in his brother's wife and children, his sister, and even provided a home for one of his brother's granddaughters.33 But it was

the crisis caused by the Rebellion of An Lu-shan (755-63) which most fully

tested the strength and value of family solidarity. When Lo-yang fell, Ts'ui Ch'eng-fu was already in the South, having earlier been b anished. The other Ts'uis, 108 altogether, headed for his home. Chung-fu's wife had to leave

without him since he was in Szechuan with the court. Another of the adult

men, I-fu, died on the way, and his body had to be carried on the rest of the

journey. I-fu's son was only six when his father died, and since his mother had died four years earlier, he was cared for by his uncle's wife. In the inscrip­ tion he wrote for this aunt many years later he reports that on this trip he was twice poisoned by eating wild vegetation, and she Saved his life each time by nursing him.34 The family stayed in the South until 769, both Ch'eng-fu and Chung-fu

dying there. For a time the family was in very difficult circumstances, and

Chung-fu's widow had to sell several ounces of her own gold to provide

clothing and food for the children. Thereafter she had to depend on her for­ mer husbaml's cousin Yu·fu for support, living together with her sisters·in-Iaw. She is described as a self-effacing person who would not compete for advan­ tages in this complex household.3s While in the South, Yu-fu held several provincial offices. In

762 he wrote a

letter to one of the Chief Ministers, requesting a post. In it he recounted his family's experiences.

I, Yu-fu, am the youngest of a family of ten. Encountering danger and

hostilities, we hardly knew whether we would live or die. Helping each other and looking up to our elder brothen. and sisters, we stayed for a

while in central China. When it fell, we gathered up the family and

moved south. Paternal and other relatives who followed along amounted to over a hundred people. My eldest brother was in charge of Feng­

ch'eng (in Kiangsij. In the second year he died. My second elder sister was staying at Chi-chiln

[in Kiangsl} . Within a year, she also died. Wail­

ing orphaned nephews were in mourning for their parents. My clan elder brother the Historical Secretary (Chung-ful came ten thousand Ii

r

---

r------

,

-

98

The Aristocratic Families of Early Imperial China

to Wu from Shu. It was he on whom we relied during those days. How could I have foreseen that such a good person would not receive the blessings of Heaven? The whole .family fell apart when my clan elder brother died at the end of last summer. Only I, the most insignificant person, was left alive. with widows and infants crying in front, wailing behind. all in one ho�hold. young and old, consoling each other. If I renounce them and leave, it would be like throwing them into the ditches and gullies [to die]. 36 In 769 Yu-fu was able to return north and begin burying those who

had

died. Nine years later he was ready to arrange permanent burial for his rela­ tives. Since

705 when his grandfather had been temporarily buried outside

Lo-yang no one had been able to return the bodies to the ancestral graveyard outside Ch'ang-an. In a postscript to his grandfather's inscription, Yu-fu

noted thatjust as it was appropriate for his ancestors Shih-yiieh, Hung-chtin,

and Yen to be buried in Ch'ang.an rather than be returned to Po�ling, now

that the family had lived in Lo-yang for four generations, a permanent grave­ yard should be established there. Five inscriptions survive from this large reburial. 37

Both men and women in this family were praised if they were devout in

their performance of the rituals concerned with funerals and ancestor worship.

Ancestral sacrifices were centered on the primary line of descent from Ts'ui Yen, not the primary

line in branch two or the primary line in the lineage

_

descended from Ts'ui I. Even though Mien and Yu·fu were the politically

his primary Wife, Chung-fu, who were the ritual heads of this small lineage (hsiIJo­ tsung). As the primary heir of several generations, Chung-fu took charge of

important men, it was Mien's elder brother Hun and Hun's first son by

the ancestral temple. His wife assisted him as the wife of the primary heir

(tsimg-fu or shih-ju), keeping this position after his death in 762, indeed, until she died in

794.38 In 778, in the postscript to K'ai's inscription she is listed

first as the wife of the primary grandson, while Yu-fu, then a high official, is listed second as a younger -grandson. 39

The ancestral temple within Ts'ui Mien's compound and the family grave­

yard seem to

have been of central importance to the unity of this family.

According to Yen Chen-ch'ing, who wrote an inscription for the remains of Mien's house, Mien took great care in the construction of an ancestral temple

(miao) and the performance of the proper rites.40 When the family fled Lo­

ya!1g (during the Rebellion of An Lu-shan), Yu-fu carried the wooden spirit tablets rather than risk their destruction in fire.41 The significance

of the

graveyard is expressed not only in the great efforts the Ts'uis took to have all bodies brought there for burial, even at distances of a thousand or more kilo-

The Ts 'uis as an old family in the T'ang

99

meters, but also in the undoubted cost of the burials.4z Near the coffin were

buried funerary inscriptions

(mu-chih) carved on pieces of stone which could

vary from about a foot square to almost four feet square. They could be quite

simple, in content, literary style, and calligraphy, or quite elaborate, with

added attention to any of these matters. Of all the rubbings of funerary

inscriptions I examined in the course of this study, the ones for Mien's parents (K'ai and his wife) were the most lavish.43 They were of identical size and for· mat. written in the formal Ii script, and each COnsisting of two blocks over three feet square. Both bls(:fiptions tried to describe the personality and character of their subjects, quoting conversations with their children. Inscrip­ tions for later Ts'uis often show similar care in composition and reveal grati.

tude and affection, but are seldom as imposing in size and calJigraphy.44

Closely related to correct family relations was the general cultivation of

ritually prescribed conduct.45 Even among the old families thoSe most admired were men who could meticulously regulate their conduct according .

.

to moral and ritual principle. Ts'ui Mien was apparently such a man. The Chiu Tang shu described him as capable of maintaining the proper appearance of an official under even the most disturbing circumstances. Recognized as an expert in fine points of ritual, he was frequently consulted at court.%. Even in daily life he attempted to follow ritual precepts. According to a biography written by U flua: 'In theK'a;"yiian period

(713-41]

wealthy people over·

stepped the rules in their clothing and carriages. Mr Ts'uj ate and drank

simply and had a humble house and plain clothes to set an example for others.

Those who did not change would at least be inwardly ashamed:41 According

to another account, throughout the entire mourning period for his mother,

whenever he saw a mourner, even a child, he would arrange a seat and pay fuji

respects to him. following the ritual rules to the letter .48 Such carefully con·

trolled conduct was assumed to be the product of strict family rules and train· ing. This kind of education is described by Mien's son Yu·fu in an essay he

wrote praising the way in which a contemporary Mu Ning trained his sons. A formal distance was maintained between father and sons, and the sons waited on the father very much like servants.49 The old families' special emphasis on formality, discipline. and responsi­ bility both within the family and outside it owed its origins to long-established views of the filial man and the cultured

shih. Nevertheless, the old families'

belulvior also had practical benefits. The training required to take a full place in the upper class as a government official took many years to complete. In an

age when the early death of one or both parents was a frequent occurrence,

only the extended family, held together by strongly developed notions of family responsibility, was durable enough to assure the proper education of sons. This is weI! demonstrated in Mien's family where as many children were

The Aristocratic Families of Early /mperiol China

100

raised by aunts and uncles as by their own parents. Also, disciplined training in ritual behavior may have been good preparation for an official careeL Learning to cheerfully accept orders from one's father and grandfather and give orders to one's sons and younger brothers may have made later life as a bureaucrat easier since one had become accustomed to a hierarchical system of authority. In other words, unlike aristocrats in other times and places who strove to exhibit bravery. opulence, or artistic sensitivity, the old families of

the T'ang stressed distinctly bureaucratic virtues. A final underlying reason for the old families' emphasis on disciplined conduct and demeanor probably was its ascriptive effect.Manners and habits are always most easily acquired in childhood, and the ones cultivated by the old families required especially long years of training. The old families could not depend on all of their sons' having literary talents, but 4hey could expect them to learn the manners and bearing of their parents and relatives if given careful guidance. so Birth versus office The values and conduct cultivated by the old families, white generally admired and a source of pride, were in some ways at odds with basic social and political realities of the T'ang. A strong bureaucratic government naturally resisted the old families' claim that honor derived from essentially private matters such as personal cOnduct and family traditions. The tensions which resulted between the old families, the court, and the bureaucracy have been investigated by a number of scholars.51 Study of the Ts'uis in the T'ang offers another perspective from which to view these tensions. The Ts'uis, like other

members of the old families, had to try to resolve on an individual basis what weight to put on birth, character, and bureaucratic rank and power in judging men's worth. . As discussed in Chapter Four, by the sixth century references to birth and

pedigree were widespread. By the mid·T'ang, at least as far as one can tell

from funerary inscriptions, there seems to have been a trend away from such glorification of ancestry. Inscriptions always mention ancestry in some form, but reference may be quite brief, stating simply that a person was from Po­ ling and giving the name of his father, grandfather, and great·grandfather. However, over seventy-five percent of the sixty-three Po-ling Ts'ui inscriptions used here go into greater detail. SlOver half of these inscriptions discuss the origin of the Ts'uis in the ancient pre·Han period, for instance, beginning, 'Since the time of the Fire Lord (Yen-ti) ... ' or 'starting with T'ai-kung ... ' Lengthy descriptions of the origins of the Ts'uis in the ancient period were frequently used in the sixth and seventh century, but were somewhat less popular after the rebellKlO of An Lu-shan.53 The most surprising feature of the T'ang Ts'uis' attitude toward their birth

r-

,-----

101

The Ts 'uis as an old family in the Tang

is that they very seldom mention any of their famous ancestors of earlier dyn­ asties. Many inscriptions say vaguely that the Ts'uis had been eminent for generations,yet only seventeen of these sixty-three inscriptions (twenty-seven percent) mention by name any ancestor earlier than great-great-grandfather. Of these, five mention men of no political importance who were instead key figures in the branching of the Ts'ui surname or Iineage;S4 another five mis­ takenly refe� to Ch'ing-ho Ts'rus as ancestors. 5S In fact,two Ts'uis who had

passed the chin-shih examination made such mistakes.56 For a well-educated

Po-ling Ts'ui in the T'ang to know the names of famous early Ts'uis without

remembering whether they were his own ancestors suggests that either he had some doubts about whether he was really a Po-ling Ts'ui or he had no great concern with his historical roots. 57 Even in the cases where earlier Ts'uis were mentioned in inscriptions, they were usually Yin. Yuan, and Shih in the Later

Han. By contrast, the more militarily and locally oriented Ts'uis of the North­ ern Dynasties provoked little nostalgia or pride on the part of the T'ang Ts'uis.s8 The attitudes toward birth and pedigree of Ts'uj Mien's family are particu­ larly interesting, not because they are typical, but because they may indicate the attitudes of the leading elements of the old families. In none of the thir­ teen funerary inscriptions for this family is there mistaken mention of Ch'ing­ ho Ts'uis

or

concern with questions of branching of the surname

or

lineage.

And While over half of the inSCriptions for Po-ling Ts'uis mention ancient (pre­ Han) history,only three of these thirteen do. The inscriptions they wrote or commissioned usually state the record of recent generations in modest terms. For instance, Mien's son Yu-fu in his inscription for his cousin Uu said of his ancestors, 'Their accomplishments in literature and rectitude since the Han and Wei have been narrated in the honored histories' . After mentioning I-fu's great-grandfather,grandfather, and father, he com�ents, 'They an had en­ lightened virtue, excellent conduct, far-reaching plans, and lofty conduct. But their positions were cramped by the times, and their achievements were not well known.'s9 While unconcerned with ancient history, Yu-fu perhaps felt some ties to Yin and Yiian in the Later Han for he mentions them more than once in his miscellaneous writings. He was also familiar with the family's more recent history, since he knew the reason why his great-great grandfather had left Hopei for Cb'ang-an in the Western Wei.60 -

What can account for the modest attitude about birth of many of the most

successful Ts'uis, and the confusion and errors of many of the most boastful? After aU, the social position of the Ts'uis in the T'ang was based on the belief, unspoken perhaps, in the superiority of families with pedigrees. One reason for their ambivalent attitude could be that the Po-ling Ts'uis were no longer an active kinship group. With emotional ties limited largely to small groups of

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r----

r

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The Aristocratic Families of Early Imperial China

102

close relatives, Ts'uis may often have been confused about the significance of ancestry.61 A second reason could be that emphasis on pedigree conflicted in basic ways with the spread of bureaucratic forms of organization in the T'ang. Since Ts'uis spent much of their lifetime in bureaucratic service, they could not remain totally unmoved by the bureaucratic emphasis on universalistic stan­ dards of achievement. Many Ts'uis may have been willing to give up overt emphasis on their birth, stressing instead what seemed to be more objective evidence of their superiority, their traditions of correct and refmed behavior. Nevertheless, only a few Ts'uis went so far as to accept a fully bureaucratic view that the only claim to honor was

high official rank and institutional

power. To generalize fromthe very uneven data available, most Ts'uis tried

to

find a middle ground. On the one hand, they were not embarrassed to cultivate the talents which the court considered necessary in officials and were proud of their success in the examinations. For instance, Ts'uis Mien's biographer

recorded with obvious admiration all of the special awards and recognitions he received for his scholarly and literary abilities during the course of his career.62 On the other hand, they were reluctant to grant too much import­ ance to the acquisition of power and high official rank. Ts'ui Mien, placing

personal and family honor highest, refused to demean himself for the sake of official advancement. More than once he declined important posts so that he could stay in La-yang to

take care of his mother who was blind. When he was

made Vice-president of the Secretariat under Chang Yiieh, he would not con­ sider the post a sinecure as his predecessors had, instead offering his opinion on all matters until Chang Yiieh, displeased, saw that he was sent out as a Prefect. Even then he did not grieve over his expulsion from the capital, but took up his tasks seriously and soon had an excellent reputation as an admin­ istrator.63 His son quoted his philosophy that 'an official cannot gain the ruler's favor by conscious effort, nor can men regulate fate.'64 That is, the vag�ries of politics and luck determine success. Since Mien reache d a rank three post he was not rationalizing failure, but rather refusing to judge a man's worth by his

political importance_65

.

Not all Ts'uis shared Mien's views. An example of someone with a strong orientation toward bureaucratic success is his contemporary, Ts'ui Shih, a

man who repeatedly got caught in the political intrigues of the nrst decade of

the eighth century. An anecdote in the T'ai-p'ing kuang-chi (whether or not literally

tme)

captures something of his attitude.

Shih had an excellent appearance and demeanor, and while young received a name for talent. His younger brothers I and Ti and his elder cousin Li all had literary ability and occupied important, honorable

The Ts 'uis as an old family in the T'ang

103

posts. Whenever Shih had a private banquet, he would compare [his family] to the Wang and Hsieh families [of the Southern Dynasties]. and tell people, 'We are number one when it comes to. family rank and official accomplishments. A fellow ought first to take an important position

in order to control other men; how can he quietly let other

men control him?' Therefore [Shih} advanced continuously, and did not end up as a Magistrate.66 Ts'ui Shih, in other words, saw the greatest honor in holding high official posts; virtuous men who ended up as Magistrates were to be disdained. It is not surprising that most Ts'uis avoided so extreme a view, Jor it undermined the general position of the Ts'uis as a whole. As long as people agreed with Ts'ui Mien that the criteria for status were character. demeanor, and loyai public service (however minor), all the Po-ling Ts'uis could remain in the highest levels ofthe social elite, despite the existence of other groups success­ fully competing for power. But that was not the case if Ts'ui Shih's opinion was accepted. Shih pointed to the official accomplishments of his brothers and cousins, not all the members of his branch or all the Po-ling Ts'uis for, of

course, not all of them held illustrious posts.67

Bureaucmtie Service

If the status group of old families had depended solely on traditions and honor, its members would have decIinlld into genteel obscurity. Whatever their own beliefs, their continuing prominence was possible only as long as they were able to translate these assets into more negqtiable form - bureau­ cratic. office. Thus, a second major element in the position of the Ts'uis in the

T'ang was their ability to gain office.

This they did very well. The most striking observation that can be made

about the T'ang Ts'uis is that they overwhelmingly held office.68 -Of the 133

men who were mentioned in excavated inscriptions written after their deaths, 1220r ninety-one percent held office. And of the eleven for whom no office

is listed. one died quite young and one was a Buddhist monk; only in three

cases is there a specific statement that the person had never held .offi�'e.69 In

the typical inscription, not only did the main subject hold office, but so did his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. Only one inscription lists a man who gained office after his father or grandfather had failed to do so.?O These statistics adequately demonstrate that Ts'uis had better chances than other members of the upper class. But they do not explain what it was about the Ts'uis that gave them good chances; that is, whether it was birth pel' se or factors correlated with birth, such as wealth, local power, national political

104

The Aristocratic Families of Early Imperial China

connections, style of life (including dress, demeanor, speech and

so

on). To

argue that the rang system of recruitment favored men with the manners and connections typical of the old families, it is necessary to examine how they gained office.

Access to office Information on how Ts'uis qualified for office is available for only about one hundred men. These men fall into three groups: those who achieved national prominence and therefore were given biographies in the dynastic his­ tories; those who are briefly mentioned in the biographies of their close rela­ tives; and those whose careers are described in surviving funerary inscriptions.

Men who fall in the first two groups very largely passed examinations.71 How­ ever, excavated funerary inscriptions provide a much more representative sample of the large group of men called Po-ling Ts'uis. Unfortunately, the

method of qualifying for office is seldom given on inscriptions for anyone other than the principal subject. There are only twenty-nine men who were the principal subject of excavated inscriptions, and only twenty-six of these

men qualified for office.

The basic outlines of the T'ang recruitment system are well-known. It took two steps for a man to acqUire office: first he had to be formally qualified, then he had to be assigned a post. The standard methods of qualifying were through examinations or the protection privilege (yin), or in the second half of the dynasty through direct appointment by certain patrons (Pi-chao)." In the dynastic-history biographies, qualification is usua.Ily described in these terms. But in funerary inscriptions, a more complex situation is revealed. Of the twenty-six men known from excavated inscriptions, eleven (forty-two per­ cent) passed examinations of

some

(Of those for which the name of the chin-shih, three the ming-ching, and

kind.

examination is given, three passed the

one a special imperial examination.) Considering that almost all adult Ts'ui men gained {)ffice, no matter what their native intelligence, for somewhere between thirty and fifty percent to have qualified by passing an examination is irnpressive.13 These Ts'uis seem to have-made good use of the resources· they had, such as wealth and traditions of scholarship, to master the subjects tested in the examinations. They also had other advantages. Four of the

eleven men had first entered a government academy through the protection privilege.74 In the T'ang, relatives of the emperor, the empress dowager, the empress, and the sons of the highest officials (rank three in the central government) could enter the

Ch 'ung-wen or Hung-wen Pavilions which gave their

own relatively easy examinations. One of these Ts'uis had taken this route. The other three had gone to the government academies reserved for the sons and grandsons of officials rank seven and higher {rank five or higher for the

r---

r - ------

j

The

Ts'uis as an old family in the T'ang

105

Grand Academy). There they would prepare to take the examinations, especially the

ming-ching and chin-shih. 75 According to the T'ang chih-yen in

the seventh and early eighth centuries it was considered more honorable to

enter the bureaucracy through the academies than to be a 'tribute' candidate recommended from the provinces, thus givin!a significant advantage to the sons of officials. 76

The Ts'uis' personal connections could also have been of use in passing the

chin-shih. Young men who wished to pass this examination often came to the capital and sought to impress potential patrons with their literary or intellec­ tual skills. A Po-ling Ts'ui, with ready patrons in the friends and acquaintances of his relatives, would have had a distinct advantage.77 An anecdote in the.

T'ai-p'ing kuang-chi reports that one Po.ling Ts'ui was angry at his maternal wtcle thrice-removed (san-ts'ung chiu) who. as the examining official, had not passed him. Another Ts'ui admitted that he had ranked a kinsman number one in the chin-shih examinations out of gratitude for the generosity this man had once shown in offering to contribute to the expenses of his mother's funeral.78

It is impossible to determine exactly how many Ts'uis entered the bureauc­ racy through the protection privilege. According to the rules most frequently cited, the sons and grandsons of officials rank five or higher and great­ grandsons of officials rank three or higher

could gain

starting posts through

this privilege. 'l9 Of the Ts'uis known from excavated inscriptions, besides

those who used the protection privilege to enter academies, four seem to have used it to gain posts. One is said to have used it to enter the guards

(su-wei)

and then gone on to a regular post, and another is said to have used it to be­ corne a Ritual Attendant

(chai-/ang) at the Imperial A ncestral Temple, also as

a first step toward a regular career.80 These posts were among a large number of irregular posts which men using the protection privilege served in while young, often for five to eight years. They were supposed to engage in some study before

or

after their appointments and wouki receive annual merit

ratings which could

be taken into account in assigning them

regular offices

later.81 An advantage of the use of the protection privilege was that men could acquire posts relatively young; for instance, Ts'ui I·fu had finished his service as a Ritual Attendant and gained a regular post by the time he was

twenty.82

From what is known of these Ts'uis, the protection privilege does not seem to have been reserved as strictly for descendants of high officials as is often assumed. One Ts'ui entered the Grand Academy through this privilege even though his father had held a rank seven post, his grandfather a rank eight post, and his great grandfather in the Sui a rank five post. Another Ts'ui (known from a

r

i

r

----,

Ch'iian T'angwen inscription) became a Ritual Attendant even though

r-----

r

106

The Aristocratic Families of Early Imperial China his father was a Magistrate (in his case rank seven) and grandfather ining Censor

(rank eight).83

an

Exam­

Another whose father was a Magistrate (rank

seven in his case) and grandfather a Constable (rank nine) entered through the palace guard.84

While examinations and the

protection privilege account for

over half of

the twenty-six Ts'uis, other methods were also used. Two Ts'uis started in military posts (and stayed in military posts). Three received direct appoint­

ments (all in the years of the An Lu-shan rebellion or its immediate aftermath when such appointments were common).8S The remaining six men all had

fathers and grandfathers who were officials, and thus could have made use of at least the lesser forms of the protection privilege. (See Table

8.)

After these Ts'uis had qualified for office, they still had to attend one of the annual selection examinations (hsiian) (or in the second half of the T'ang find a patron) if they were to obtain a most of the T'ang

there

post. This

step was crucial since during

were more formally qualified men than there were

posts available, sometimes ten times as many.86 At the selection examination

the applicant had to present documents giving the name of

hi's county and on

village, his father's and grandfather's names and offices, and in formation

his paternal and maternal relatives and relatives through marriage.8? The appli­ cant was to be judged on four principal attributes: the impressiveness of his

.j

personal appearance; his speaking style and use of words: the elegance of his calligraphy; and his reasoning powers. Among the applicants who satisfied all of theSe categories, men were to be selected first for their conduct, then for their talent, and finally for their experience. This last category would give

:,

preference to men who had already served for one or more terms, but until Table 8: Metlwd ofqualification for twenty-six T'ang Ts'uis known

from funerary inscriptionsa

Method of qualification

----.-- ----

1 Examinations

2 Protection privilege

3 Direct appointment 4 Military

5 Uncertain, possibly a form

of the protection privilege Total

--.----

Men 11

4

3

2 6 26

Percentage 42%

. 15% 12%

8%

.j

23%

- ----"-------

100%

aSources: (l) Ins. 3,5,8,10.22,25,3 3,35,45,54,55; (2) Ins. 6,26,40,48; (3) Ins. 29, 32,49; (4) Ins. 18,50; (5) Ins. 1,28,34,41,43,53.

:1·: ,.

The Ts 'uis as an old family in the Tang

107

that point newly-qualified men and experienced officials were judged together, Every time

an

official finished a term of four years he would have to undergo

another selection examination, until he reached rank five.s8 The emphasis on appearance, bearing, and conduct in this screening was

different from the qualifying examinations, especially the

ming-ching and chin-shih which put greatest emphasis on knowJedge of the cias:sics, memory, and literary talents. Yet certainly in Confucian conceptions of the ritual

nature of government, personal dignity and refinement were highly important,

and the intent of this selection examination may indeed have been to choose those most suitable for holding office_ All the same, it seems likely that men from the old families would fare exceptionally welL Not only were the old families admired for their demeanor and conduct, but the categories used were subjective enough to give scope to group pride or class prejudices. When the examiners were members of the old families or their admirers. Ts'uis could easily have been passed on the grounds that they were outstanding in the categories of character and demeanor. Furthermore, it was recognized that personal connections to the examiners were of use. 89

One of the best descriptions of how such personal factors operated in the

selection system is found in the biography of Ts'ui Yu-fu. As Chief Minister

in. one year he appointed over eight h undred men to office, an action he con­ sidered necessary because his predecessor had chosen only

a

small number of

men with literary talent (probably holders of the chin-shih). Criticized for mainly selecting his own friends and acquaintances, he responded by arguing that he could only judge the character of men he knew personally _ 90 One can­

not help wonder whether he was, in fact, judging the character of eight hun­

dred officials or their class background.

In conSidering the relationship between the continuing political promi­ nence of the old families and the Tang recruitment system. other scholars have generally stressed the protection privilege and success in the examin­ ations,especially the chin-shih. 91 On the basis of the information collected for the Po-ling Ts'uis there appear to be three ways these earlier analyses can be refmed. First, the protection privilege has usually been viewed in an overly narrow way_ It did not involve the direct appointment of young men to office without any test of their qualifications. Rather, they either entered one or the Academies and studied for the examinations or served for a period of years

(often five to eight) in largely ceremonial or clerical posts where their ca­ pacities could be judged. Moreover, it does not seem to have been strictly limited to men whose father or grandfathers held high posts. Second. scholars have perhaps �en too much Significance in the fact that Ts'uis who have biographies in the dynastic histories frequently passed the

chin-shih. This

phenomenon may explain why the Ts'uis continued to provide Chief Ministers,

108

The Aristocratic Families of Early Imperial China

but it does not explain the continuing prominence of the much larger number of Po-ling Ts'uis. More important would appear to be the flexibility of Tang institutions and the adaptability of the Ts'uis. There were numerous ways a

man from an official family with many connections could acquire a post, and the Ts'uis were generally willing to take advantage of all opportunities. For

the very most ambitious men who aspired to the Chief Ministership, passing the chin-shih was essential. But there is no reason to assume that everyone was that ambitious.92 Third, the most important element in the entire system

may have been the selection examination which openly used highly subjective characteristics to distinguish between men.

Advancement and power Once in the bureaucracy, only a small number of Ts'uis ever held high office. Of the 122 men whose final post is given on excavated funerary inscrip­ tions, thirty-two ended their careers as county officials, Magistrates Assistants

(ling), (ch 'eng), Registrars (chu-pu), or Constables (wei). Another twelve

ended in the lowest prefectural posts, as Administrative Aides (ts'tm-chun), and fifteen in other rank seven, eight, or nine posts. In other words, half of

the Ts'uis did not rise above rank seven. As shown in the table below, only thirty-one percent reached rank five or higher.93

In the Northern Dynasties when Ts'uis all started in fank seven, they did not hold posts in the counties. In the Tang they appear to have spent more than half of their careers in these low posts. In the seventh century sometimes Table 9: Ranks of 122 Tang Ts'uis known from excavated funerary

inscriptions3: ====--=-=0..====

Rank

Number of Men

Percentage

2

4

3%

4

15

12%

6

24

20%

8

23

19%

9

3

II

5 7

29 7

9 Total ===..::.:::::;: .=:::=:::::--==�::::::::-=

aSources: Ins. 1-56

---

122

- -_._- --- -

7%

9%

24% 6%

100%

The

Ts 'uis as an old family in the Tang

109

men were in office for twenty years before they received any office above that of Magistrate. After the Rebellion of An Lu-shan men continued to spend long periods in the provinces, but usually as subordinates under the various commissioners. The case of Ts'ui Ssu�ku is not atypical for the early part of the dynasty. Born in 643 of a family settled in Ch'ang-an since the Western

Wei Ssu-ku�s father and grandfather had both been Prefects. His mother was ,

a Princess, the daughter of

a

son of Emperor T'ai-tsung. Apparently Ssu-ku

qualified for office as the son of a Princess, for in 670 at age twenty-eight sui, he received grade (chieh) seven. The office he was given was a low Oije, how­

ever, a rank nine Administrative Aide. In 677 he was promoted to grade six (for which he was then eligible having inherited the noble title of Viscount). At the same time he was given the lowest military decoration (hsiin). The next year he was given a new post as Administrative Aide for Military Affairs

(ssu-ping ts'an-chun) in a different county (rank eight). In 681 he was given

the next highest decoration but no new post. Three years later in 684 he was

promoted slightly in grade and given a central government post of the seventh

rank. This promotion does not seem to have worked out well, however, for

the next year he was again made an Administrative Aide. In 689 he was pro­

moted again slightly in grade and moved to a different prefecture as Adminis­ trative Aide for Population (gsu-hu tg'an-chim).ln 691 he died there, age

forty-nine,

�ith over twenty years service, but still an Administrative Aide.94

Not only did Po-ling Ts'uis often hold low offices, but it was not uncom­ mon for them to serve in the guards or as officers in the garrison (fu-ping) system. Six of the 1 22 Ts'uis ended their careers as Garrison Commanders or

Deputy C ommanders (che-ch 'ung tu-wei and law-; tu-we,), in two cases father

and son both holding such posts.9S

The years Ts'uis spent in routine posts are evidence enough that their many

advantages could not ensure quick promotion or even positions at court. W hile

it is rare to find Ts'uis complaining about the difficulties of acquiring initial posts, a few Ts'uis expressed dissatisfaction with their progress once there.96 Altogether,only thirty-six Ts'uis rose to positions of national importance in

the T'ang or Five Dynasties (as evidenced by biographies in the dynastic his· tories).97

These thirty-six Ts'uis do not seem markedly different from other success­ ful T'ang officials. Most spent some time in the prDvinc es as Prefects, Inspect­

ing Commissioners (lln-ch il shih. tSlli-/ang shih.

kuan-cluz shih) or Regional

Commanders (chieh-tu shih). Of those whose higher posts we re largely in the central government,posts in the Secretariat as Officers and Vice-Presidents

(chung-shu she-jen, shih-Illng) and ill the Department of State as Secretaries

and Presidents of Boards (lang-chung, sluzng-shu) were all common. Four Ts'uis

had considerahle military achievements, two could be called financial experts,

r-

r

r---- -

r--- -

The Aristocratic Families of Early Imperilll China and two served as Hanlin Academicians (Han-lin

110

hsiieh-shih). Of the eleven

who served as Regional Commanders, none were in areas where the Regional Commander was independent of the central government. Were Ts'uis more likely to succeed than other bureaucrats? Since perhaps a thousand Po-ling Ts'uis served as officials in

the Tang, for thirty· six to rise

to positions of national importance is not surprising. Yet it is mOre than one would expect from simple chance: from a rough calculation, Po-ling Ts'uj officials were seven to eight times more likely to achieve political importance or at least be given a biography than the average official. 98 Besides the wealth, connections, and !iaditions that most Ts'uis seem to have shared, the successful Ts'uis had another advantage: eighty percent of them were closely related to each other. Thus, one explanation of the Ts'uis' high level of success is that compared to other officials they were much more likely to have been born the son, grandson, or nephew of an i�portant man. A Ts'ui (and perhaps anyone) with such close relatives had excellent prospects of attaining prominence himself. Altogether there appear to have been eight politically productive lines of Ts'uis in the T'ang.99 (The term line here refers to the situation which occurs when one of the thirty.six politically important men was followed by another among his close relatives, defined as brothers, cousins, their children, and his

own or brothers' grandchildren.) The line which lasted the longest was started by Ts'ui Hsing-kung. He attained prominence in the 670s, his nephew Hsiian· wei in the early 700s, Hsiian-wei's grandson Huan in the 7508 and 7608, Huan's son Tsung in the 780s, and Tsung's grandson Chieh in the 840s and 850sYIO A line which lasted only three generations, but produced several important men started with Kuan and his six brothers. Five of them passed the chin-shih examinations, as did five of their sons and grandsons. In three generations this family produced two Chief Ministers, one Censor-in-chief (yii­

shih

ta-fu), two Regional Commanders, and two Presidents of Boards. As the

historian of the Chiu T'ang shu stated, 'In this Ts'ui family, during the Hsien­

t'ung and Ch'ien-fu periods (860-89), elder and middle brother, son and younger brother, aU wo re official garments. More than twenty of them Served in the Department of State or travelled to strategic areas. Contemporary

opinion placed them first among the leading clans of the period from 847 I01 on: Traditional historians, who also noted that certain families produced emi­ nent men one after the other, stressed family traditions of virtue, character, and 8cholarship.lo2 As discussed above, such views need not be dismissed simply as moral int erpretations of history; a stable family system with strict

traditions of training could very well have produced good bureaucrats. Never­ theless, members of such families also had mundane advantages. The first was

J

The Ts 'uis as an old family in the T'ang

111

connections. Because of the variety of particularistic forces in the bureaucracy, patrons were of use to everyone. In historical sources there are numerous ref­ erences to Ts'uis being recommended to office or receiving appointments as subordinates.lo3 In almost every-biography for a man who rose to prominence after 750 the patronage of one or more Regional Commanders is mentioned.

But while connections were of use to all officials, the more one had the better. And no one would have had more than a young man whose father and uncle were both-powerful men. A second advantage possessed by men in these politically productive lines seems to be the considerable prestige accruing to their ancestry. Merely to be able to say one was a Po.ling Ts'ui was at best a minor advantage after enter­ ing the bureaucracy, but the sons and grandsons of famous officials were treated with special respect. The honor they received is perhaps most evident in appointments as Chief Ministers. As shown in Taole 10 fifteen Ts'uis served

as Chief Minister. Ten of them were the close relatives of other prominent men, and six actuaily from families which had recently produced a Chief

Minister. To serve as a Chief Minister was always an honor and could involve great power in directing the bureaucracy. But to be appointed Chief Minister

did not necessarily put one in Ii position to dominate the government. Indeed several of the Ts'ui Chief Ministers were either in office very briefly or were passive

fIgUres while there. Ts\ti Sun,

the man ·who held this post the longest

(seven years), was known for being narrowminded, cautious,-and never speak­ ing on important matters. His main accomplishment was being the only Chief Minister able to retain his post in the eunuch-dominated court. 104 In the

ninth century Ts'ui Chih and Yuan were appointed Chief Ministers without

having had wide experience, apparently because the prestige of their fathers and grandfathers added legitimacy to the government.

lOS

What did the Ts'uis gain from their service as officials? As individuals, they gained considerable prestige, some income, and often administrative authority. It is true that few Ts'uis held the key positions which led to control over

major policy decisions; the vast majority of the Tsiuis were closer, in modern terms, to functionaries than to politicians. But much of the Significance of the Ts'uis' offj�-holding was not in what they gained as individuals, but what their presence, jn combination with that of many other men from similar fam­ ilies, meant to the overali operation of the government. If one can infer from the Ts'ui case, the old families must have filled a significant share of all

bureaucratic posts, and

men from provincial dite families, sharing

many of

their values and prejudices, mus( have filled many of the remaining posts. The very presence of these men in the bureaucracy at

aU levels must have made it

difficult for measures detrimental to them to be carried out, perhaps even pro­ posed. In small ways, on many occasions, they were in positions to see that

112

The Aristocratic Families of Early Imperial China Table 10: Po-ling Ts'ui ChiefMinisters in the T'ang8

Years Chief Minister

Name 1 Jen-shih b 2 Tun-li

3 Hsiian-wei

Reigning

emperor

2

T'ai-tsung

653-6

33

704-5

12

Kao-t sun g

648 b

Months in office

Empress Wu.

Chung-tsung 27

Chung-tBung,

4 Shihc

709,710,711-13

5 Jih-yung

710

6 Hu anc b 7 Yu-fu

756-7

13

Su-tsung

779-80

13

8 Tsao

786

12

Te-t sung

9 Sun

796-803

85

820-2

19

840--3

34

843-5,50-5

77

lui-tsung

10 Chihc

11 Kung

b

12 Hsiian

Jui-tsung

Te-tsung

T e-t sung

Mu-tsung

Wu-tsung Wu-tsung, Hsiian-tsung

13 Yiian-shihc

847-8

14 Haugc

878-80

32

15 Yiianc

896-900, 904-5

15

II

Hsiian':'tsung Hsi-tsu n g

Shao-tsung, Shao-hsiian-ti

aSources: biographies listed in IU,

Appendix, pp. 43-121.

D.

97 and Chou Tao-chi, Han-T'ang tSia-hsiang chill­

bThe son, grandson, nephew. or grandnephew of a politically prominent man.

cThe son, ,grandson, nephew. or grandnephew of a former Chief Minister.

the good things in life went to people like themselves. They could ensure that

the next generation of men from respected, established families were

given

the same opportunities they had received, and as a consequence, the social and political position of their group perpetuated.

Final disappearance

The T'ang system, with the prominent role of the old families within it,

did not last forever. Once the T'ang dynasty had begun its final decline and

the men with real influence were military ftgures, Po-ling Ts'uis were no

longer found near the center of power. Until the end of the T'ang and through the Five Dynasties, the Ts'uis produced chin-shih and officials, but historical

sources pay less and less attention to them. Since, generally speaking. more

The Ts'uis as tm old family

in the

T'ang

113

documents survive from later periods than earlier ones, it is striking that there is so little reference to Po-ling Ts'uis afterabout 940. To a certain extent this

situation must be due to historiographical factors: men had ceased to prefix Po-ling to their names or those prefIXes were omitted by later editors. But historiographical problems do not explain why men named Ts'ui ceased to hold important places in society. The T'ang histories have biographies for eighty-three men surnamed Ts'ui; the Sung history contains biographies for only fourteen such men and the Ming history only twelve. Furthermore,

those later Ts'uis seldom claim descent from the Po-ling Ts'uis, even in funer­ ary writings.106

Scholars have generally viewed the disappearance of the old aristocratic families as a part of the fundamental changes in society. culture, a n d econ­

omic organization that mark the transition from the T'ang to the S ung. Study of the Ts'ws provides no insight into the impact of economic change. The

growth of urbanization and commerce may have weakened the landholding class in general, but there is no reason why they would have singled out the old families. Many if not most of the Ts'uis were wealthy, but their resources seem no different than those of other officials. Changes in social and cultural values, however, mu&t have been a major

threat to the Ts'uis' position. Throughout this chapter the strengths of the old families have been emp hasized. Yet their weaknesses have also been implicit. The prestige of their way of life could not be maintained Without constant attention. To be of value, their ethos had to remain both distinctive and ad­ mired. A status group can best maintain a distinct subculture when social dis­ tance separates its members from outsiders; this the old families accomplished in the T'ang through exclusive marriage practices. Yet this distance must have

become less and less practicable as members of the old families spent much of their official careers serving under men of lesser birth.10? Moreover, no matter

how well the old familieS maintained their subculture, they could not prevent

general cultural change. In the Tang a literary renaissance was placing increas­ ing emphasis on individual cr�ativity, and the extension of bureaucratic methods of government was giving increasing prestige to strictly political accomplishments. Thus, the old families had to try to maintain a very delicate balance. If they fully adopted current attitudes and mores, there would

be

no

way to distinguish them from other T'ang bureaucrats; on the other hand, if they refused to change any aspect of their way of life and values, they would soon be viewed as eccentric and old-fashioned.

lOS

Another weakness in the position of the old families involved their loss o f

the capacity t o adapt t o new situations. I n earlier periods, when their resources were more diversified, they had responded to most political and economic challenges, retreating to their home base or producing generals or scholars as

,

------

-

r-

The Aristocratic Families 0/ Early Imperial China

114

circumstances warranted.In the T'ang they had so fully devoted themselves to excelling as bureaucrats that their fate seems to have been tied to the orderly operation of the bureaucracy and its recruitment system. As a conse­ quence, when the bureaucracy collapsed in the late ninth century, the neW leaders Came from other strata of society. Finally, the old families may not have even recognized the dangers to their position. As a status group they had advantages, not legal privileges or mon­ opolies, and their advantages were neither fully perceived nor considered legit­ imate. They no doubt believed that since they worked within the same rules as everyone else, the only reason they did better was their superiority. If the new warlords did not select them, the old families could not complain; they no longer asserted that the rulers had to choose men of good lineage. Some of these weaknesses were cumulative; the position of the old families simply suffered through the passage of time asother groups became better able to compete. Other weak points had to d-o with the ability of the old fam­ ilies to survive crises. From scattered references to Ts'uis in the late ninth and tenth centuries, it appears that as these two kinds of flaws converged the old families' poSition became untenable. In this period a number of Ts'uis attempted to preserve values and ways of life generally abandoned, but they were quixotic figures, doomed to failure. Ts'ui Yung, one of eight brothers to pass the chin-shih and a cultivated man who collected paintings, was given a death sentence for failing to put down an uprising in the late 86Os. 'fs'ui I held office from at least the 880s and 90ntinued to serve the next two dyn­ asties, living into his seventies. He was known largely for a brave protest against abuse of the criminal code by powerful men. Ts'ui Chii-chien was able to maintain the family's ritual traditions but was not clever at making a living, and died in poverty at the age of seventy. Ts'ui I-sun, by contrast, was not at all poor but had a splendid estate in modern Hupei. Aftef , serving in a series of respected court posts he retired to lead a self·sufficient life there amidst the natural beauty of lush forests. Later in the 920s he again took up a post but ended up being banished. Perhaps because he was already an old man, his three sons did not expect him to return and immediately started fighting over the estate. 109 Thus while his family was able to maintain its wealth it had difficulties maintaining the tradition of filial piety. The last Po-ling Ts'ui given a biography in the dynastic histories was Cho. His career poignantly illustrated how useless the old families' refinement had become. Although well educated, as a young man he avoided office because of the disorders of the end of the T'ang, staying in his native city where he was something of a recluse. Cho was known for his f!.lial piety and refined behavior; he even used polite f{)fms in giving directions to servants. Finally in 917 he took the chin-shih examination and acquired a post. His major ac-

The

Ts 'uis as an old fami1y in the T'ang

1 15

complishment was to revive coilrt dances in 943. Since-the COurt musicians

and dancers had dispersed in the disorders of the end of the T'ang, arid no one could be found who knew the old traditions, Cho had to train all of these

people himself. While the dances were very much admired when first per­ formed, Cho's efforts had no permanent effects. When he died the next year the dances were abandoned, and in 947 people grieved to see the musicians he had trained playing to welcome the conquering Khitan.11o One can ea.sily imagine that Ts'ui I, CM-chien, and Cho condemned the usurpation of rule by uncultivated men, yet there was little they could do but

try quietly to preserve the old values and traditions. The old families had long

ago ceased to control the social, economic or political life of the country. They could not prevent their obsolescence any longer.

o

o

6 IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS

This book has eXamined the basic characteristics of the group of people called Po-ling Ts'uis over a period of a thousand years. Its major goal bas been to delineate as concretely as possible one of the aristocratic families in order to place study of these families on a more empirical basis. Most of the obser­ vations in the preceding three chapters refer specifically to the Ts'uis. Yet the

Ts'uis' experiences bear on many aspects of the social system of the time, and

of

what has been learned about them has implications for our understanding aristocracy in early imperial China.

The most basic lesson learned from the Ts'uis is that the constancy of the terms used to describe the aristocratic families belies considerable and almost constant change. This is particularly true in the case of their nature as kinship units. The same terms for kin groups, tsung, mlng, tsu, shih, were used in all periods. Yet the reality behind these terms, and behind the term 'the Po-ling Ts'uis', varied greatly; in the Han the Ts'uis were a loose grouping of local kin, in the late Northern Wei a closely defined aristoclatic lineage, in the T'ang a scatteredgroup of high status families of common patrilineal descenL Thus, for the pre-Sung period, scholars should avoid making sociological inferences from these actually very loose terms, perhaps readjng them as 'kin' rather than clan or lineage. To analyze the structure of these families, eviden�e of size, location, and organization must be sought. Recognition of the extent of the changes the Ts'uis underwent also bas implications for the interpretative debates about the nature of the aristocratic families. As mentioned in Chapter One, some scholars have seen the aristo­ cratic families as essentially similar to the gentry or upper class of other

periods. Although they recognize that the great families of the Northern and

Southern dynasties were stronger than the upper-class families of the Han. Ihey see this as a result of the courts being weaker; the aristocratic families' status still depended on private matters such as landed property and style of life. Other scholars have seen the aristocratic families as dependent on the

government because of the nature of social status in imperial China. To rank 1S men of high status, members of the aristocratic families bad to be able to

116

11 7

Implications and conclusions

gain respectable offices, making them dependent on favorable treatment by any groups or individuals who controlled the court. From this standpoint the nine·rank system was crucial; only by institutionalizing the privileges of access to office could the great families attain any degree of independence from the state. On the basis of what is known of the Ts'uis, one could argue for either view, selecting evidence from different time-periods. For instance, to argue that the aristocratic families were essentially gentry, not dependent on the favor of the rulers, one could point to the fact that from 310 to 450, despite very little contact with organized central governments, the Ts'ui family man·

aged to survive with its prestige and local influence intact. To argue that the aristocratic families were dependent on the privilege of access to office, one could note that from the Northern Wei on, having tasted the prestige and Influence of high office, the Ts'uis made great efforts to continue to hold office, bowing to whatever new demands were placed on them by the court.

A more reasonable inference from study of the TS'uis, however, is that the

relationship between the state and the aristocratic families changed over time because it resulted from the interaction of

a

number of different unstable

forces. That is, not only did the structure and power of the various dynasties change, but so did each of the eminent families. In their 'youth' in the Han, the Ts'uis possessed diversified assets such as landholdings and education which gave them local independence and made it possible (but not necessary) to hold office. From the Han through the Chin they were never very closely

associated with the rulers and never the recipients of royal largess. Although they could survive without the aid of the government, their rise to the highest levels of national status depended on a ctive participation in and recognition by the central government, the source of the highest honors. From the late Northern Wei on the Ts'uis overwhelmingly chose to spend their time in bureaucratic service, a course of action which brought them considerable glory and power, but which in the process seems to have limited the possibility of their maintaining an autonomous local base. Not only did political activi­

ties divert them from kinship concerns, but as the reach of the central govern­

ment was extended, it would have required more and more effort to retain

local power. Depending more on office-holding for their status, their position was significantly affected by the attitudes of the groups controlling the throne and the honors it could bestow. Although the Ts'ui family was not destroyed by the change in the policies of the rulers and loss of earlier privileges, still its character was altered. In the late sixth and early seventh cen tury some seg· ments

of the family

seem to have disappeared from prominence, others

moved closer to La·yang and Ch'ang-an and accepted the need to concentrate on classical studies in preparation for official careers. Through

r---

r-----

r---

ihe T'ang, de-

118

The Aristocratic Families of Early Imperial China

spite pretensions of social and cultural superiority, the Ts'uis continued to do whatever was necessary to gain office, !lven if in fact the demands were not onerous. At the same time, however, another manifestation of the 'aging' of

the Ts'uis as an aristocratic family was the gradual increase in their prestige to the point where prestige itself was a major negotiable asset, independent of governmental control. In the T'ang by forming an exclusive community with other old families of high prestige they were able to challenge the validity of

the Ts'uis' ' status was largely independent of the government; but they were not yet an

office-holding as the primary measure of status. Thus, in the Han,

aristocratic family. In later centuries their aristocratic status alwaYl depended to some extent on holdmg office, but through clutnging means such

as local

power, the nine-rank system, the prestige of pedigree, and social exclusiveness, they were able to avoid subordination to the state. A secOnd lesson learned by documenting tbe Ts'uis is that both complaints of the power of the aristocratic families and boasts of their own eminence must be .Imerpreted m a specificaUv Chinese context. The Ts'uis and other

anstocratic families had exceptionally secure prestige and power in compari­ ' son to elite groups in other periods or Chinese history. yet they never gained

a cultural, political, or economic base as sound as the most aristocratic groups in European or Japanese history. Although the Po-ling Ts'uis were one of the most famous families ofthe Northern Dynasties and the Tang, one truly

impre�sive in the length of its history, their power and glory at any one time

never seems fully commensurate with their reputation. Scholars of I'ang his­ tory. accustomed to references to the prestige and pride of the old families, often have assumed that to merit such long-lasting reputations these families must have possessed unchallengeable power in the Northern Dynasties. Yet as shown in Chapter Four, in the Northern Dynasties the position of the Ts'uis

was circumscribed; they could neither establish themselves as de facto rulers of mid-Hopei, nor demand their way at court. Why did the Ts'uis not gain greater power? Viewing the pursuit of prestige and power from their standpoint, two obstacles stand out. F irst, the ruling

houses in the North were alien. Second, despite the extensive damage inflicted on the social and political order, Han values, ideals, and institutions were never totally discredited. Thus, families like the Ts'uis who were at the top of provincial society aspired toward association with the court. Yet taking office inevitably drew them into a system of reward and advancement at least partly at odds with ascriptive status. Moreover, the I'o-pa and later the Kao, Yu­ wen, and Yang families kept a tight control over the most powerful govern­ ment positions, reserving them for their own close allies, including especially leading Hsien·pei clansmen or later victorious generals of garrison origin.

Implications and conclusions

119

Under these dynasties control of the court by the Chinese aristocratic families was an illusory goal. Other old ideals also placed limits on the Ts'uis aggrandizement. The fam­ ily and community man idealized by the later Han Confucians partially countered the centripetal pull of the court. Yet the emphas is on fraternal

solidarity and the extended family made preservation of estates through

primogeniture impossible. Men were supposed to yield their property selflessly to their kinsmen, taking the smallest share for themselves, by no means trying

to get more, than thei� brothers or cousins. These values also acted against reviving the ancient/eng-chien system of hereditary enfeoffed lords whose titles could be passed only to the first legitimate son. In Han Confucianism men could not look down on an uncle or elder cousin because he did not have a title_ Another ideal frequently evoked was that of the shih-ta-fu, the cultured gentleman -official, In the Southern Dynasties the aristocrats considered-them­ selves the

shih, giving the term exclusive and hereditary connotations which

the Northern aristocrats continued to make use of in the Sui andT'ang. Yet

shih remained an ambiguous term; it refened to the highest social stratum, but how narrow a l>tratum was open to changing perceptions. Unlessthp. aristocrats could prevent others from imitating their ways. reference to their cultural excellence was an inadequate source" of leg itimacy. Others could also

claim to be

shih.

The resulting awkwardness of the aristocrats' posture is fully evident in the

case of the Ts'uis. For a while, in the Northern Dynasties, the Ts'uis tried to balance ascriptive and achieved status, to maintain the honor of their birth and the respect with which it was held, but also to occupy pOsition,s in the

bureaucracy,"even when those positions entailed personal subordination.

They tried to minister to the needs of family and communitv. on which much of their private wealth and power resteo, without rejecting the pull of the court ranking system which placed individual status and achievement first. As the bureaucratic aspects of the government Were str engthellt:d in the Sui and

T'ang these contradictions beCame acnte. The Ts'uis soon abandoned atten­

tion to community and kin solidarity and overt glorification of birth. Yet in

the T'ang the Ts'uis, individually at least, seem to have fared nearly as wen as

In th� Northern Dynasties. Perhaps an established social-bureaucratic elite,

entrenched through its hold on prestige, wealth, education, connections, worked better

within the Chinese

cultural pattern than a more legally defmed

elite. That is, an old aristocracy, not competing for power, could coexist with Confucian and imperial ideals in a way that and aloof, never could.

an

aristocr acy . legally independent

o

o

NOTES TO T H E TEXT

Full annotations for works cited in the notes are found in the Bibliography. The follow­ ing abbreviations are used in the notes: CHHW

Ch 'wlfl Hou-Han wen

CIS

Chiu Tang shu

C1W CWTS

Ch 'tian T'ang wen Chiu Wu-tai shih

HHS

Hou-Han shu

HS HTS

Han shu

HWTS

Hsin Wu-ta; shih

Hsin Tang shu

Ins. I , 2. 3, etc.

Inscriptions

PCS PS

Pei-Ch 'i shu

SKC

San-kuo chih

TCIC

Tzu-chill t 'ung-chien

Pei shih

TPKC

T'ai-p 'ing kuang-chi

WS

Wei sh.u

I

1 . 2, 3, as listed in the Bibliography_

Notes to Chapter 1 There is no widely accepted description of Chinese social structure for the pre­ Sung period. I have used the term 'upper class' because the descriptions or dell­ Ilitions given by sociologists such as Ossowski, Lenski, and SjlJiberg of

premodern

upper classes seem to apply well to Han to T'ang China. Rather than give priority to one factor or view stratification as a continuum. or present a multivariate model with

various elements conceived of as independent, they stress the compre­

hensive nature of the distinctions between upper and lower classes. Sj;berg. for instance, notes that upper classes have large families and knowledge of ancestry, nOli-manual occupations, literacy ,-wealth, political influence, and accept standard societal norms. Ossowski stressed social distance as an objective sign of class

The Pre-lndustriill City, pp. 108-44; Stanislaw Clasr Structure in the SociDi Consciousness. pp_ 1 3 242; Gerhard E. Lenski, Power and Privilege: A Theory of Socilll Stratification, pp. 1 89-296). In other words, I am not using class in a strictly economic sense as many Chinese and cleavage. (See Gideon S�rg,

Ossowski.

Japanese scholars do, nOr am I putting emphasis predominately on relationships

Balazs. {See Karl A. A Comparative Study of To/al Power, pp. 3 01 -

to the government, as do Wittfogel. T'ung-tsu Ch'U, and Wittfogel, Oriental Despctism:

24; Etierme BaJa7-s, Chinese Civilization and Bureaucracy, pp. 6 -2 1 ; rung-tsu

Ch'u, Law and Society in Traditiol1lJI China, pp.

pp. 63- 1 59.}

1 28-85, Han Social Structure, 120

r

.:.1

.j

Notes to pp. 2 3 4 5 6

1-6

121

On the ruling class of late imperial China see especially Ping-ti Ho, The Ladder of Success in Imperial China. Chao I, Nlen-erh shih cho-chi, 8, pp. 1 00-2. Naito Konan zenshil, X, 'Shina chuko no bunka" pp. 286 - 9 1 , 3 14 -2 3. . Naito Konan zenshu, X, 'Shina kinseishi', pp. 360-8. His first article, published in 1922, was ' Kyilhin chilsei ko'. His major articles

writt!!n in the 1 9205 were collected in Na mboku chO ni okeru shaka; ke;zai seido

( 1 935). 7 8

Yang YOn-ju, Chill-p 'in chung·cheng yu liu-ch 'ao men-ii (\ 930). for instance,

see Wu Hsien-ch'ing, 'Wei-Chin shih-chi she-hui ching-<:hi ti i:h uan;

pieD' ( 1 935); T'ao Hsi-sheng and Wu Hsien-{;b'ing, Nan-pei-ch 'ao ching-chi shih ( 1 937); Ku Chi-kuang, 'Uu-ch'a.o men-fa' ( 1 936). 9 10

11

Ku Ch i-kuang, 'Men-fa', p. 873.

Yang Lien-sheng, 'Tung-Han I i hao-tsu' ( 1 936). Ch'en Yin-k'o developed his inter­ pre tat ion s of T'ang politiCS in articles in the 19308 but provided a mo re coherent

analysis in h is Tang-tai cheng·chih shih shu-lun kao ( 1 944). Chin Fa-ken, Yung-chill luan-hou pei·fang ti h(J()..tsu; rang Chang-ju, Wei-Chin

Nan-pei-ch 'QQ shill-lun

ts'ung, pp. 3 - 29; Wei-Olin Nan�pei-cfi 'ao shih-tun ts 'ung

hsli-pien, pp. 93- 1 23, 'Men-fa ti hsing-ch'eng chi ch'i shui-Io' ; Ho Ch'ang-chiin,

Han-Tang chien feng-chien t 'u·ti so,yu-ch ih hsing-shih yen-chiu, pp. 1 66-21 1 ;

Kawa ka tsu Yoshio, 'Kanmatsu no rejisutansu undo' , 'Kizokusei shakai to Son B u seiken no konan',

Sud'.

'Le decadence de l'aristocratie chinoise sous les Dynasties du

12

Yen Keng-wa ng, Olung-kuo ri·fang hsing-chengchih·tu shih, Part two, vols 1 and

13

On the chun-t 'iell system see Denis TWitchett,

2.

14

15

Financial Administration in the Tang, pp. 1 -23, or Hori Toshikazu, 'IGndensei to soyocho no tankai'. On the fu-ping system see Ku Chi-kuang, Fu-ping chih-IU k'ao-sllih or Hamaguchi Shigekuni, Shin-Kan-Zui- Tbshi no kenkyu, I, 3 - 8 3 . Miyakawa Hisayuki, RikuchOshi kenkyil: Seiji shakai hen, pp. 26 3-3 38; Miyazaki Icllisada, Kyuhin kat/finllo no kenkyil . Others incl ude Yang Yiln-ju, Chiu-p 'in chung-cheng; Ochi Shigeaki, 'Kyilhin kanjinoo no seitei to kizokusei no shut su­ gen'; Donald Ho lzman , 'Les Debuts du Sy st� me Medieval de Choix e t de Classe­ ment des FonctionnaiIes: Les Neuf Categories et I'Impartial et Juste'. On th e proportion o f officials given biographies in the dynastic histories from

prominent families. see Mao Han-kuang.

Liang-Chin Nlin-pei-ch 'ao shih-tsu Cheng­ chih chih yell-eMu. It is of course q u it e possible. since only a small propor t ion of

o fficials were given biographies, that ar istocrats are greatly over represented. David

G. Joh nson, The Medieval Chinese Oligarchy, ch. 7, reanalyzes Mao's data

with his own delmition of great clan, showing sometimes even higher proportions

his approach is t he assum ption . that a family .prominent enough in the rang to be OR a clan list sho u ld be of officials from great clans. One problem with

counted as a great clan two or three centuries earlier, even when they were

described as kall-men at the time. For scholars who stress the political power of

non-aristocrats. see rang Chang-ju, Hsti-pien, pp. 93� 1 23 : Miyakawa. Selfi

shaktzi hen, pp. 3 3 9-98. 16

See Ochi Shigeaki, 'TO-Shin NanchO no zokumonsei n i tsu ite', which develops more funy ideas he introduced in eartier articles.

ch, 3, 4, 5.

17

Johnson, Medieval.oligarchy ,

18

See, for instance, Ikeda On, 'T'ang Household Registers

19

See, for instanl.'e, the studies by Nunome ChOfu,

and Related Documents'. Zui- Toshi kenkyu, esp. pp. 1 5 3-

97, 3 1 4 -67; Howard Wechsler, 'Factionalism in Early T'ang Government';

Michael Dalby, 'The Mid-Ninth Cen tury Court' .

,----

122

Notes to pp. 7- 1 1 20

21

Niida Noboru, ChiJgoku hOseishi kenkyil: /)Orei, nOdohO, kazoku. sonrakuhO. pp.

600-60: Takeda Ryiiji, 'logan shizokushi no hensan ni kansuTu ichi kbsatsu'; Ikeda On, 'TochO shizokushi no icbi kosatsu' ; Denis Twitchett, 'The Composition of the T'ang Ruling Class: New Evidence from Tunhuang'; Johnson, Medieval Oligarchy, ch. 5. These views are not always explicitly expressed, but can often be seen In the ap­ proaches scholars take. Scholars who stress the local power of the aristocratic

(amiliesare perhaps best typjJJed by T'ang Chang-ju, Kawaicatsu Yoshio (see

'above .

n. 1 1 ) and Wolfram Eberhard (Dos Toba·Reich Nordchinas), access to

�

office by David J ohnson (Medieval Olil{archy) and Ochi S hig ki (above, n . .14 and 1 5). and the d.ependence of the aristocrats on the rulers, Yano Chikara (see below. n. 23). '

22

On the Roman patricians, see Ramsay MacMu�en, Ranum Social Relations, pp.

88:-1 20 ; on European aristocr!ltic officials see Albert Goodwin, ed. The f:uropean

Nobility in the Eighteenth Century; Lawrence Stone, The Crisis of the Aristocracy: 1 558- 1 641 ; Hans Rosenberg, Bureaucracy, Aristocracy llnd Autocracy: The Prussian Experience, /660 - / 81S;}4arc Rae(f, Origins of the Russian Intelligentsia: The Eighteenth.Ceniury Nobility, esp. pp. 14- 1 2 1 ; on the Fujiwllra, see John

23

Whitney Hall, Govemment and U>t;Ill Power in Japan. 500-1 700, pp. 1 16 -28.

The only book-length case study is one of the. T'ai-yilan Wang family by Moriya MitsuQ, RikuchO mombatsu no ichi kenkyfl, which not only examines the,genealogy of tbe Wangs but also analyzes biographical intormation relating to their econ- . ' ornic, cultural, and political position. Yano Chikara has written articles- on the P'ei, Wei, Chang, and Cheng familieJ: describing their genealogies- and trying to explain why each lineage or branch within them flourished when it did. paying

, particular attention to their relations with tile government. See his articles il! Shaka; kaxak# ronS(}: 'SMshi kenKYu ko', 'Teishi kenkyit', 'Ishi kenkyu', 'Haishi 1cenkyii'. In addition. Takeda Ryitjl has studied the Hus-yin-Yang&, 'Mombatsu to

shite Kilno y()shi ni tsuite' , Niwa Taiko has studied the Ying-ch'ilan H$lin family, 'Gi-Shin jjdai na meizoku - Shunshi no hitobito .ni tsuite', and Mao Han-kuang has studied the Lang�yeh Wangs, ,'Wo-kuo chung-ku ta-shib-tsu chih ko-an yenchiu - Lang-yeb Wang-shih'. Mao's article is unusual in that he used funerary

inscriptions from the Acadernica Sinica, Taiwan, and attempted to find quantifi­

24 25

able explanations for the Wangs' prominence. Miyazaki, Kyflh(n lean/mhO, esp. pp. 105,.,24, 208-17: T'ang Chang-ju, 'Men-fa Ii hsing-ch'eng' ; Ch'en Yin-k'o, Cheng·chih shih, pp, 53-70.

.

For instance, Mao Han-kuang, Liang·Chin Nan-pei-ch 'ao shih·tm cheng·chih chih

yen·chiu, pp. 1 - 8 stateS that .27 different terms are largely interchangeable and

calls.all the families described by the term fhih·t� (though he dOeJ recognize dif­

ferences in size within this stratum). By contrast, most Japanese, like Miyazaki

(Kyiihin kolJ/inhO, pp. 536-44 and passim) dilltingu!&h powerfU!gOzoku . locally . from kizoku prominent at a national levet.

26

Tl;lere does not appear to be any widely accepted definition of aristocracy. For two scholars who use it in ways similar to those u$ed here, � Suzanne .ICeUer,

Beyond the Ruling Cklss, .pp. 30-,- 1 , and R.R. Palmer, The Age of tl,e Democratic

27

28 29

Revolution. pp. 29-30.

See TWitchett, 'Ruling Class', esp. pp. 76-83; Johnson, Medieval Oligarchy, esp. ch. 1.

Mao Han-tuang, Shih·(.fu cheng·chih, pp, 1 6-36, (.'Ompiled such a list,

HTS 1 99/1 8b-I 9a. Although Liu Fang 8p9ke of the Wangs and the Hsiehs. the common practice of the time was to identify each family by the name of the

commandery (chtin) in which it originated. Thus, the T'ai-yilan Wangs and Lang­

yeh Wang s were two distinct families. and Liu Fang's twenty-six surnames prob-

Notes to pp. 1 1 -13

30

31

32

33

34

1 23

ably referred to at least twenty-nine families; in additiOn to the two Wang families there were two TS'ui families {the Ch'ing-ho and Po-iing) and two Li families (the Chao-chlin and Lung-hm). For instance, Liu Chih-chi on p:94 cif his Shih·('ung (written in 7 1 0 ) states that even men who had changed their name to Li to avoid imperial taboos aU wrote down Lung�hsi or Chao-chtin for their native place, not to mention those who really were Lil. See the prefaces t o the 'g'enealogical tables i n the HTS. Foiinstance, P S 33/8b, crw"409/9a, and many inscriptions, including Ins. 9, 34, 0 ' 43, 55; 67, aDd 70. For instance, the Ch'ing-ho Ts'uis and several other families had branches wbich left their native areas for extended periods (HTS 72C/33a). The Ho-tlirig"Liu genealogy (HTS 73Alla-b) includes fourteen blanks after the Han, and the T'aj.. yUan Wling nlnet�n blanks (HTS 728/14a). The genealogy of the Ho�tung Hstieh (HTS 7 3B/Wa ":21a) traces the family back to men whO did not live in Ho-tung anQ are not stated to be related in their biographies (HS 7 l /4b, HHS 79B/3b). Neither WS 42/la nor WS 61/1a list any HsUeh ancestors before the Chin. The Chao�chtin Li genealogy (HTS 72A/26b) traces th�ir descimt fiom a man in the Later Han who did not live in the Chao-chiin area (HHS 67/7a) and neither WS 36/1a nor PS 33/35b provides any evidence tt> support the idea that they were related. The Hua:yin Yarig genealogy (HTS 71 8/35a) gives an absurdlY' high figure for the number of generations between men in the Later Han and Northern Wei. These discrepancies are not all of equal importance, and in only a couple of cases would one consider totany rejecting the genealogy: But it is also true thai the Po·ling Ts'ui genealogy gains in value from the comparison. Approximately three hundred Po-iing Ts'uis have biographies in these histories or are described at least bziefiy in the biographies of relatives. These biographies are not entirely without historiographical difficulties. Unless contradicted elsewhere, the factual information in them may be readily accepted. The more difficult ques­ tion is how to evaluate lack of information. When a person does not have a biogra­ phy, does that mean he was not important? Are periods in which numerous Ts'uis had biographies the periods when they had the most political influence? Were it a question of a single dynastic history which had been carefuUy "edited; it would b e possible to make these assumptIons, b u tunfortunately the dynastic hIstories which survive are of very uneven quality and differing format. For instance, two histories' crucial to this study,are those for the Northern Werand the Northern Ch'i. Many of the PCS biOgr.aphies have been lOst and others survive only in recon­ strtided form, the original liaving disappeared in the Northern Sung. (Chao I, Kao· yiltS'uhg-kao, 7, pp. 140-2.) To decide who were the politically important Ts'uis, it was not possible simply to cheek who had biographies; other Ts'uis mentioned in the basic annals or biographies of leading men had to be considered. The biogra­ phies in the WS, by contrast, survive almost as they were written (Kai-yU (s'ufIg­ tao, 7; pp. 135-40.5 In tnem are the naines oinearly one hundred Po-ling Ts'uis. These men did not necessarily have political importance in the bureaucracy; some are listed as having died )'Q"ng or even as having 'good looks, but no other Wents' (WS 57{1 6a). HoweVer, titey had general social and political imPortance as mein­ b�s of an aiistoc�atic family. ThUs, WS provides an e�ceUenl sUrvey of the OlrelaU political po!litiOn of the, Ts'uis in the NOlther� Wei. But judgroent of the changes in the political influence of the Ts'uis from the Northern Wei to the Ch'i or Chou Cannot be based on simple quantitative comparison of their treatment in the dynastic histoiies; more comple� evaluations are neces safy. And, of COIlfse, the dynastic histories provide more information on politics thaI) on any other aspect of life. It would be an even greater mistake to conclude that land ownership had

Notes to pp. 1 3 - 1 6

124

declined because in one h i story it was mentioned twice and in a la ter one not at all. 3S

Approximately eighty inscriptions were used i n this study, well over ha lf written for people who would not otherwIse be known., often women. A quarter of these inscriptions were preserved in the collections of men of le t ter s and tended to be written for the close relatives of important men. The remaining inscriptions, which have been preserved because the or ig inal carved stone was found and (..'Opied, are, however, of even greater value. They provide an excellent sample of the people who called themselves Po-ling Ts'uis in the T'ang. The major problem with inscriptions is that they are not easy to use. Published transcIiptions often contain lacunae because of the poor oondition of the original stone, t hough at least they have been neatly copied in a standard calligraphy and sometimes com­ ments have been added by the compiler. With rubbings, however, not only does

one have to worry about the deterioration of the stone, but idiosyncracies of

handwriting and alternate forms of characters make the basic task of classification

and analysis time-consuming. 36

The uses and limitations of these tables are discussed in detail in Appendix I.

37

'Ho-pei P'ing-shan Pei-ch'i Ts'ui Ang mu tiao-clt'a pao-bo'.

Notes to Chapter 2

2

On these families see Lao Kan. ' Han-Iai Ii hao-chieh chi ch'j cheng-chih-shang ti kuan-lIsi', Masubuchi Tatsuo, Chftgoku kodlli s}laklli to kokka, pp . 77 -94: Yang Lien-sheng, 'Tung-Han ti hao-tsu'; Utsunomiya Kiyoyoslti, Kand4i shako; keizaishi kenkyii, pp. 405-72: Ch' i.i, Han Social Structure, pp. 63- 1 59; Goi Naohiro, 'Ko-Kan ocho to gozoku'; Tada Kensuke. ' Kandai no gozoku'. For an interesting discussion o(the kinship organization of the powerful families, with attention 10 how it can be seen as remnants of primitive, kinship-based society, see Ho Clt'ang-chiin, Tu-,; so-yu-chih, pp. 1 81-7. The term clan is used here fQUowing the distinction Mortoll Fried made between different types of

patrilineal kinship groups. He defines lineages as unilineal descent gro ups based on

demonstrated descent. In his usage clans are more inclusive groups which try to

attract as large a membership as possible, rationalizing their genealogy if necessary.

(See 'Clans and Lintlllges: How to TeU Them Apart and Why - with Special Ref­ erence to Chinese Society', esp. pp. 26- 34.) As far as one can determine from the limited references in the.histories, the powerful families in the Han acted as the

leaders of all their local kinsmen ; there is never any suggestion that anyone was

excluded because his relationship was questionable. Since the purpose of tbese kinship groups see ms to have been local power, the more members they could

incorporate the better it would have been for their PJUpose. 3

For instance, the 'harsh officials' chapter of the HHS describes officials who tried

to suppress the local

po werful families, often mentioning them by name.

Many o f

t h e powerful families listed, such a& the Kilng-sun of Pei-hai, t he Ma-shih o f Ho­

tung, the Hsia of Pei,hai, the P'eng of Ch'en-kuo, had no members who received

biographies elsewhere in tbe HHS. The HHS generally attributes their power to

wealth and large numbers{)f dependents. (HHS 77/2a, 3b, 4b, 7a.) In addition,

the biographies of important officials often say that the family had been locally important for generat ions, or, as in tite case of Wang VUn, that his family for gen­ 4 5

erations had held low posts in their commandery and province (HHS 66/103). See Kamada Shigeo, Shjn-Kan sei/i seido no kenkyu, pp. 5 1 1 - 1 6.

For instance, when Later Han men like Wang Fu, Ts'ui Shih, and Chung-ch'ang

T'ung discussed differences in power and rank, t hey used vague terms like superior

I [

�

r -

r---

I

r

Notes to pp. 16- 22

1 25

and inferior, honored and humble, rich and poor. See Balazs, Chinese

6 7

8

9 10 11

12 13 14

15 16 I7 18

19

20

21 22 23

CivOization

and Bureaucracy, pp. 1 8 7 - 225 . On the importance of ties between officials and their 'former subordinates', see

Kamada, SeiJ)' seido, 45 0 -69, O� the grnwth of large estates see Gal, 'Ko-K an o{:M to gozoku', pp. 430-2; Kawakatsu, 'Rejisutansu undo" pp. 29-34; Miyazaki Jchisada, Dai- T6 Ieikaku, pp. 28-38. On the decline of the central government, see Masub uchi, Shakai to Irokka, pp. 49-64; Tada Kensuke, 'Ko-Kan koki no seikyo ku 0 megutte', On the defense efforts of the local fa milies see P'ang Sheng-wei, 'Lun San-kuo shih-tai chih ta-tsu'.

On the 'pures' see Yang Lien-sheng, 'Tung-Han Ii hao-tsu" pp. \ 047-63; Kawa­ katsu, ' Rejisutansu undO', pp. 23 - 3 6 ; Hou Wai-Iu, Chung·kuo ssu·hsi(lng ( 'lIng­ shih, 11, 3 1 7-41 1 ; Chi-yun Chen, Hsun Yueh (A.D. 148- 209): The Ufe and Reflections of an Early Medieval Confucian, pp. 1 0 - 39. HHS 24 / 1 a, 60A! l a- 1 4b, 23/l a - 1 8a, 34/la - 1 6b . HHS 45/1a-8b, 74A/la-20b, 74BJla-7b; 7 5/5b- 9b, 54/la-22b. The most detailed narrative history of the period of d ivision from the faU of the Han to lhe founding of the T'ang is stUI Oka zak i Fumio, Gi·Shin NamhokuchO tmshi. Other useful general histories include Fan Wen-ian, Chung·kuG t'ung·shih chien'-pien ; Wang Chung-la, Wei-Chin Nan·pei-ch 'QO Sui ch 'u· Tang shih; Kawaka t su Yosbio, Gi·Shin NambokuchO. Whe n no reference is given below to historical events, it is because their basic outlines are weD accepted and can be found in his­ tor ies such as these. See the works cited above, ch. I , n. 1 4. On early recognition of this trend, see Holzman, 'Systeme Meditlval'. pp. 407 - t 2. See Ochi, ·Zokumonsei'. 'NanchO no seikan to dokukan'; Miyazaki, Kyithin kanjinhiJ., pp. 208- 1 7. See Mark Elvin, The Pattern of the Chinese Past, pp. 35-8; rang Chang-ju, Shih· lun ts'ung, pp. 30-43. See Lien-shengYang. Studies in Chiite!ie Institutional History, l'P. ] 80- 1 . See T'ang Chang-ju, Shih·/un lS'Ung, pp. 1 4-29; Kawakatsu, 'Son B u seiken'. Good pictures of .the aristocratic families af this ·period are fo und in Mo r iya . Mom· batSi/, pp. 34-60, and J.D. Frodsham. The Murmuring Stream: The Ufe and Works of Hsieh Ling·yun. I, 1 -85. O n the local Wu families see Chou I-liang, Wei·Chin Nan-pei-chilO shih·!un-chi, pp. 58-83; T'ang Chang-ju, Hsu-pien, pp. 93:- 1 23 ; Yasuda Jiro, 'Nanchll no kotei to kizo ku to gOzoku-t0g6z{) - Ryo Butei no kakumei 0 tegakari ni'. See Miyazaki, Kyuhin kanjinho, pp. 283 - 3 1 3 ; T'ang Chang-ju, HSit·pfen, pp. 107- t O. An example of how the a ristocra ts tried to preserve social distance from their colleagues of lesser pedi8ree is found in Sung shu, 62/3a-b. Two officials who handled important matters but were not of high birth w ished to ca ll on Chang Fu, of their d epartment but a member of a 'famous family', One hesitated, 'If he isn't going to tr1lat us well, it would be bet ter not to go', The other was more confident, 'We are both already Auxiliary Secretaries. Why should we worry that he won't sit with lI:s?' When they amved Chang Fu set out two co uches three or four feet apart, The guests sat down, very pleased. But then Chang Fu ordered his servants to move him further from his guests, embarrassing them so that they left. See Wang I-t'ung, Wu-ch ao men·ri, pp. 146-9; Taga Ak igoro, 'Kofu no kenkyu', pp. 5 2-9. Olin shu 33/1a-83, 4 3/ 1 3b- 30a, 65/ 1a - 24b, 16/ 1 a- 1 8b, 98/1a-1 7a. The Lus are in Chin shu 54/1a- 29b, 7 7/ 1 a-2b. The Changs in Sung mu 46/5a12b. 53/la-7b, 59i2a- I 2a, 62/2b-4a.

r-

126

Notes to pp. 22-3 24 25

This again followed Fried's distinction. described above in n. 2.

Moriya. Mombtmu. pp. 47 -54, discusses in some detail the relations between I'ai­ yUan Wangs and the.ir attitudes towards each other. His conclusions are that fam­ ily tie,ll were weak; men often opposed relatives politically, and often put indi­ vidual interests before family ones. Yet he cites eJl
and various aid to call the Wangs at least a loosely formulated group, not dis­

similar to the Hsiehs as portrayed by Frodsham. The fact that Hsiehs or Wangs

could take different sides in clique struggles shows that tbey were not a group

organized for political purposes. Kinship activities could neve.ttheless have been maintained and kinship ties be considered important. This can be see n in the

famous break in the Lang-yeh Wang family in 3 22-4 when Wang Tun took up arms against the throne but did not receive the support of all his relatives. Ac­

counts of his actions and those of his relatives show the importance of family ties but also that a strong-willed. ambitious man like Tun could put himself IllS! and

hope to win over his relatives rather than wait for consens!!s. Before this spij,t the

Lang-yeh Wangs had both helped each other and fought with each other frequently. Tun helped one cousin get a post (Chin shu 76/6b), but killed another out of

anger (76/ 1 8a-b). An arg!lment between Tun and his cousin Pin worried Tao.

another cousin. who tried to get Pin to apologize (76/10a-b). Wben Tun rebeDed

,.

the emperor sent his cousin I to remonstrate with hlm (76/Ba), and Tao wrote a

letter pleading with Tun, speaking of their familY, and asking, 'How will you be

able to face your falher and uncles in the Yellow Springs?' (98/1 4b). Tun however put the blame on the others. telling Tao that their failure to folloW him had

almost destroyed their lineage

(tsu) (65/7b). Tun's main

supporter was his

brother Han (98!9b- 1 6b). After Tun was killed Han and his sons debated with which of their relatives to seek refuge (76/1 la) but made the wrong choice. Their cousin Shu drowned them all (9811 6b). T:!Jese Wangs clearly did not let family interests override perllOnaJ ones. and there seems to have been no trae family head

(Tun and Tao botl! tried to lead), yet family connections were of great import-

ance and never ignored. 26

It would not be surprising if it turns out that there was considerable variation.

some aristocratic lineages encompassing all the known people of that name. others

only a small segment of the large local clan. There are clearly cases where men

with the same family name and native place were of different status (besides those due to mothers of low rank). For instance one Wu-hsing S heD disliked another who, though rich and powerful. did not lead the life of a shih {gentleman} (Sung

shu, l OOflb-4a. l l b -1 2b). Some scholars have suggested that the aristocrats

should be looked at as the leaders of their clans. bringing glory to all their kinr

men

(See Niwa, 'Meizoku', pp. 1 77-9, 1 98-9). others that they expJoited their

kinsmen economicaUy. treating them little differently than agricultural workers

or retainers (See Wang Chung-Io , Wei-Chin Nan-pei-ch 'f1O SUi ch 'u·T'ang shih, pp. 67-70). Yet another possibility is that old clan ties weakened because oppor­

tunities in the capital drew aristocrats away from the old local area and clan; they

probably often were more interested in the ir social equals in. the city than distant

kinsmen of lesser status. If people with certain famous names (Lang-yeb Wang for

instance) were all aristQcrats, but only a small segment of the people with another

famous name (Ho-tung P'ei. Wu-chtin Ku, for instance), the resulting confusion

could have been a major reason for the interest in publicly circulated genealogical

works. which probably clarified Which Kus or P'eis were aristocratic. 27

See I'ang Chang-ju, H�ii-pien, pp. l l.0 - 1 7 . This does not necessarily indicate that there was an increase in the number of people with truly aristocratic status; most

of the increase seems to have come from men who bribed the record .Jceepers to

malrll it appear that their father. grandfather, or other relatives had been officials.

i

Notes to pp. 28

12 7

23-6

Under the new system, when 'cold' men reached high offke, their sons would

men wit h the most distinguished pedigree. ' See Ochi Shigeaki, ' Ryo-Chln jidai no kob zokuzo kika no kan 0 m egutt e . See YenChih-t'ui, The Fami/y Instructionsfor the Yen (1Q11, pp. 52-4. 1 14 - 1 7. See Kawakatsu, 'Decadence de I'aristocratie' ; Tang ebang-ju, H$u·pien, pp. 1 1 8-

have the same polit ical o pportunities as

29 30 31

23. No Hsiehs or Hslins have biographies in the Tang history, anof the T'ai-yilan

Wangs of the Southern Dynasties abo largely disappeared, the men using that name in the North not from the main line of the family. (See MOrlya, Mombatsu, pp. 58-82.) A nother possible explanation of the decline of the emigre families

would be one similar to that given below for the final decline of the T'ang aristo­ cratic faflliiies: their resources were not sufficiently diversified; they depended

32 33

too much on· the prestige of their names and the continuation of the politieal status quo. See Chin Fa-ken, Pei-/ang Ii ilaQ-flU, pp. 76-86.

T o give two examples. L u P'u, a Fan-yang Lu whose ancestors had served in the Later Han and Chin, organized local resistance to the T'o·pa (WS 41/ 1 9-a-b), and

P'ei ChUn, a Ho-tung p'ei, one of the most prominent families of the Wei and

Western Chin period , organized his kinsmen and neighbors to put down a

34

rebellion (WS 45/1 2b)_ For example. in the early years two of the most influential men were Ts'ui Hung

and Ts'ui Ch'eng, both natives of Ch'ing-ho. an area not held by the T' o-pa until the 460s. They found themselves in the North when the Mu-jung states they had

served were overthrown. (WS 24/1 1a-b, 32/7a-b.)

35

They would not have been unwise to keep a loof since these early rulers had a

36

instllIlCe TCTC. 1 1 1 . p. 3495; 1 13, p. 3550; 1 14, p. 3591 ; l i S, p. 361 9. ManY men from aristOCl"d tro families held local or provincial posts in this period

marked proclivity toward e xecuting officials, both Chinese and Hsien-pei. See for

(see the evidence for the Po-ling Ts'uis in Chapter FOllr, pp. 63-4). However

Elvin's supposition (Pattern of the Chinese Pan, p. 46, SO) t hat local rnalmates

served as hereditary officials of their own area does not seem correct. In the first

37

few decades of Wei rule of any ar�, IocaUy·preminent men were made acting Grand Administrators and Prefects of their own districts but thereafter they were assigned to more distant places. On this reform see M iyazaki, Kyuhin klmjinhO, pp. 421-4 1 ; Inoue Aldra. 'Ko-Gi seizoku buntei ko'. It should be pointed Olit that there were differences in the

official ranking of families in the North and South. In the South. although every­ one knew that the Wangs and Hsiehs were the two leading families, apparently the highest nmk - erh-p'in, chill tsu - was filled by many more families. In the North. the 'four categories of lineages' seems to have been more hierarchical,

dividing even the highest families into four levels. Tbere is 38 39-

no

evidence, however,

that these fine differences bad much social importance. See S u Ch'jng-pin, 'Yuan-Wei Pei-Ch'i Pei-Chou cheng·ch'Uan-hsia Han-jen sbih-Ii

chili t'uH, pp. 96-8. WS 39/1a-14a. 53/14a - 24b, 47/1a-20a, 76/la-4b. The Lung-hsi Lis had been very active in the independent states in·Kansu through the fourth century and therefore could not very well have started in the fifth century. Even the very large Chao-chUn L1 lineage (described in WS 36/1a-22a. 49/h.-7a, 53/la - 1 4a}, which included third and fourth cousins already at the beginning of tbe Wei. does not seem to have included aU local kinsmen. Li Hsien-fu is said to have moved several thousand Li househol4s (chia) to a nearby area fifty to sixty-ij SQuare and acted

as their clan head (tllUng-chu) (PS 33/1b). The Wei silu mentions a couple dozen

adult men who may have been alive at that time. but nowhere pear a thousand.

Notes to pp. 26-30

-

128

See the evidence for the Po-ling Ts'uis in Chapter Four and .evidence for other fam­ ilies cited b y T'ang Chang-ju, 'Me n fa ti hsing-ch'eng', pp. 7-8. For a list of marriages culled from the Wei $hu see Mao Han-kuang, Shih-lSu cheng­ chill, .I, 25 9-6.1 , n. 22-53. From his list it H clear t hat even families of the highest national prestige such as tbe Ch'ing-ho Ts'uis married with families more of local importance, such as the Ho-t ung Liu, P'ing-Yilan Tu, Ch'ing-ho Fang. Shang-ku Chang, T'ai-yilan Kuo_ Wolfram Eberhard, inllils TQb4-Reich Nordchinas, pp. 25-77, sees the elite of the Northern Wei as ninetY-nine families, Chinese and nOn-Chinese_ Although he may have included too many families on his lilt, his ba�ic assumption seems a_ccurale; the ruling elite was not sharply stratified by status; men of varying family background would int�marry and maintain social reIli t ions. On these events, see Ch'en Yi""k'o, Cheng-£,hih shih, pp. 9 - 1 2; Tanigawa Michio, Zui-To teikokll keiseishi ron, pp. 258-3 1 5 ; H amaguch i, Shill-Kan Zuf Toshi, n, 737-59. See T'tlng-kuo shih pu, p. 2 1 ; Takeda Ryuji, 'TMai shijin no gu mbO n i tsuite'. Evidence for the Po-ling Ts'uis is given in Chapter Five. Moriya found a similar situation for the T'ai-ytlan Wa.ngs (Mambo/su, pp, 55-6). For a fuller discussion of this subject, see Chapter Four, pp. 81 -3. T'ang Chang-ju makes this argument, 'Men-fa ti hsing-ch'eng', pp. 1 3 - 1 5. See Miyazaki, Kyllhin IwnjinhO. pp. 482-98; T'ang Chang-ju, Hsi/-p;en, pp. 1 2431See Miyazaki, Kyllhin Iwnjiflho, pp. 59-60, 506-576; Hamaguchi, Shin-Kan Zui­ Toshi, n, pp. 763-5. Miyazaki, Kyuhin IwnJilfho, pp_ 475-6. For examples of this attitude, see the biography of Ts'ui Ling, a CII'ing-ho Ts'ui, PeS 23/5a-7b. This can be seen for instance, in the number of recent Southern refugees a nd capt ives assigned t o the 'Pavilion o f M en of Letters' (wen-lin kuan} in t h e North­ ern Ch'i (PCS 45). With the reunification of China in 589 even larger numbers of Southern litera ti and ar�ocrats tra.veled 10 the new capital Ch'ang-1ln. Their e mpha sis on literati traditions·also seems to reflect the fact that the garrison members took over �'Ontrol of military forces to a con siderably greater degree than the T'o-pa had, .SO that the Ch inese played less of a military role, even on a local

level.

On the difference between T'ang and ·later at t itude s see Liu Chili-chi, Shih-t 'Ultg, I, p. 26. In c9mpiling the draft biography of Li I-yen he was required by custom 10 put Lung-hsi as the 'native place' even tho ugh he knew that the family had lived in Ch'ang-Io for three generations. Yet RTS ] 05/178 andCTS 8 1 /10a were eventually revised to show Ch'ang-Io. For an overview, see Utsunomiya Kjyoyoshi, 'Todai kipn ni tsuite no ielli kOsatsu'. For instance, in the T'ang of the approx imately 400 Chief Ministers, 1 7. were Ho­ tung P'eis (HTS 7 1 AI 26b}, 10 Lan-ling Hsiaos (RTS 71 B/6a-b), 1 3 Chao-chun Lis (H15 7lA/1Sb). 1 4 Ch'ing-ho Ts'\lis .(HTS 72C/60a-b), 14 Chlng-chao Wei! (H15 74A/28a-b), at least according to tbe genealogical records preserved ill the HTS. This group contained. few true upstarts. The imperial house was descended from a gru:rison general given hereditary noble litles by tbe Western Wei and Chou_ Among their early SUPportllrs were some aristocrats, SOme members of locaUy prominent Chinese families, and descendants of the original garrison troops, the rulers and. nobility of the Western Wei, Chou, and Sui Dynasties. This latter group were no longer crude professional soldiers, having been closely associated with the centra l government for tmee-quarters of a century. Yet they still maintained their military abilities and often preferred military to civil or literary pursuits. See Howard J. Wechsler, 'Kao-tsu the Founder' and 'Tai-tsung the Consolidator'.

, { ,

Notes to pp. 30-5 55 56

129

See Emperor T'ai-tsung's complaints quoted i n Chen·kuan cheng-yao, 7/1 l a-b.

On these event s

see

TWitchett, 'Ruling Class', Pl'. 62-4; Takeda, 'Jogan sllizo­

kusW'; Ikeda, 'TocM shizokushi'. such

I n 707 another

58

Ikeda, 'TOcho shizokushi', Pl'. 30-6. This process was not new tG the T'ang; the emigres in the South and refugees in

see

work was

co m m ission ed

57

because o f dissatisfaction with it;

the North had leng been cut eff from their eriginal local base. But the proportion Gf families in this situatien had increased significantly. 59

60 61

62

Fer a d iscussion of status greups, 1 86 -94.

see

From Mllx Weber.: l!."'sfays in Sociology·, Pl'.

See the list ef T'ai·yllan Wang marriages in Niida, HfJseishi. Pl'. 652--4, and Po­

ling Ts'ui marriages below in Appendix III.

See Ch'en Yin.t'G, Cheng-chin mih; Pl'. 53-7; Takeda Ryiiji, 'Tl'ldai shizoku ne kaha ni tsuite', and Sun Kue-tung, 'rang·Sung chih chi she-hul men-Ii chili h�iao­ jung', Pl'. 220-9. This conclusion is ba sed largely Gn the evidence fer the Ts'uis given belew i n Cha p­ ter f ive. Since information was available fer over 100 Ts' uis klll>wn from funerary inscriptions, a relatively unbiased source, it can b e suggested that these find ings reflect the general situation of families of equivalent status, that Is, ones with which the Ts'uis extensively intermarried. It should be pointed e ut , hewever, that

the only other comparable evidence, that collect ed by Mae Han'-kuang, 'Lang·yeh

Wang shih', p. 583, shows that only 5 8% of T'ang Lang-yett Wangs held offices.

63

Unfortunately Mao does not explain exactly Which men he included on h is tables. If he included everyone on the HTS genealogical tables (which are of very uneven quality) and everyone mentioned in inSCriptions, even tho se still alive who could have later gone on to get posts, that might account for the differences in his and my statistics. Other possibilities ale that the Lang-yeh Wangs. a Southern �igre family, declined earlier than the Ts'uis, or that more inscrip tions claiming their subject was a Lang-yell Wang do not in fact describe recognized members of t he aristocratic fa mily but instead other Wangs who casually or fraudulently claimed descent from the Lang-yeh Wangs. (Since Wang is a much more common surname than Ts'u i, there would be many more potential imposters.) Fuller argument and documentation e n this subject i s given i n Chapter Five, Pl" 1 04-8.

64 65

See Sun Kuo-tlillg, 'Men-ti ti hsiao-jung', esp. pp. 259-75. See Wang Gungwu, The $tructUle of Power in Noi'th ChinQ During the Five Dyntlsties; esp. 56-8, 83-1 1 8_ Not� to Chapter 3

1

2 3

HTS 72Cj24a-b; YtJan-ho hsing-tsuan, p. 266; Ins. 5, 30, 48; and many ethers. See James Legge, trans. The Chinese C[flIlSics, V, 509, 5 1 3 - 1 5; 535-6, for the Tso chuan's account of-these Incidents. See for instance, Moriya, Mombtitsu, pp. 7 - 1 9 on theories ef the origin of the

T'ai-yiian Wang familY.

4 5 6 7

B-

HS 99-A/Sa.

HS 28A: 2/S9a-b;

HHS l l O (chih

20)/2Sb.

Shen-chou feng-I'u chi 1 / l b-6b. HHS 52/la. First reference to office.'i held by Ts'uis will be followed by roman­ iZation and rank, where known. For the Han, translations eften follew the system

of Homer H. Dubs, Hi&tory of the f'ormer Hlln Dyntlsty. but since il is necessary­

to maintain a consistent style through the T'ang, many changes have been made.

r

--

-

,-----

130

Notes to pp. 35- 8 Posts varied

100

or less

in rank from 1 0,000 bushels for the handful of highest officials, to

for subordina tes. 600 bushels was an important dividing line between

lower and upper officials because men with that rank or hig her had special legat

privileges. For instance, their family was exempt from all but the military tax, their sons could enter the Grand Academy, if accused of crimes they received special treatment, and they could wear special clothing and ride

9

10 11

12

HHS 52/ta.

HS 99A/5a, 34b, 99B/Sa, 9a, 1 2a, 99C/14b, 24a, 28b; HHS 79A1 1 0a-b. HHS 52/lb-2b.

O n the cOmplex relationship between ideology, power, and social status (or t he literati, the officials, and t h e upper class) i n the Han Yiieh (A.D. 148-209), pp. 1 3-19.

13

in decorated

carriages. See Ueda Sanae, 'Kizoku DO kansei no seiritsn', pp. 1 1 9-20.

see

also Chi-y un Chen, Hsiln

For a discussion of the historical context of this intellectual trend, see Jack L. DuII, 'A Historical Introduction to the Apocryphal (ch 'an-wei) Text s of the Han

Dynasty', pp. 1 9- 1 82. 14

HS 99C/9a.

15

On the reaction of Confucian scholars to Wang Mang, see Homer H. Dubs, History

1

1 I

o/ the Former Han Dynauy, III, 54-7.

16

HHS 5 2/4a.

11 18

HHS 52/1 2b-13b; CHHW 45/1a-7a.

19

HHS 80A/ 1 3b-1 5b; CHHW 45j7a-8b.

HHS 5 2{4a-1 2a; CHHW 44.

20

HHS 52/14a-18a; CHHW 45/9a-47/8a.

21

HHS 52fl Sa-19b. The HHS says that Lieh was Shih's elder cousin, but the HTS

genealogy (72C/42b) has him a generation younger, as a nephew. It is difficult to believe Lieh could have been older than Shih since he held th e low post of 1mb­ ordinate to the Minister ClfWorks .in 1 7 2, after Shih's death, and then went on to hold numerous posts. surviving two years of imprisonment 190-2, and upon rele:ue accepted a military aSSignment. Perhaps the HHS text has lost the character for 'son' and sllould have read that Lieh was the son of Shih's elder cousin.

22

HHS 52/19a. According

to the commentary to SKC 35/2b-3a, ChUn had a

younger brother named Chou-p'ing who was an early friend of Chu·ko Liang. In the HTS genealogical tables (72C/42b), however, Chou-p'ing is ChOn's ttu (informal name).

23

On these highest famil ies,

pp. 1 011 -23, 1027-47. 24

see

especially Yang Lien-sheng, 'Tung·Han ti Hao-tsu',

K'ung Hsi was a descendant of ConfUCius, and in more recent times of K'ung An­

kuo, a famous scholar of the Former Han. K'ung H!ii's great-grandfather bad been

a friend of Ts'ui Chuan. The K'ungs !tad preserved their scholarly traditions but

do not seem to have produced any high officials. When Ts'ui Yin knew K'ung Hsi,

Hsi was studying at llie Grand Academy and had not yet held omce. He eventually

reached the post of county Magistrate. (HHS 79A/ l l a- 1 3a). 25

Pan Ku's great grandfather !tad held a militarY post and his grandfather was a

Grand Administrator. His father Pan Piao gained favor for his literary talents in

the early period of the Later H an, but never held any office higher than Magistrate.

dynasty. When the project. fn the 50s he was imprisoned for pre­ suming to Mite a private history, but on his brother's intercession was released and given an official appointment. When Ts'ui Yin met Pan Ku in to-yang in the 80s, Ku wa s one of the leading men of letters, favored by the emperor and assigned to direct a major effort of cla ssical scholarship. Near the end of his life, His efforts instead were devoted to writing the history of the Han

Piao died Pan Ku continued

-.�.

Notes to p. 38

131

like Ts'ui Yin. he was a suoordinate of Too Hsien. After Tou Hsien's faU in 92 he

26

died in prison. (HHS 40A. B passim. )

Tou Hsien's family was not known for its scholarly achievement but rather for its

political power. Early in the Former Han the Tou family had provided an empress to Emperor Wen ( 1 79-1 57 B.C.). Almost two centuries later Tou lung was an

important ally of the future Emperor Kuang-wu during the civil war that led to

the restoration of the Han dynasty. By the end of Kuaug-wu's reign the position

of the Tou family was 'unrivaled among the imperial relatives and meritorious officials'; (HHS 23/9a) They bad one Ducal Minister, two Marquises, three Prin­

cesses, and four people whO held top bureaucratic posts ranked at 2000 bushels.

They also had over 1000 slaves. Under Emperor Ming {57-7S A.D.} the Tou

family suffered some setbacks. After Jung died at the age of seventy-eight in 62, Juilg's son Mu aild Mu'stwo

prison. However,

sons were

accused of various crimes and all died in

in 72 lung's nephew Ku was appointed leader of an expedition

to regain access to the western regions. With the accession of Emperor Chang in

76 Ku was favored at court and in 83 was appointed Grand Commandant. Ku

became exceedingly wealthy, was generously enfeoffed and held important posts.

He died in 88, with no heirs. (HHS 23/1a-l lb) Tou H$ien was Jung's great- .

grandson, two generations younger thim Ku, but in political terms his successor. Although his father and grandfather died in prison, the merit of Tou lung and Tou Ku was still weD remembered. In 77 Hslen's younger sister was appointed

empress and he and his younger brother were given inner court appointments. In 88 a ten-year-old child ascended

to

the throne. At that point Empress Tou,

according to precedent, ruled in her foster $On's name, and Hsien and his brother 21

became all-powerful. (HHS 23/11 1>-178)

Wang Fu, unwilling to take part in what he considered the degenerate political pract� of the time, did not hold offlce. Instead he devoted himself to writing a long wOEk, still extant, caUed 'Discussions of Ii Hidden Fellow'. In this work he

complained of the extravagant life of the wealthy few, which must in the end be

paid for by the hard work of the farmer and artisan. Poverty and deception were,

thus, inevitable� legal procedures were useless, the government corrupt. Outside of

this telet, however, nothing is known of Wang Fu's personality or experiences. 28

(HHS 49th-lOb; Balazs, Ozinese CiVilization and BUTetrUCI'tlcy, pp. 198-205.)

Chang Heng's grandfather bad been a Grand Admlnistrator'but his father does not seem to have hdd offIce.. A year younger than Ts'ui YUan, he also went to the capital to study the classics. He is described as being relaxed and calm in his ways, but not liking contact With vulgar people. He was recommended as 'filial and in·

corrupt" and later was offered iJPpOintments by high officials, but did not accept

any. He spent ten years writing a plose-poem on the two capitals, in imitation of Pan Ku's earlier work. Like Ts'ui Yuan, Chang Heng was interested in occult sub­ jects such as sstronomy, yill -�ng, and calendrical calculations. His biography

quotes a conversation he had with Ts'ui YUan on the subject of Yang Hsiung's Ha/lim ching. Summoned by the emperor who admired his mathematical skills, Heng entered the bureaucracy bat did not rise rapidly. In 1 32 he completed a seis­ Mograph, which caused considerable wonder among the scholars in the capital. For awhile "eng became an intimate advisor of Emperor Shun, but eventually

aroused the jealousy of the eunuchs, and in 1 36 was sent Ollt as an Administrator.

He died in 139, age sixty-two. (HHS 59/I a-26b) Ts'ui Yuan wrote his funerary

inscription. (CHHW 4S/Sb).

29

From an illustrious family, Ma lung was three years younger than Ts'ui YUan; His grandfather's brother was Ma Yuan, an important general who allied himself with Emperor Kuang-wu, helping him in the civil war and later campaigning on the borders. After his death in 49 Yuan's youngest daughter was intrOduced into the

132

Notes to p. 38

crown prince's harem, and in 60 she WaS named emPress, having ra ised the future

empe ror Chang, born to another consort. Her t hree brothe{s rose to high ranks,

som e m ilitary. They became extremely wealthy, having thousands of slaves and

many retainers and followers. (HUS 24/la-21 b) lung's father ,Yen 'liked sword

fighting and practiced mounted archery ', but lat er also studied the classics. H e

w a s appointed to work on the history of Emperor Kuang-wu; along wit h Pan K u and ot hers, a n d later took military posts. As t he influence of t he Tou family rose under Emperor Chang, the Mas had to take a more subordinate position, and when Empress Tou took over rule in 88, Yen retired to teach his son s and grand­ sons, dying in 98 at the age of 82. Yen had seven sons, of whom only two acquired

any fame. One was Jung, and the other like his father combined scholarly and military abilities. (HHS 24/21 b-23b). Ma Jung is known first of all as one of the major classicarscholars of the Ha n,

of commentaries on ma ny of the classics. He also liked to play the ch 'ill and flu te, and to lead a luxur ious way of life. His political career, however, had several setba cks. t'or ten years he stagnated in the ustern Pavilion engaging in scholarly work. The n he was debarred from office because he anger ed the the au thor

Empress Teng. While the next emperor favored him, he did not get along willi

Liang Chi and was sent back to the u !rtern P-dvilion. He d ied in 1 66 at the age 30

eighty-cight. (fillS 60A/ l a - 1 4b)

Tou Chang was

of

from th e same family as Tou Usien, the son of one o f his cousins.

When Chang wa� young, the Tou family encountered difficulties, and he suffered

real ha rdsh ip during the Ch'iang invasions in the period 107- 1 3 . Cha ng was a man

of scholarly and literary abilities and was appo in t ed to the Eastern Pavilion on the recommendation of Teng

Kang. When Chang's daughter was admitted to Emperor

Shun's ( 1 26 - A4) harem, he gained favor at court. He was cautious not to offend

either the Liang or Teng families, though. who also had marriage connections with the emperor. Although his daughter d ied young (Ts'ui Yuan wrote an elegy for her), 111e emperor st ill

tr�ted Tou Chang well and i n 1 40 appoin t ed him Minister

of the Privy Treasury, in which capacity he recommended Ts'ui YUan. In 1 44.

wit h the supremacy of Empress Liang, h e retired and later d ied at home. 23/1 7b - 1 8a)

31

Oll iS

The brothers YUan Wei and Yuan Fc ng came from one of the most eminent fam­

ilies of the Later Han. Their great-grandfather. Yuan An. rose in the bureaucra cy, starting as a su bord inate in the commandery, becoming Minister of Imperial Carriages in 83, Minister of Works in 86,

and Minister Over the Masses in 89. Their

father T'ang held in turn each of the Three Du cal Ministers during Emperor Huan's

reign ( 1 47

67). Peng and Wei also held these top positions, which had become

almost hereditary in the Yiian family. Neither I'ang. Feng, nor Wei were politi­ cally im portant Olen. and. their biographies are only a few l ines long. Yet

tOfY says t ha t the Yiian fa mily

was the most

the his­

noble and honored in the country,

that it s wealth and extravag"d nce were extreme, and that no other cla n could coni:pa re with it. (HHS 45/1 a-6a)

32

Yang Tz'u W"dS from an

eq ually eminent family. His ancestors had been high Han. Both his father "Yang Ping and grandfather Vang

officials since the Former

Chen were importa n t officials who had reached the positions of Grand Com­ mandant. When you�, Yang Tz'u preferred study to refused many appointments. III the period "168

government service, and

71 he was summoned t o lecture

Oossic oj" History and was later made M inister of Pr ivy Treasury and Diplomatic Reception. After l"s'ui Shih's death Tz'u went on to several furt her posts. in 1 77 replacing Yuan Wei as Minister Over the Masses. oms 54/ l a - 1 8h) tn the youn!! emperor on the the

r-

Notes to pp. 38-41 33 34

133

Until 1 70 Tuan Ying had spent most of h i s time as a military commander fighting rebels and non-Chinese tribesmen. (HHS 65/1 la- 1 8b) The interrelationship between the position of an upper class and its ethos is always complex. Members of the upper class IUlve the economic resources to fulllll the traditionally prescribed way o f life ; many elements of this way of life (such as literacy) are useful or necessary for the performance of their social role; because elements of their ethos are both 'proper' and useful, the dominant position of the class gains legitimacy; cultivation of a common style of life also becomeu visible sign which identifies members of the upper class and serves as a basis for some degree of group solidarity or consciousness. For a discussion of such factors in traditional societies see Sj.berg, The Pre·lndustrial City, pp. 1 23 - 3 3 . For a review of the sociological debate over whether values and way of life are more a pre­ requisite or more an effect of class position, see Ralf Dahrendorf, EssayS in the Theo'r>, of Society, pp. 163-75.

35

36

HHS 79A/13a. HHS 44/I l b- 22a ; CHHW 44/8a- l0a, 45/2a-4b.

37

TPKC 206. pp. 1 5 74-5. SKC l/1 28b 'ccimmentary; 2 1 / 5 1 b commentary.

38

This work is discussed in detail in Patricia Ebrey, 'Estate and Family Management in the Later Han as seen in the Monthly Instl'UCliOIlS for the Four OlllIses of People'. For the text see Sw·min yllch·ling chiao·chu, edited by Shih Sheng-han.

39

Ssu·mill yUeh-ling. pp. 9, 7 1 .

40

See Miyazaki Ichisada. Ajiashi kenkyil, II, 95 - 1 29 . esp. l 01 - I 6 . H H S 52/1 2b. How common such extended families were in t h e Han period has

41

been extensively debated by three Japanese scholars. Moriya argued that educated families ofteil formed joint families with mori ihan one adult son staying at home, Makino that they would not; and Utsunomiya that they might sometimes. See Moriya Mitsuo, Chflgo/cu kodlliJfO kazoku to kokka, pp. 297-'-·41 5 ; Utsunomiya,

Shakai keizaishi. pp. 405-25; Makino Tatsumi. Shina kazoku kenleyil. pp. 1 4 7 -

42 43 44

3 1 8.

CHHW 79/6b - 7a; HHS 5 2/ 1 8a. HHS 52/1 4a; Miyazaki, Aiiashi kenkyil. II. 1 0 5 - 1 6 . See Yang Shu-ta, Hal/·lai hun IIllng Ii-su k'ao. p: 1 29. Yilan gave parting instruc· . tions to his wife arid son:

People receive the force of Heaven and earth and by this means live. When they die they return the essence to Heaven arid the bones to earth. I s there any place where you cannot store" the body and bones? ·Do .not bring them

4S 46

back to our native village. As for objects to be punn the grave. or offerings of I8mbs or pigs, I do not want to re(:eive a single one. (HUS 5 2/ 1 3b) ' CHHW 46/5ii. CHHW 46/5a-b. Recent archaeolo!!ical excavatiolls have shown that Shih's description of the wealth spent on burials was·not exaggerated. Later Han tombs were often multi-chambered, with painted or carved Walls, contaiIling dozens of potte1y figures, bronze mirrors, and so on. See. for instance, the report of the

Later lfun tomb found in Hopei not far from An -p'ing. I!lang-tu erh·hao Hah·mu.

47

48

49

which had thirteen chambers arid was over thirty·meters in length. Ehrey, 'Estate and FamilY Management', pp. 1 86 ...:. 90. Ssu·min yueh·ling. pp. 16. 53, 67.

HHS S2/1 2b. On the duty to avenge the death of close relatives in the Han, see Makino. "Kazoku kenkyu, pp. 4 1 8-22. 4 3 2 -43.

50 51

HHS 52/4a, 1 2b. 80A/ 1 3b; See' Kana- Naoki, RylrKan gakushul$u k6, pp. 1 22-35.

52

HHS 52/1 2b.

134

Notes to pp. 41 - 7 53

HHS 79A/llb-I2a; 59/lb.

54 55

Shih-shuo hsin-ytl 4. p. 149.

56 57

58

59

60 61 62

63 64 65 66 67 68

TPKC. 206, pp. IS74-5; SKC 1112gb commentary. 2 1 /Slb commentary. Yitan wrote an essay explaining his new style of writing. It started. he suggested, because of the increased p�per-work and the need for speed. In the new style, 'comers are not made with carpenters' angles, circles are not those of a pair of compasses'. However, Yuan saw aesthetic advantages, as this style of writing suggests move­ ment, action. and suspense, like 'standing on tip-toes as a bird stands, about to fly away' . . . 'like a praying mantis holding onto a twig' . . . . 'like using a rotten piece of wood to get a close 10.ok at a dangerous place'. Though the characters may seem to have been written without any care and in haste, 'if you get close and examine it, then not even one stroke could be moved'. (CHHW 45/7a) Sui shu 34/Sb, 3S/2b, 3a;CTS 47/7a, l Oa, 25a, 25b; CHHW 44-7. Qriginally a work in six drtlan, only parts of the Cheng-Iun have survived. Thefirst part was quoted in Shih's HRS biography. In addition, large parts of it were copied into the seventh century encyclopedia Ch 'Un-shu chih-YllO, and other passages have been recovered from the I-lin, T'ung-tien, T'ai-p 'ing yU-lan, etc. In the early nineteenth century Yen K'o-ehUn reconstructed the text for inclusion as CHHW 46. That is, he was included in the Han-Wei Liu-ch 'ao po-Siln clWz chi Lill Hsieh, The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragon:;, pp. 62, 65, 146, and so on.

Wen hlfUan, 56, pp. 1 206 - 7. CHHW 44/7a-Sa.

HHS 52/14a. The functions of guest-retainers could range from high-class servants or even agricultural laboreis, to bodyguards, clerks, companions, or private soldiers. See Utsunomiya, Shakoi keizaishi, pp. 446-1. HHS 5 2/ 1 Sa.

CHHW 46/4b-5b. HHS 52/1 2b, 13a. HHS 52f 1 2b, 1 411.

HHS 52/1Sa. See Kawakatsu, 'Kanmatsu no rejisutansu undo', Chi-yun Chen, Hwn Yueh, pp.

69

101-5. HHS 52/1Sb.

70

CHHW 44/5a.

71 12 73 74 75 76 77 78 79

80

81 82 83

HHS 52/ 1 3a-b; TPYL 268/6a; CHHW 46/lOb-l lb.

See. Ehrey, 'Estate and Family Management' and Sm-min yUeh-ling, passim

CHHW 46/1 Ob. It is known that some iarge estate owner s engaged in money-lending. See HHS 32/ lb. Ssu-min yUeh-ling, p. 28. Li shih, 8/1 7a. Ssu-min yuek-ling, pp. 29, 65.

See Franklin W. Houn, 'The Civil Service Recruitment System of the Han Dynasty'. See Goi Naohiro, 'Ko-Kan jidai no kanri doyo�i "hekishO" ni tsuite', pp. 23-4. Nagata Hidemasu, 'Kii-Kan no sanko ni mirareru kika to shutsuji ni tsuite', pp. 310-14_ HHS 52/4b-5a.

HHS 5 2{7a.

On the politics of these years, shakai.'

see

Kano Naoyoshi, 'Ko-Kan chiIki no seiji to

On Liang Chi see HHS 34/la- 16b, Ch'U, Han Social Structure, pp. 4 7 1 -6 ; Tada Kensuke, 'Kii-Kan koki

no

seikyoku 0 megutte', pp. 5-8.

•. ,

Notes to pp. 48-55

135

84

CHHW 46/6b-8b. (quote 7b). On Shih's political views see also Balazs, Chinese

85

CHHW 46/9a-b. It i s unclear what rank official Shih was describing. I f twenty h u

Civilization and Bureaucracy, pp. 20S- 1 3 . was half of his salary he would be a 300 bushel official, if it WlIs three tenths, a

600 bushel offIciaL Utsunomiya, Shaka; keizashi, pp. 229-31 , argues fot the latter. If his opinion is accepted, then the important ranks of equal to 2000

bushcls, 2000 bushels, and a ful1 2000 bushels would have received 1 .4, 1.7 and 2.4 times as much grain and money.

86

Shih himself discusses tbe prevalence of official extortion and conuption, CHHW 46/6a. On

tax

pp. 3 1 9-36. 87

exemptions see Hill/nw Reiji, . Chugoku kodai 110 dense; to zeih6,

Lieh became Minister Over the Masses in 1 85, after paying five million cash. In

187 he was moved to Grand Commandant, another of the Three Ducal Ministers,

but was replaced a year later. In 1 90 Tung Cho, the warlord then in control, put him in jail because of his son's activities. When TUIlI! Cho was murdered Lieh was re1e
1

Notes to Chapter 4

HHS 8/1 Ob-9/9a; Rafe de Crespigny, The Last of the Han, pp. 7, 25, 235.

2

de Crespigny, The Last of the Han, pp. 46-53, 60-1, 103, 244.

4

SKC 9/608 commentary, 63b; SKC 27/21 b; SKC 4/38b�40a; Chin shu 45/21 b.

3

5

6

HHS 52/19a.

Chill shu 45/21b-22b.

According to Mao Han-kuang, Shih·tsu cheng-chih, pp. 1 22-6, over two-thirds of

the men known to be Presidents or Secretaries of this Board were from great fam­ ilies. The appmach of one of them, Wang Jung. is described in Chin shu 43/1 Sb. 'In selecting people he never advanced those of low-class backgJounds nor sent

back those whose replitations were false. He just let himself flow with the times, 7 8 9

checking the households and choosilll! by family status'.

Chin shu 45/22a.

On the 'gilded youth' 9.

see

Balazs, Chine¥e Civilization and Bureaucracy, pp. 246-

Chin shu 45/223.

10 11

Shen-chou feng-t'u chi, 5/3a.

12

The besr study of this period is Michael C. Rogers, The Chronicle of Fu Chien.

13 14

See Miyakawa, Bei;; shakoi hen, pp. 406 - 16.

PS 32/la; HTS 72C/44b.

See Chin Fa-ken, Pei-fang Ii hao·tsu, pp. 76-.:1 1 0.

see

.

15

PS 32/3a, 4b. For examples from other families,

16

WS 4A/I0b- l l a; 48/13a-I 5a.

WS 49/4b, 42/lb. 45/1 2b.

17

On this reform see Miyazaki. Kyilhin /conjinM, pp. 427-4 1 ; Inoue Akira. 'Ko-Gi seizolru buntei ko', pp. 1 00-24; Sun T'ung-hsiln. T'o-po shih ti Han-hUll, pp. 47168, esp. 1 24-9. Attempting to gain control over social status by giving official

recognition to what was originally largely a private matter does not seem to have been an uncommon· ploy of rulers. See S.N. Eisenstadt, The Political Systems of

Empires, pp. 9 1 , 132-3. 18

A number of different sources state that the Po-ling Ts'uis.

or

more specuJCally

the descendants of Ts'ui I, were placed at the top, though all of these date from

at least the early T'ang. See HTS 95/2a-4b; CTW 3 1 8/ 1 9b ; Ins. 55; Ku-chin hsing·shih shu pien-cheng 19

S/9b.

Ts'ui T' ing was speciaUy appointed Grand Arbiter o f Ting prefecture when the

136

Notes to pp. 55- 7

rankings were undertaken (WS 57/1a) and Ts'lli Ching�yu ng was made Secretary of the Board of Personnel to rank people by their qualities into nine grades. 20 21

Ch 'uan HOI/- Wei wen 57/4a.

Such as Ts'ui YUan-chen, YU-chih, Tsuan, and Yu (WS 57/1 5a-1 7b).

For instance, the Chao-chtin L i (WS 36 , 49/la-7a, 53/1 a - 1 4a); Po-hai Kaa (WS 32/1a - 7a, 4S); Fan-yang Lu (WS 47); Ho-tung P'ei (WS 45/ 1 2a- 1 7a, 69/4a­

l l b); l ung-yang Cheng (WS 56/ l a - 1 5a); Ho-chien Hsing (WS-65/la-15b) Ching­

chao Wei (WS 45/ l a - l Db); Kuang-p'ing Yu (WS 54/1a-2a); Lung-hsi Li (WS 39,

53/ 1 4a - 24b); Ho-tung Liu (WS 45/21 a-23b); Kuang-p'ing Sung (WS 6 3/8a- 1 2b); 22

Hua-yin Yang (WS 5 8) ; Po-hai Feng (WS 32/1Db-1 7b).

W S 2 ] A/2Sa-b. A number o f scholars have interpreted this passage t o mean that

the Po-ling'Ts'uis had lower status than the Ch'ing-ho Ts'uis (see Sa Meng-wu, ChullI!:-kuo she-hui cheng-chih shih, II, 232 - 3 ; Mao Han-kuang, Shih-tllll cheng­

chih, pp. 245-6; Lu Yao-tung, 'T'o-pa shih yU chung-Yiian shih-tsu ti hun-y in kuan-hsi', p. 1 63). However, there are a number of inconsistencies in this interpret­ ation. A Prince was advised .not to marry the daughter of Ts'ui Hsien because she was an inferior-status 'Eastern' Ts'ui. Yet at ,t he same time Emperor Hsiao-wen and Emperor Hsiao-ming took Po-ling Ts'ui consorts; there is no reason to assume >that Princes were expected to maintain a higher standard than the emperor. More­ over, the 'Eastern' Ts'uis could not mean the Po-ling Ts'uis vis-Il-vis the Ch'ing-ho Ts'uis since Po-ling and An-p'ing are almost directly north of Tung-wu in Ch'ing­

ho and not east at all. As the Siren-chou !eng-l 'u clii, 1 2A/2Ib-22a suggests. the

Eastern Ts'uis probably referred to a group of Ts'uis who did not live in An-p'ing,

b,u t iil another county of Po-ling. In all probability they were not descendants of I. i3

24

Oli-fu t 'ullx-cilih, 1 74/1 Oa reports that Ching-yung's grave was found eight Ii west

of An-p'ing in 1 679_ The others are mentioned in Chj·[u t'ung·chih 1 6 8/ 28a Poo-ting [u-chih. 4 3/5a.

- b.

Examples include Ts'ui Ping, Wen-yeh, Hsiao-wei; Hsiao-yen, HSiu-bo, Hsii, Mu,

Jung. WS 49/8a, J Ob, S 7/ 1 1 b, 1 2a, 1 6a, 1 7b. Chou, which was translated as prov­ ince for the former and Later Han, is translated as prefecture for subsequent

periods. The official in charge of

it chou,

the tz 'u·shih. will also be called a Prefect

instead of an Inspector. The reason for this change in translation is the change in

the nature of the chou. In the Han there were only thirteen such units,>but by the

2S

Northern Wei tjlere were I l l , ;md by the late Northern Chou, 21 1 . T'ung·tien . , 1 7 1 , pp. 909 - 1 0.

Ws 57{1 2b ,

1 1 a, Sui shu 42/ l b.

26

WS 57/Sb-6a, 1 4a, 1 3a, 1 7a ; 491lOb, S7/ 1 2a-b.

27

Of course, since Wei Shou wro te the Wei shu while the sons and gmndsons of

t hese Ts'uis were still alive lind influential (and since Wei Shou's mother and wife

were both Po-ling Ts'uis) he may not have reported criticisms-of the Ts'uis' local behavior had he known of ,them. At least one famous family; however, the lung­ yang Cheng!!, are poJtrayed as

a local

scourge. In the early· fifth century fIVe

brothers ',all depended on being a powerful family (hao-men) and frequently vio­

lated propricty ; within the community they were hated like enemies'. (WS 56/7b)

Two generations later a collatercll remtive Cheng Yen-tsu was k.llown fOf hiJ un­

prindpled behavior locally and another pair of brothers, Ta-nj and Hsiao-ni 'loved to plunder and terrorized their village; the common people detested t hem'. (WS

56/6b-7a, 1 3a)

S7/Sb-6a,

28

WS

29

WS S7/1 3 b - 1 4a .

30

1 3b- 1 4a (quote 5b-6a). PS 32/l 1 a-b says -fi¥e generations, or al l

the desCendants of I, lived together whiJe the Wei �u says three generations.

WS S 7/ 1 3b.

j

I

.,

I

Notes to pp. 58-62 31 32 33 34

137

PeS 30/3a-b.

PS 33/33s. On the offering o f ancestral sacrifices on the day o f the she fest ival , see Ssu·min yueh .Jing, p. 1 9. PeS 46/6a.

See for in st ance Ts'ui Chieh who 'was completely without the people's respect'

(WS 57!16b-1 7a), and Ts'ui Ping, who was described as quick to use force, once striking his sliperior, and also was widely criticized for acceptiitg bribes on an

extensive scale.

35 36 37

(Ws 49/8a-b)

.

For instance, T'ing, WS 5 7/5b; I, WS 56/15a; Hsiao-fen, WS 57/lOb. WS 57/1 3b, 1 7a ; 56/16b; T'lIi-p 'ing yu-/sn, 371 /6a. Chao-chiin Lis: Ch 'uan Hou·Wei wen, 57/3b; Ch 'ang·shan chen·shih chih, 3/3b;

Shih-erhyen;chaichin-shih kuo-yen hsti-[u, S/20b-2 I b ; PS 32/2b. 3 2a; WS 56/ 1 6b, 53/1 1 b. Unidentified Lis: WS 57/1 3b, 11 a. Chii�1u We is : PeS 37/2b, 8b. Po­ hai Kaos: PeS 30fIa, l Ob, PS 3 1 /29a. Fan-yang Lus: 'Ho-pei P'ing-shan Ts'ui

Ang . .

38

39

40 41

42 43 44 45

"

, p. 3 1 . Sung: WS 49/9a. Since all but one of the Sungs who have biographies in t he Wei shu are from Kuang-p'ing in Hopei it is probable that the Sung here was from that family. Jung-yang Chengs: WS 49/9a, PS 35/2Ia. Yang: T'ai-p'ing yu.Jan. 37 1 /6a. Imperial concubines: WS 5 7/6a, 9b. Lu: WS 40/ l 1 a. Both Chao and Po-ling were commanderies of Ting prefecture until 5 26 w he n Ting was divided. P<>-ling remained in Ting and Chao became part of the new Yin prefectuie. WS 56/1 9b, 1 06A/1 4b. Ch 'Uon Hou' Wei wen, 57/3b. Ch 'ang-shon chen-shih chih, 3/3b. Shih-erh yen-chai chin-shih klio-yen hsti-IU, 5/20b-21b.

PS 33/1 6a-b. 32/2b; PCS 9/3b_

On this rule, se e Ha n-yi [-eng: The Chinese Kinship System, pp_

WS 49/9a; PS

35/21a, 24a:

24-7.

WS 56/16b. Lu Yao-tung, To-pa shih yU chung-yuan shih-ISo t i hun-yin kiJan-hsi',

pp_ 1 58-66, has tried to use the data available on marriages in the Northern Dyn­

asties to analyze the social structur� of the period. He seems to a'ssume t-hat-the local character of most Ts'ui marriages was a sign of less than full national emi­

nence. He sees the highest elite as the Ch'ing"ho Ts'uis, Jun,&-yang Chengs. rai­ yuan Wangs, Lung-hsi Lis, and Fan-yang Lus since they all married extensively

with each·other. The Po-ling Ts'uis and other families such as the Ho-chien Hsing and Po-hai Kaos are put on the next level. (p. 1 62) However. since the Po-ling

Ts'uis married lung-yang Chengs, Chao-chon Lis, and Fan-yang Lus, there is some

doubt a bout his conclusions. He perhaps places too much emphasis on an anecdote in WS 21 A/25a-b which, as discussed above in n. 22. 1 think he misinterprets,

46 47 48 49

PCS 37/Sa.

WS 49/7a-lOb;

56/15a-21a;. S7/Sb-1 8b. The others were only children in 534 .

but a d ult s by 550,

For iitstance, H siian-po (WS 57/14b) and Yiian-h�n (WS 49/10b).

See the statistics collected by Mao Ha n-kuang, Shih-tsu cheng-chih, pp. 23-30.

. From Mao Han-kuang's calculations it is also possible to see the frequency with which members of the thirty-three most prominent families held particular posts.

Of 1 088 su ch men who readied 'rank five, t 1 7, or one in ten, became Grand Arb it�rs; 375, or one in three, became Grand Administrators; and 377, or one in three, became ·Prefects. It is interesting that of thirty-three Po-ling Ts'uis who held rank five or higher posts similar proportions hold; three, one in ten, were

Grand Arbiters; e·ighteen, one in two, were Grand Administrators, and ten, one in

three, were Prefects.

50

Miyazaki, Kyfihin kanjinhO, pp. 389-98.

r - - ---

Notes to pp. 51

52

53

WS 49/I Ob. This man is dilficult to date; h e could have lived after 534. This includes posts such as Registrar to the Prefect, but not all positions under Pre­ fects. See Yen Keng-wang, Chung·kuo ti·fang hsing-cheng chih·tu shih, n, 5 4 1 - 7, 6 1 2- 1 3.

54

See, for instance, WS 57/ 1 1 b; PS n/25b. Miyazaki, Kyahin kan/inhO, p. 3 98.

56

WS 49/7a, 57/1 7a-1 8b.

55

57

138

62- 7

Members of this segment have biographies in WS S7/5b-1 6a. See Yen Keng-wang, Ti·fang hsing·cheng, II, 5 37-54, 5 8 1 - 3 , 606-8; Hamaguchi,

Shin-Kan Zui-Toshi, pp; 773-83. One way to visuaJize the authority of Prefects is to consider the number of appointments under their control. Although exact

figures are not known for the Northern Wei, in the Northern Ch'i a Prefect had

1:Ietween 232 and 393 subordinates and a Grand Administrator had from 1 03 to 2 1 2 subordinates. in each case depending on the size of the district. See Yen

58

Keng-wang, Ti·{ang hling'cheng, 11, 509-91, 621 -2.

After all. before 485 officials did not even receive salaries. They were supposed to support themselves from any profit they could make. See Lii Ssu"mien, Liang·

Chin Nrln-pei-ch'ao ,hih, pp. 1243-4; Han Kuo-p'an, Pei-ch 'ao ching-chi shih·t 'an, 59

60 61

pp. 56-62.

Which is all but three of those who lived after 500 for whom more than one post

is recorded in the Wei shu. If all the Ts'uis' careers were known in full, the number

probably would be higher.

WS 57j1 6b, l 7b ; 57/18a. 17b; 56/1 7a. 'l's'ui Yen�po, a Po-ling Ts'ui whose ances­

try is obscure. also served in many cam�igns in thit period. (WS 73/8b-9b) Tw o who could be classed as military men are Ts'ui Mo and Y u (WS 56/16b-1 7b, 57/17b-1 8b). As mentioned above, birtb order. that is whether a person was a

first, second, or third son. had little or no relation to the rank he eventually

reached. Yet it does appear to have had a relation to whether he specialized in

military or civil posts. Of the eighteen men for whom four or more offices are

known and whose father's name is given. of tbe nine first (or only) sons; only two had active militar y experience. Of the ten younger

sons.

eight had active military

experience.. Cases where the elder son had a purely civil career and the younger

ones a largely military one include Ho and his younger brother Ping (WS 4911b8b); Hsin and his brothers Chung-che, Chi-t'ung, and Chi-liang (WS 49/9a-b); and

62

I and his brothers Mo and Kai (WS 56/1 Sa-2Ia).

Johtison, Medieval Oligarchy. esp. ch. 3 , 7 , prefers the term oligarchy to aris­

tocracy. His criterion of aristocracy appears to be whether status is fuUy

inherited. He argues that the Chinese great clans were merely given every oppor­

tunity; in the end their status depended on the offices they attained. By contrast.

it is suggested here that each Ts'ui inherited his social status, but whether he L'Ouid build upon it to acquire added wealth, power, or prestige depended o n individual circumstances. I n time, t o b e sure. such initiative would affect the

overall prestige of the family name, but no more than in many other aristocratic .societies, such as Czarist Russia, where titles were not crucial. The objection to the term oligarchy is that. in common usage, it refers to rule by the few. usually

a group small enough to know each other, in the absence of any strong or auto­

cratic ruler. In. the Northern Dynasties and T'ang, however, the power of the

63

64

emperors was not insignificant.

See W S S6/17b, 57jBb, 9a, l Sa .

For instance. Hsiao-fen. Ping. and Chi-liang. WS 5 7/lOa-b. 49/8b-9b.

65

WS 57/8b.

67

WS S7/Sb-8a.

66

Ho, WS 49/7b, T'ing, WS 57/7a. Hsiao-fen, WS 57f8b.

Notes to pp. 67- 75

139

68

WS 57/16b; Ch 'Uon Hou-Wei wen, 57/3b-Sa.

69

Three who were dismissed at some time are Yu, Tsuan, and Hsiao-fen. (WS 57/

70

For instance, Ping, Ching·yung, Hsiao-fen, and Chen. WS 49/8a-b, 57J16b, 8a­

71

O n tlte political and military history of this period,

1 7b - l Sa, 17a, 9a.)

IOb, 14a-b.

see

TCTe 149-56, BalaZs.

'Traite Economique', pp. 241-62; Hamaguchi, Shin-Kfln Zu;·T()shi, pp. 707:"'36 ;

Tanigawa, Teikoku keisei, pp. 178-88; Ma Ch'ang-shou, Wu-han yu Hsien-pei, pp. 75-86.

72

WS 57/1 8b.

74

WS 57/9a, 1 2b.

73

75

76

77

78

79

80

WS 49/Sa- 9a.

WS 56/1 7a, 73/10b- l I b.

WS 5711 5a-b.

WS 57/9b-IOa.

WS 56/1 9b-2la. The term 'hundred mouths' for the households of men from

eminent families was frequently used in the T'ang. See Moriya, MombatGU, pp. 144-8.

WS 56/ I Sb - 16a.

WS 49/9a. While there must have been considerable indiscriminate slaughter, Ts'ui Hsin had gained offiCe as the son-in-law of Empress Hu's closest advisor and hence

can fairly be considered her partisan. 81

WS 57/1 3a.

83

Chou mu 3S/3b-6b.

82 84

PCS 30/l a, 2 1 /la-lb.

PCS 37/2b.

85

WS 57/lOb, l l b.

86

WS 57/l la, l Ob .

88

PCS 30/8b-l0b; WS S7/12b; 14b; 49/Ba-9a; 56/15b-21a. Clwu Ilhu 35f3b-9b.

87 89

90 91

Chou shu 35/7b.

Under the Western Wei military system

armies. On this system 92 93

94

each Grand General o f CavalrY, Palatinate

and Dignitary of the Highest Rank was to have charge of one of the twenty-four see

Kikuchi HideO, 'Fuhei seido no ten
Tang Chang-ju, Shih-Iun ts'ung, pp . 250-66.

Sui shu S4/8b,

60118, 74/Sa.

Chou shu 3S/6a-7a.

For a description of the relations between these families in the Western Wei and Chou. see Albert E. Dien, Biography of Yti-wen Hu. pp. I - 1 S . These families

formed the core of what c::h'en Yin-k'o called the Kuan-lung group (Northwest 95

96 97

98

99

100 101

aristocracy), Ch 'eng-chih ifhih, pp.

Sui shu 60/Ia-b.

1 1 - 15 , 36-7.

Sui diu S4/Bb-9a. See also Peter A. Boodberg, 'Marginalia to the Histories of the Northern Dynasties', pp. 2S9-6 1 . Sui shu 74/8b-9a. Sui rhu 74/9a, lOb. Sui shu 4S/ 1 2b - 1 3b. See also Boodberg, 'Marginalia', pp_ 267-8. Sui shu 74/10a.

That Is, both were descendants of Ts'ui I's second son. There is no evidence, how­

ever, that Ts'uis in this period thought in terms of branches. As is discussed in the

following chapter, division of the Ts'uis into branches may have been mainly a

method employed by Tang genealogists to facilitate record keeping.

140

Notes to pp. 75-8 1 02

Sui shu 38/2a, 4 1 f I b, 42f7b; TCTC 1 74, pp. 542 1 -2. It should be pointed out that neither Hung- tu nor Chung-rang were considered lacking in family feeling; it is just that t heir families were more narrowly defined. Hu ng-t u is said to have run his family like his office. 'Although his sons and younger brothers had gray hair ,

he would hit them for their behavior. The wo men' s apartments were very orderly.

People of t h e time praised this.' It seems, however, that after he lost his political 103 104 1 05 1 06

power his bro thers moved out. Sui shu 74/1 03. HTS 72C/52b-53b. Ins. 8, 1 3, 25.

Chou shu 35/6a, Sui shu 54/I Oa, HTS 72C/50b-52b. Ins. 10, 1 5 . P'eng's so n

Chih-te .has a rank eight post i n the HTS, but a rank five one in lns. 1 0. HTS 7 2C/54a-55b; Sui shu fiO/4a.

Sui shu 60/4a, 54/10a, 74/10a-b.

107

See Tanigawa, Teikoku keisei, pp. 267-7 l .

1 08

PCS 39/h-b, lO/2a-b, 9a-b. PCS 30/2a .

1 09 110

PCS 30/2b.

III

The defector , Kao Shen, had diVorced his wife, Ts·ui·Hsien's Sister, and because of this had become estranged from Hsien. TCTC 1 5 8, pp. 491 3 - 1 4.

112 113 1 14 115 1 16

1 17 tI8 1 19

PCS 24/3b.--4a; TCTC 1 60, pp. 4948-9.

PCS 30/3b-4a; 39/2a. PCS 30f9a-h; PS 32/22a. See also Balazs, Traite Juridique, pp. 1 36-7. PCS 39/2a; PS 32/32a. PS 32/32a, 7/1 9a; PeS 30/4b. There are two versions of this incident, or perhaps two of Hsien's wives were killed. In PS 7/19a the emperor visited Hsien's wife and asked whether she missed her husband. When she said she did, he personaUy cut off her head so she could 'visit him' . In PeS 30{4b, angry with Hslen's son Ta-na,

the emperor had his mother killed and threw her in the river; TeTC 167, p. 5 1 90.

PS 32f23a-b.

PCS 3912a-3b. On this violent pmge see Su eh'jng-pin, 'Han-jen shih-If, pp. 1 1 3-

14, Tanigawa, Teikoku keisei, pp. 279 - 8 1 , Miao Yiieh, Tu-shih ts'un-Icao, pp. 90- 2; Albert E. Dien, 'Yen Chili-Cui ( 5 3 1 -591 +): A Buddho-Confucian', pp. 60-2.

1 20

PCS 39/1b.

1 21

Sec TCTC 1 59, p. 4927.

122

PeS 24/3a, 3O/lOb.

1 23

See Tanigawa, Teikoku kei&ei, pp. 269-7 1 , 304 - 5. He sees them as working for the interests of the great families, but in the sense that their interests were chal­

1 24 1 25 1 26

lenged by new groups of potent ial bureaucrats.

PCS 46j6a-b (fuller in PS 32/3b-4b); Sui shu 77/sa-8a.

WS 49/7b-lOa: S6/16b-21a, 57/ l l b - 1 8b.

Tzu-fa, Tzu-shu, Tzu-tuan, and Tzu-po hetd offices such as Secretary for .Evalu­

ations.(rank six) and Cavalier-attendant with Direct Access (rank fIVe). The two

youngest ones lived to serve the Sui (PS 32/2a-b). Other Ts'uis mentioned in the

histories for this period include Ts'ui Tzu-wu (who was made a Censor by Ts'ui

Hsien alld was later mentioned as inspecting HsU prefecture in that capacity) (PCS 3 SI4b)� Ang's son J (who worked in the Scholars Pavilion and is mentioned as an Administrative Aide) (PS 32/23b, PeS 45/4b}; one of Hsiao-fen's grandsons,

LUI1!l-tzu (who held. a provincial post) (PCS 16/ l Oa) and a nephew, Shih-shun (who was a n Administrative Aide) (PCS 3 1 /2b); Ts'ui Shu-ts'an (who was the

brother-in-law of the Empress Li and Assistant Governor of Wei and once beaten

for impertinence by the emperor) (PS 32/2h-3a); one of Shu-ts'an's cousins. Te-Ii

r ---- -

Notes to pp. 78-81

141

(who worked o n the Yti.[an with Chi-shu and was later Adjunct Offi<:er o f Ch'i

1 27 1 28'

prefecture) (PS 3 2/3a).

Ins. 1, 4, 16, 1 8, 45, "57, 70; HTS 72C/4Sa-60a.

Each of these sources has different

kinds of liinitations, making comparisons from

Eastern Wei to Northern Ch'i to Sui very difficult. The

Wei shu gives posts of men

still alive who may later have reached higher posts; when no post is listed often it seems the man in question was still young and had not yet entered the bureauc·

racy. The men who do not have biographies but are mentioned in other parts of

the Sui shu. pcs, and PS tend to be h igher officials (and since there are no indexes to these histoTies, many referenCes have undoubtedly been missed). The HTS genealogical tables show almost half t he Ts'uis in the Sui holding no office, but as is argued in Appendix I, tbis is probably because they held lower offices (rank six to nine) which were not included on one of the national genealogical compen­ diums. In Ins. 8 and 9 two Sui men with no ofrICe on'the genealogical table are described as a prefectural Chief Aide and it rank six central government official.

fn inscriptions everyone holds an off'lce, but low ones are much more common

than in other sources. Since inscriptions date largely from the T'ang they mention

more Sui men than Northern Ch'i men as grandfathers or great·grandfathers,

so

tbe high incidence onow offices for Sui men may be due largely to the shift from

dynastic history sources to ins(''Iiptions. 1 29

WS 5 1/ 1 6a-1 7a.

1 30

WS 49/Sa-9b.

1 32

HTS 72C/4Sa·-49b. Ins. 3 and S.

131

1 33

1 34

PS 32/2a-3a . .

In cases wbere lines disappear from record, one cannot el(clude the possibility that

they died out. Certainly a few lines must have died (lut, but it is unlikely tbat o f

the forty-five men in generation nineteen, less than a third would have had grand­

children. Rather their disappearance must be largely historiographical. The most

detailed source of the descendants of the Ts'uis arter SSO is the HTS genealogical

tables which omit at least half of the Tang Po-ling Ts·uis. Since the more complete

Tang genealogical tables for families like the Chao-chun Li and Fan-yang Lu do not show any exceptionally high mortality in this period, it is ·unreasonable to

1 35

assume that the Ts'uis alone were decimated. This can be seen by drawing genealogieS from the extensive biographieal materials in the Wei shu. For instance, from about 400 to 550 Lu Chan of Fan-yang had at least 48 male descendants. (WS 47/1 a - 1 9a) From 450 to 550 Li Pao of Lung·hsi

had at least 70 male descendants (WS 39/ 1 a- 1 48, 53/ 14a-24b, 83B/8b:"'9a).

1 38

See Miyazaki, Kyuhin fconjinhO, pp. 470-2. See PCS 4/19b. See Tanigawa, Teikoku keisei, pp. 290-3 1 1 ; Dien, Yu·wen Hu, pp. 9- 1 5 ; Yama­

1 39

See Hamaguchi, Shin·Kan 7.ui·TOshi, pp. 763-5, 773-83; Miyazaki, Kyuhin

140

Miyazak� Kyuhin kIln/illllo, pp. 4 8 1 -4, 5 1 7-26.

1 36

1 37

141

14 2

zaki Hiroshi, 'Zuicho kanryo no seikaku'.

kIlnjillhb, pp. 59-60, 506 - 1 6. Ins. 3.

The last Ts'ui reported to live in An-p'lng w as a brother of Hsien in t h e Northern

Ch'i. (Sui shu 4211 b). T'ang Ts'l.ds for whom funerary inscriptions survive (all o f

whom were ill the upper class, either officials o r their relatives), never lived ill An­

p'ing. It is also significant that in the politk:al unrest and rebellions that period·

ically disturbed Hopei from Sui through the T'ang, I can find no reference to any Po-ling Ts'uis taking leadership roles of any sort.

,-"'---'

r -- -

Notes to pp. 81 -3 143 144

142

fITS 201 /8b-9a, This tomb has SUIvived

in very good condition. apparently never having been in 1 971 . It is oot one of the larg est or most

rQbbed befme excavatiQn was begun

richly furnished to mbs of the period, yet even a brief description of its construc­ t ion and contents will indicate how much labor and money must have been

in its preparation. The tomb chamber is circular, about 1 0 m in diameter, ceiling, the height at the highest point about 8 m. Above the chamber is an earthen mound, abO ut 4 m tall which occupied 4 or 5 mou of land. involved

with a domed

Leading south from the charnber are an inner and then an outer passageway,

separated by a large stOM gateway with stone doors that could be fastened. Each

door-leaf is 1 . 8 m

tan and weighs over 1 000

kg. The inner passageway is made o f

brick, a s is the entire tomb chamber. The wall o f t h e tomb chamber is plastered,

and figures of people, birds, and animals are painted o n it no photographs of the tomb itself have been published. In the tomb chamber the north half of the room

in color. Unfortunately,

is raised as a coffin platform,

and on it were found three skeletons, face upwards. From the placement of the

funerary insCriptions it is clear that Ang Was

in the middle, his fust w ife on the

left and the second on his right. Although some other Northern Ch'i tombs con­

this comb co ntained only 10: a 2 servants, each about 26 em tall, and a broken

tained a hundred or more pottery figurines, soldier 68 cm tall, 6 attendants and

figurine of a woman. In stlrle these figurines are typical of the period. There were

including 3 The 23 bronze items were

also 1 4 pieces of pottery and porcelain, generaUy of good quality.

four-handled jugs. 9 small bOWls, 1 vase", and 1 spit toon .

all small-scalelllodeis of the actual objects which must have been too expensive to

place in a tomb. there were 2 cups, 5 bowls, 3 stand s of three or four legs, 2 jars,

2 vases,

a basin. a jug, a flat-iron, a mirror, a lamp, and a tiger-shaped urinal.

of these items are only a few cm long. and the

smallest a cup 3.3

Most in size, the largest, the fiat-iron was 15.2 em

cm high. There Were also 4 copper Cash and 45 .

beads With holes through them for stringing. This grave provides the best

indication of the material circumstances of the Ts'ui Aug had lived in houses

Ts'uis' life. At tlie minimum it can be assumed that

at least as spacio u s as his grave, had used pottery and porcelain of at least the quality of the tomb pieces, and had

in his home bronze vessels and utensils of the Ch'j

sort for which models were made for his grave. Mureover, since the Northern

wa-s not a period when men impoverished themselves to construct elaborate or

lavish tombs. probably anyone who would construct a tomb of the size of Ts'ui Ang's had ample means for provide for the living.

The description of this grave is found in 'Ho-pel P'ing-shan Pei-Ch'i TS'ui A!Ig

1 45

146

mu tiao-eh'a pao-kao .'

See

PS 32/2b. 3a, 26b.

The fragility of lineage organization

is testified to both by mndern anthropological

studies and the history of line-dges in recent centuries. See, for instance, Emily Ahern, The Cult of the Dead in u

Chinese Vilhlge, pp. 1 7-39, and Denis Twitchett,

'The Fan Clan's Charitable Estate'.

14 7

On the economic.history of the .Northern Dynasties and the equal-field system see

Wan Kuo-ting, 'The System of Equal Land Allotments in Medieval Times', and

Han K uo-p'an, Pei-ch 'uo ching-chi shih tsan. In the Sui there is Ito direct evidence that slaves received allotments,. bu t since they were tllKed at half the rate for com­

148

land. kanjinho, pp. 485-9, 5 16, points t o another possible economic problem. He sees the sixth century as a period of rapid ecol'omic growth with moners, it would seem that they received some Miyazaki, Kyuhin

increased tnde and use of money. a nd believes that

because of this new groups

Notes to pp. 83- 8

143

were beginning to challenge the economic dominance of

tt, great families who

were too conservative to take advantage of the new opportunities. He cites as evi­

dence the fact that merchants, particularly fore ig n ones, were able to buy bureau­ cratic posts in the Northern Ch'i. In a similar ,·em, Kawakatsu Yoshio, dence de l'aristocratie chinoise sous les Dynasties du Sud',

'Le deca­ pp. 32-8, relates the

decline of the Southern aristocracy to increase in commerce in the South. 149

One case of harassment is reported

in the biography of Yen Jung, a Sui 'harsh

official', who was made Governor-general of Yu prefecture. 'The Fan-yang Lus for generations had been a prominent family (chu·hsing). lung appointed them

all as

clerks and underlings in order to humHiate them'. (Sui shu 14{5a-b.) See also

150 151

Tonami Mamoru, 'Zui

WS 57/5b, 8a, 14a.

no bOetsu to shokujitsuhi'i'.

N o one has yet been able t o

unravel a U of the sociological and philosophical mean­

ings and uses of the term shih, Many scholars equate it with aristocrat in this

it continued to retain older meanings, particularly in compound such as him-shih. 'scholar in humble circumstances'. On uses of the term shih, see Johnson, MedielJO/ Oligarchy, ch. I , Miyakawa, Seiji shako; h en , w. period, but

phrases,

114-80, 1 99-208.

152 153 1 54

See Johnson, Medieval Oligarchy, ch. 3, 4.

Ins. 5 5 Says, 'When the Northern Wei settled the lineages and clans (ling hsing shih

tsu) they were rank one.' HTS 1 99119b mentions four Northern Dynasty works. One of these, Tan Kang's

Lei-Ii, is quoted in the Ts'ui section of a Sung genealogical text. It says that among the first class clans (chia-men) the Ch'ing-ho Ts'uis were number one and tbe Po­ ling Ts' uis followed them. It and another Nor thern Ch'j book quoted seem to have ranked individual men within their clans or lineages, for instance, placing

Ts' ui Ang before Ts'ui Chi-shu. The criteria for this ranking seems to have been neither the man's OfilCial rank, nor

his geneaiogical priority (distance from the

senior line), but perhaps the achievements of.his father or grandfather. (Ku-chin hsing-shih shu pien-ch'eng, 519b.) 1 55 1 56 157

WS 56/16b, PeS 39/3a, 4518b. PS 33f8b. PeS 23/6a-b.

Notes to Chapter 5

L. Arnstein, 'The Survival of Pl". 1 34-59. Weber's discussion of status groups (From Max Weber, Pl". 186-94} also

For examples of the survival of old elites, see Walter

the Victorian Aristocracy' ; Joseph Schumpeter, Imperialism and Social Classes,

seems to have been based largely on his observations of nineteenth-century Euro­ pean old aristocracies. Recent scholarship on the rise of commerce in medieval

Europe also suggests that those who profited most were not so much new men as well established landlords. See Ronald G. Witt, 'The Landlord and the Economic Revival of the Middle Ages in N'ortheIn Europe, 1000-1 250'.

2

OIen-kuan cheng-yao, 7/11a, t lb;

3

HTS 95j4b; TCTe 200, p. 6318; CTW 3 1 8/19a-20b.

5

The social attitudes and political importance of the provincial elite are a subject

4

See Twitchett, 'Ruling Class', pp. 75-83.

deservillg separate detailed study. They should probably be viewed as supporters (unconsciously at times) of the old families mainly because they seem to have

tried to be considered aristocrats themselves. In funerary inscriptions and similar

documents for members of provincial elite families, they describe their ancestry

at length and

in terms as laudatory as the arismcfats used ; they took pride in call-

144

Notes to pp. 88- 91 ing themselves shih, shih·liu, shih·ta·!u, terms which in the T'ang still

car ried

pre­

Tang aristocratic overtones. The uses of these shih terms are confusing and per­

6

7

haps were changing; o ften they are equated with what are called here the aristo­ cratic families (in the passage fro m tbe Chen·kuan cheng·yao which speaks of the 'shan-tung Ts'ui, Lu, U, Cbeng sl/I·hiing', the crs changes to silan-tung lhih';en). Tang discussions of shih be bavior or values draw heavily but not exclusively on examples from the o ld families (See Takeda, 'Kaho', Imabori, 'Shlzoku no seikaku, II'.) It is probable that provincial eUte families liked to think of Utem­ selves as belonging to 'the Ts'uis and Lus and all the rest'. For instance, the bl!sic rules for tbe placement process were not established until 669 and the curriculum for the chin·drih degree until 6 8 1 . (See des Routours, Traite des hxamens, pp. 166-7, 243-9.) In the early decades of the rang, the officials ma king the nnal choices fOl assignments seem to have varied considerably in the k inds of cand idat es they preferred, for tbe proportion of men who gained off'i.Ce through various routes varied gre a tly fmm year to year. In ten separate years between 61 8 and 680 no 'tribute' students were accepted, .in 66 5 all the chin-mil! candidates (ailed, but in 673, 19 were passed. (See Wen-hsien t 'ung-k 'aQ, 29, pp. 276 - 7.) A few memorials, edicts, and discussions Qf the recruitment systelJl from this period have been preserved, but they all deal rather generally wit h tbe subject, supporting tbe selection of 'worthies' instead of men with minor talents. See Ts 'e­

8

9

10

til ytian,kuei, 629/1 7a-20b; Chen·ialan cheng'Yllo, 3/9b-Wb; Tong hui-yao, 74, pp. 1 3 3 3-7, 75, p. 1 356. . The idea !hit the provinci;ll elite ;nay have fostered the interests of the old aristo­ cratic families is not far from Ch'en Yin-k'o's view that the 'Shan·tung shih-tsu' (Northeast elite families) formed a ·distinct power group in the early T'ang. How· ever. I am not restricti ng either the. old families or the provincial elite to the Nortbeast. Perhaps a clearer formulation of the political divisions of the first few ·decades of Tang rule would be in terms of the coalit ion of families that had ruled Ihe Chou and Sui. versus everyone else with claims to status and influence. For instance, HTS 9S14b; ers 8 1 /l a ; Ins. 4. This estimate is based o n several consideratiQns. Ts'ui· is a .retatively rare surname, which meant that the poo l of people who could falsely claim Po-ling ancestry was small. Second. a .close comparison of the genealogical tables and funerary inseri", tions (discussed in Appendix I) shows that they generally confirm eacb o ther.

Nevertheless, there are a few dubious places in these tables. and the funerary

inscript ions that cannot be related 't� men listed on these tables 9ften are peculiar. FOl instance. only these inscriptions discuss the branching of the Ch'ing-bo and

PO-ling T$'uis. TheMl inscriptions are also more likely to r.eport lhat the main sub­

ject was a military officer, waf buried away from Lo-yang, married into an obscure

11

12

family, and so on. It is impossible to prove that any particular claim was false, since some Ts'uis could easily have been in mo dest circumstances; therefore, everyone caned Ts'ui has been included in the statistics presented here. ThaUs. Po-chien, Ang, Chung·fang, and Shih-yOeh, HTS 201/8b, 1 64/14b. 1 06/ 7a, 1 29/3.a. .

They are admittedlY not completely random. but their biases seem minor. First it appears tI;lat all members of the upper class, even children and men who bad not yet beld office. had funerary inscriptions (mu-ehih). (Thi s was . Qot true for stelae

(pei j reserved Jor men with o fficial or posthumous rank five or higher [See Ins. 74 1 ). Nevertlteless, not all inscriptions have survived. Inscriptions from the hills around Lo·yang appear to have survived better than those buried elsewhere. And it is likely that the Ts'uis who served as .officials more frequently moved to Lo· yang. It is also possible that scholars in later dy nast ies more often made rubbings

Notes to pp.

91-3

145

of long ele gant inscriptions for men who were officials. This bias is of limited

importance, however, since only 29 of the 160 men listed on these inscriptions are

the Iliain subject. The remainder lire ancestors or descendants. Their ranks should not grea tly have affected the survival of the inscription. FinaDy, for some un­ known reasOn, inscriptions do not survive evenly for all periods. Of the 160 men, 42 lived in the seventh century, 72 in the eighth, and 46 in the ninth. Thus the most important limitation of these insCriptions is that they only exist for Ts' uis

who were members of the upper class. But as mentioned above, biological Po-ling

TS'UK who were not in the upper class and had no ties t o their prominent kinsmen were not 'the Po-ling Ts'uis' of the histories.

13

Eberhard, Q:mquerors and Rulers, Pl'. 44-5, suggests that the upper class families

had a 'city branch' and a 'country branch'. There is not the slightest evidence that such was the case with the Ts'uis. This does not mean "that other aristocratic fam­

ilies, perhaps larger, wealthier, or situated closer to the capital

could

nof have

maintained some overa ll or branch kinship organization through the T'ang. The

lar.ge gemlalogies of a few families incllided in the HTS (see Appendix n seem to

imply that at least a few families had sufficient organization to maintain relatively complete records.

14

Many Ts'uis a re merely described as me n of Po-ling (not even a place name in

T ' ang) or as men of An-p'ing in Shen prefecture, the name of that area in the

T'ang. None of these men are included on the table since most likely An-p'ing and Po-ling merely refer to kinship origin. When inscriptions are available for these

men, they always show burial in !.o-yang. (For instance, CTS 13019b and HTS 150/6b list Tsao as a man of An-p'ing; yet Ins. 63, 64, and 67 for his wife and

brothers all list burial in !.o-yang.)

IS 16

See Ins. 3,5, and 6. The subject of Ins. 5 had died in Cb'ang-an. Ins. 13 and 34, for two members of branch two, both show burial on the 16th and 17th of the second month of 824, but in different village s (hsiang). ConCern­ ing branches (fang), it may be that some lineages Which had already ruched large size while stili heavily concenlIated in one area divided into branches when kin­ ship organization became unwieldy, but that not all famous famili es went through this stage; however, to impose uniformity and organize their data T'ang geneai­ ogists may have divided all the major families into bran che s. Interest in questions of pedigree seem to have been widespread in the T'ang and men are known who could discuss the pedigree of their contemporaries, presumably by studying the

various genealogical compendiums (e.g. HTS 102/13a-b), Thus men may very

well have talked of brancheS of the Po·ling Ts'uis without these ever (or for any

extended periods) having any real kinship functions. 17

Some examples of distantly related Ts'uis who used such terms are found in CTW

409/8b, Ins. 24, Ins. 68. The following passage in the T'ang yU·lin, 4, p. 138,

suggests that this was a prevalent practice: "

In the Ts'uifamily, the Po-ling and Ch'ing-ho also have higher and lower status.

The most prestigious of the lineages is the third branch of the Po-Iing , li neage J.

Altlwugb tile second branch is senior, nowada ys their members all honor the

members of the third branch as their elder and younger undes. Because mar­ rlages have beeillater in the third branch, after a number of" generations they are behind.

Act�lIy from the HTS genealogy and funerary Inscriptions there appears to have 18

been as large a difference in ages of 'cousins' within brancrnls as between them.

Because Ts'uis wer e aware onheir exact kinship relationships, one might speculate that the Po-lmg Ts'uis kept a genealogy. No evidence has been found to �ither

support or refute this idea. The genealogical tables for t he T5'ui5 in the ffTS do

not seem to have been based directly on a private famity genealogy (see A ppendix

Notes to pp.

19

20

21

22

23 24

25

9$-5

146

O. It is true that the large national genealogical compendium compiled in the first century of tbe Tang must have drawn on private genealogical sources, but it seems imposSible to determine what these sources were like. It seem s aHeasonable to suppose that the government genealogists reconciled the documents submitted by various groups of Ts'uis as to suppose that the Ts'uis got together themselves to compile a single genealogy. CfS 163/4a-b; TPKC 154, p. 1109. The only case I could find in which a Ts'ui is said to have aided another Ts'ui because of their kinship connection concerned Ts'ui Ning. Ts'ui Lun liked Ning's demeanor and also because of their kinship (i ch 'j tsung·hsing) appointed him to a military post (CfS 117/3b). Both Lun and Ning called themselves Po-ling Ts'uis, but their degree of kinship is unknown since Ning is not on the HTS tables. On members of sId families stressing marriage ties to other old families, see Kuo Mo-jo, Li Po ytl Tu Fu, PI'. 142-53. For a different view of the degree of organization and identification within Tang clans, see Fukushima Shigejiro, Chilgo/cu nombokucho kenkyu, pp. 166-206. He studied tile Lung-hsi Chao clan, and while fully describing how widely they had settled during the T'ang, believed that they centinued to meet for ancestral sacri­ fices and had a strong sense of clan solidarity. The evidence which he collected is, of course, different than that used here for the Po-ling Ts'uis. Yet many of his conclusions are based on a different style of interpretation rather than different facts. For instance, he believes that the fact that all Chaos called themselves Lung­ hsi Chaos indicated a sense of unity. He also concluded that the Chaos conducted common ancestral sacrifices because someone set up an ancestral temple (mioo). These arguments could, of course, have been a pplied to the Po-ling Ts'uis, but have been rejected as unconvincing. Tile fact that the Ts'uis aU called themselves Po-Iing Ts'uis is taken here not as a sign that they wished to draw attention to their kinship connections, but as a sign that tlley wanted their inherited social status noticed. Whereas in England one might describe a person as the eighth Duke of Devonshire or the younger son of an earl, in China where there was little emphasis on birth order or hereditary ranks, the name of the family and its ances­ tral home was used to indicate hereditary prestige. Twitchett, 'Ruling Class', JohnsOn, Medieval Oligarchy, ch. 5. For the purposes of the statistics given here, the elite families have been defmed as the ones listed in Ikeda On, 'GumbO hyo', or Niida Noboru, Chugoku horeishi ktmkyu: [)brei niJdohO, kazoku sonraku ho, pp. 630-4ti. Even if each of these families was as large as tile Ts'uis, and had, to be generous,- 500 members at one time, that would only entail 0.3% of a popUlation of 50 million. The list of marriages includes only those in which the name of the Ts'ui or his or her father is given. Many other cases merely state that someone had a Ts'ui or Po­ ling Ts'ui spouse. Since these cases are less likely tei be based on accurate infor­ mation, and are impossible to verify, they have been omitted. Concerning the ancestral home of spouses, exceptions have been made for people surnamed Cheng and Lu, who have been counted as though they were identified as Jung-yang Cheng and Fan-Yang Lu. This is because there were no other clans of even moderate prominence with these surnames. See HTS 75A/5a-45a, 73A/19b-41 a. See Chapter One, PI'. 10-11. The spouses who were not from prominent families were still from families of officials, but ones who were upstarts. For instance, a man named Ts'ui K'o-kuan who is described as a Po-ling Ts'ui but is not otherwise identifiable married his daughter to Li Wei-cltien, the son of a powerful Regional Commander whose fam­ ily origins were unknown. See HTS 75B/35b-36a, 211/1a-7a. The politically important men are the ones with biographies in the d ynastic his­ tories and listed below in n. 97. Close relatives here include both those who might

Notes to pp.

26 27 28 29

10 31 32

33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

41

42

95-9

14 7

have been able to help <me's career (mother, wife, and brothers' and sisters' spouses) and also the ones whose marriages could be arranged after political suc­ cess had been achieved, down to one's own and -brothers' grandchildren. If only children and grandchildren were included, the statistics would be even more impressive; oyer 90% were married within the seven families. In determining the status of the spouses chosen by Ts'uis, no other factor seems to have been signifI­ cant, not whether the Ts'ui concerned was a man or women, nor the branch he or she belonged to, nor whether descent from the lineage important in the Northern Dynasties could be proved, nor whether the information carne from an excavated fll,nerary inscription or other source. Ins. 24. Ins. 39_ CTS 136/11b. In 848 Emperor Hslian-tsung married bis favorite daughter to a well-respected Jung-yang Cheng, ordering her to fmget her noble station and act the wifely role with full regard for her husband's..family. When the Emperor later learned that she was out amusing herself while her husband's younger brother was home ill, he angrily remarked, 'I have wondered why the shih-ta--fu families do not like to marry members of my house, but they have good reason!' The Emperor sternly rebuked his daughter, and afterwards, the historian notes,the imperial clansmen were all diligent in their observations of the proprieties like the bureaucratic clans of the Northeast (shan-tung i-kuan chih tsu). TCTC 248, p. 8036. ers 119/10a. Ins. 25. In the latter case, the evidence is not unambignous. On the negative side, there are no private documents such as funerary inscriptions which show contact between members
Notes to pp.

148

99-101

Leng returned the body of his cousin Chi who years earlier had died in the south on an official assignment. (Ins. 32.) 43 44

Ins. 24 and 25. Since these funerary tablets were buried, they were not a form of ostentatious dis­

play aimed at impressing contemporaries. (See Kai·Yu ts'ung·k'ao, 32, pp. 682-

5). However, family solidarity and filial piety must often have prompted men to make sure that a relative's most important accomplishments or virtues were pre­ served on stone. This same impulse led sons to arrange to have their father's writings published or circulated. K'ai bequeathed his writings to Mien. (Ins. 2S) Yu-fu after Mien's death asked a distinguished friend to write an Introduction to

his father's writings and Chili later did the same thing for Yu-fu's writings (CfW 3.l 5/7a-b, 493/11a; HTS 60/13a).

45

See Ch'en Yin-k'o, Cheng·chih shih, pp. 53-4, 58-9, 68-9 i n which he discllsses the importance of ritual conduct and classical learning in distinguishing the old

Northeastern families from both the imperial house- and -the newer literati who

emphasized more frivolous literary talents. From this study of the Ts'uis, family traditions of ritual conduct seem to have been more important than classical scholarship (except in the-ritual texts}. A main theme of Takeda,'Kaoo' is the importance of family-based ritual traditions in tbe ethos of the old families.

46

CTS 1 88/IOb, Il b-14b. The ers quotes at length from his arguments con1:erning proper mourning utensils to be used for maternal relatives of the emperor, and notes that whenever there_re -doubts at court concerning the meaniilg at

47

crw 31S/6b.

passages in the ritual texts, Mien was consulted:

48 49

CTW 338/1Sb. CTW 409/10b-12b. See also Takeda,'Kaoo', pp. 91-2 where he discusses M u N i ng a n d Yu-fu's essay. Integrity was also considered a product of strict family standardsand traditions. In Yu-fu's biography, the historians remark that society was impressed by the excellence of the family traditions of this grou p of Ts'uis because Yu-iu's widow knew enough not to accept Ii gift from the rebel Chu Tz'u

50 51

who had ea rli er been her husband's colleague. (CTS 119/13b-14a)

The role of etiquette and learning in demonstrating class background is fully

explored in Thorstein Veblen's The Theory of the Lehu,e Closs, esp. pp. 33-80.

Scholars have paid particular attention to the rival efforts of the court and t-he old

families to set standards of status, and the effects of the examination system"on

52 53

the position and attitudes of the old families. See Twitchett, 'Ruling Class', Ch'en Yin-k'o, Cheng-chih sh;h , p p. 1-93. Only 63 of the 14 inscriptions used here are for Po-ling Ts'uis, the others being for the wives of Ts'ujs whose own ancestry is described in their inscriptions.

The fellowing is an example dated 103 (Ins. 51): 'At tho time of Tang they were of the Chiang clan, grandsons of the Fire Lord, In Chou theywefe the Ts'ui line­ age; descendants of the Marquis ofCh'i. Their distant origin flows at length like

the rushing river reaching the sky; their accomplishments, piled in sta cks, Me like

a chain of mountains pressing on the sea'. A 139 inscription (Ins. 13) is briefer: 'Their ancestors were the descendants of T'ai Kung of CIt'i. A younger son was enfeoffed at Ts'ui city. From tltis their lineage received its name'> 54

Three mention Chung-mou, the Marquis of Wen-yang at the beginning of the Former Han, who was supposedly the ancestor of the Po-ling Ts'uis when they branched off from the CIt'ing-ho Ts'uis (Ins. 41,45,30). All three also mention Ts'ui I and the branches formed byhis sons. A fourth inscription mentions Chung­ mou, but gives him a
these five inscriptions are all of Ts'uis who cannot be related to known descend-

,-

r

---

Notes to pp.

101-3

149

ants of Ts'lli I. Possibly they used the Cn'ing·ho version of the origin of the Po­ ling Ts'uis, which might have b ee n copied into reference w orks. The theory of origin described in the HTS genealogy and referred to in these inscriptions has the

55 56

57

58

S9

60 61 62 63 64 6S 66 67

Ts'uis long settled in Ch'lng-ho, with a younger son moving to Cho commandery, later called Po-ling, at the begiRning of the Han, thus making the Ch'ing-bo Ts'uis the senior branch. An example of this type of introduction is fou n d in an inscrip­ tion dated 876: (Ins. 41) 'In the Ch'in there was l-ju, Marquis of Tung-iai. His youngest son Chung-{mou) in the Han was enfeoffed as Marquis of Wen-yang. He moved to C1to commandery. The Later Han changed the name of Cho com mand­ ery to Po-ling. Nowadays, they are men of An-p'ing in Po-ling. In the Yen with the Di rector of the Imper ial Library J, I the family t again dividedrnaklng six numbered branches'. four of these mention Ts'ui Yen of the Three Kingdoms (one also his cousin Lin) and one Ts'ui Hao of the Northern Wei (Ins. 9, 7, 55, 34, 42). For instance, Jih-yung and Ins. 7 for his son, and Hung·1i and Ins. 34 for his brother. While neither of these men are listed as the authors of the inscriptions, they �re alive When they wer,e w ritten. Hung-Ii is stated to have commissioned the inscriptio n for his brother. Another s ign .of disregard for matters of pedigree a re the .occasional errors or over­ sights Ts'uis made with more r�nt ancestors. For instance, in an inscription ' written in 873 for a gran dson of Chih, sather tban taking pride in the fact that Chib had been a Chief M inister , only his 'ban ishment' post as Pref�t is give n (Ins. 40). Another example is found in Ins. 31; the author of this inscr iptio n wished to mention Ts'ui Jib.yung, a Chief Minister and a cousin of the woman',s great­ grandfather. But in doing so he makes Jib-yung the son of Chi instead of I who ' was actually his father. Nine inscriptions mention th e Later Han Ts'uis, o ften referring 10 the titles of literary works they wrote, many of which circulated in the Tang. Two also men- , tion Hung in the Western Chin. An exception t o tltis general trend is Yen Chen· ch'ing's biogra phy of Mien. which, since it was not formally a funerary inscrip­ tion, was not in c lude d in the above analysis. It Iists.�ven of the Ts'uis who have biogra phies in the Northern Dynasties. According to David McMullen, 'Historical and Literary Theory in the Mid·Eighth Cen1ury', pp. 308-30, m en fr�m old fam­ ilies often preferred the Han te t he period .of division that foHowed it. Ins. 26. In Yu-fu's inscrijltion for another cousin, Chung·fu,he reveals his familiar­ ity with t he HQU Him shu biography of his ancest ors. Instead of saying since lhe time or the Fire Lor d the Ts'uis have flOurished, he says they produce d talented and accomplished men since the Attendant Censor in the Han. (Ins. 22) (Attend­ an,t Censor is the office held by CIl-'ao, the earliest Ts'ui mentioned in the HHS. Yu.fu is the only one to refer to him in a funerary inscript io n.) CTW 409/12a, 9a; In s. 25. Ch'en Yin-k'o (Cheng-chih shih, pp. 53-4), reaches the same conclusion from other sources. CTW 338/12-13b. CTW 338/l 2b, 15b;C'TS 18S/lla-b; TCT e 212, p . 6768. C'IW 409/16b. Another example of a member of this family who expressed such an attitude is T s 'u i I-fu quoted in Ins. 26. TPKC 240, p. 1854. T he existence,of more 'aristocratic' and more 'bureaucratic' views among mem­ bers of the old f amilies has been noted by a number of scholars. eh 'e n Yin·k'o, Cheng-chihshih, pp. 54-5, 59, 64-5, speaks of an 'old family' style and a ' new literati' style, with some men of old fa milies adopting the new style a nd vice-

r

--

r-- ---

r----

150

Notes to pp. 103-4

versa. lmabori, 'Shizoku no seikaku, 1', pp. 68-72, sees stress on official achieve­

ment as a late T'ang development. Because judgements of this matter have to be based largely on anecdotal evidence, it is difficult to determine how common each view was, and it is possible that Shih's view was more widely accepted among the

Ts'uis than is suggested here.

68

Tang fiction and anecdotes often show members of the old families having diffi­ culties with the examinations. (See Modya, Mombatsu, pp. 1 24-5; Utsunomiya,

'Kijin', pp. 77 -9). Nevertheless, on the basis of what is known about the Ts'uis,

one should not conclude too hastily that members of old families had great diffi­

culty gaining posts. Ancedotes often record unusual events, and a stock character

in fiction does not have to be 11 common one in reality. Moreover, members of old families who failed the examiriations may later have acquired posts through other

means. Even Tu Fu, the most famous member of an old family to experience

difficulty passing the examinations. eventually obtained a post through another

69 70

route. See WiUiam Hung, Tu Fu: China', Greatest Poet, pp. 71-89. Ins. 5, 2, 19, 49,54.

This is Hsilan-liang, whose father is listed only with a posthumous post (Ins. 54).

In another case a man whose faiher had passed the chin-shih died before holding a post (Ins. 66). The rarity of this situation poses an interesting problem. There is no

reason to assume that a successful official would not have an inscription

written because his father had failed to hold office_ Does this thlln mean that a

man of Po-ling Ts'ui ancestry whose father and grandfather had failed to hold

office had little chance of entering the bureaucracy himself? Through the T'ang PO-ling Ts'uis seem to regularly have had two or three sons (See Appendix 11);

perhaps this increase in numbers created pressure"on unproductive Jines. On the whole, Ts'uis stayed in high positions because of general advantages of wealth,

connections, and prestige. Perhaps a man whose father and grandfather were not officials shared few of these advantages.

71

Information about the method of qualification Ofs(lDlI, brothers, cousins,

nephews, and so on seems to be of little use since it was apparently only provided when the man in question had passed the chln-ghih. While one can note that

many such men passed this examination, there is no way to estimate how many

did not since only a few relatives are listed in any given biography. The dynastic

histories do, however, provide nearly complete information on the method of

entry of the politically most successful Ts'uis. From this data it is evident that

during most of the Tang, in order to rise to national prominence, Po-ling T,'u15

had to pass an examination, usually the chin·shih. The only periods when advance­ ment was less restricted were the first two decades of Tang rule and the turmoil of the An Lu-shan rebellion. Of the thirty-six politically important Ts'uis (listed

below in n. 97), twenty-six or 72% passed examinations, nineteen the chin-shih,

five the mlng-chlng, one a special imperial examination, and one the examination

given by Hung-wen Pavilion. Of the remaining ten men, three appear to have started as direct subOTdinates, rising for their part in achieving peace during the

An Lu-shan rebeUion and its aftermath. Two are stated to have used protection

privilege (one serving as a Ritual Attendant) and for fIVe otherS nothing specific

is stated, but they might have used at least one of the lesser forms of the protection

privilege. Three of these five lived at the very beginning of the dynasty when the

72

system of recruitment had not yet been fully established.

See Chang Ch'Un, T'ong-taik'ao-hstilln chih'tu k'ao, pp. 8-26; Tsukiyama

Jisaburo, TodD; seiji seido

110

kenkyu, pp. 139-63, 195-223, 474-92; Fuku­

shima, NambokuchOshi, pp . 92-166. On the system of direct appointment, see

also Tonami Mamoru, 'Chusei kizokusei no hCikai to hekishosei', pp. lO-15.

73

If the subjects of these inscriptions are taken as a random sample of the Ts'uis,

Notes to pp.

74 75 76 77

104-6

151

the standard deviation of the number of men passing examinations would be 42% ± 9. 6%. Ins. 5,8, 25, 55. On the academies see des RoutonTS, Traite des Examens, 1'1'. 131-44. Tang chih-yen, 1, pp. 5-6. . This system of patronage is shown iii William Hung, Tu Fu: China's GreJltest Poet, pp. 25-8; Arthur Waley, the L ife arid Timesof Po Chll·i, PI'. 1 8 23 ; and in James J.Y. Liu, The Poetry of Li Sha ng-yin pp. 14-24. See also Tsukiyama, Seqi seiJ;lo, pp.149-52. TPKC 255, p. 1989, 182, p, 1354. HTS 45/2a-b; CTS42/22b. .Ins. 48, 26. In the other two cases the term yin is not explicitly used, but from other evidence it appears likely that the protection privilege was used. One was the son of a princess, and started with the high grade (chieh) allowed men with that qualification. (Ins. 6) The other before entering the regular bureaucracy started as a Horse Parader (chin-ma), one of the posts which seems to have been used by men with the protection privilege for their trial service (Ins. 40). While both HTS 45/2b and CTS 42/21 a state that men With the protection privilege should rust hold miscellaneous posts, such as those in the palace guards of princes or Ritual Attendants at imperial temples, the operation of this system is nowhere fully explained. Ritual Attendants were supposed to serve six to eight years (starting at age fifteen to twenty) and have a general knowledge· of two classics (HTS 45/3b-4a). Men who served as Ch'ien-niu guards had to serve five years and have some literary ability before being sent for the placement examina tion (HTS 45/3b). Otlwr sources Iist·many other irregular posts which also seem to have been occupied by men using the protection privilege. See Chang Ch'iin; K'oohslkln chih-tu, pp. 8-11, and the sources cited there.Ins. 26. For an objection to the youth of men who entered through the protection privilege, see rung-tien, 11, p. 94B. Ins. 8,74. According to lITS 45/3 b- 4a men could become Ritual Attendants if their fathers or grandfathers held rank five or higher posts, or if their fathers had active posts of railk six, or 'pure' posts. PUre posts could be as low as rank eight (see des Routours, Traite de s l!.xamens Pl'. 234-5). In this case, if the man's father had held a 'pure' post before or concurrently with his appointment as Magistrate, it might account for this apparent anomaly. Ins. 67. The last case can perhaps be explained by relatively liberal rules for the prctection privilege that have often been overlooked but which seem· to indicate that the sons of even the lowest regular official could gain qualification by frrst serving in an irregular post. According to HTS 45/2b, 'Sons of men rank seven and up wiD be assigned rank nine, third class, serving in irregular posts (liu-wai) and then entering the regular bureaucracy. Those with lower ranks fonow the same pro­ cedure. The sons of officials rank nine and up or holders of decorations (hsUn) rank lwe and up are assigned to rank nine, fourth class'. Des Routours, Traite des Examens, p. 226, doeslIot translate this passage the same way, and admits that he does not understand it However, in the light of passages in T'ang liu-tien and rung-tien it clearly seems to mean that the sons of men rank six to nine· could serve in irregular posts and then be allOWed to enfer the bureaucracy at rank nine, third or fourth class. rung-lien, 35, p. 201B (commentary) says: 'The sons of men rank six and seven serve as Personal Guards (ch'in-shih). The sOns of men rank eight aDd nine serve as Palace Guards {chang-neil. This is limited to tbose eighteen years. or older. In all the prefectures together the men who serve in these posts number in the ten thousands'. rang liu-tien, 2/3 l a, in discussing the exam· ination for men holding irregular postS who wished to enter the regular bureauc-

,

78 79 80

81

82 83

,

84

..

Notes to pp. 106-8

152

racy, states that 'this refers to the sons of officials rank six down to rank nine as

well as assistants and clerks in the prefectures and counties'. On the kinds of examinations that irregular officials took, see Chang Ch'lln, K'oo·hslilln chih·tu,

pp: 6S-6. It would be very interesting to learn if members of great families whose fathers held rank six to nine posts were at a great disadvantage if they started in irregular posts. Unfortunately too few Ts'uis are -definitely known to have used this method even to speculate.

8S

86

87 88

When no method of entry is given, but the first post was as a direct subordinate, the man has been included in this category. It is unlikely that the inscription would have failed to mention if the man hid passed an e"amination, but it is possible that some of them had qualified through the protution privilege and

took positions as direct subordinates because they were the best available. des Routours, Traite des Examens, p. 246. Ts'e-fu ylilln-kuei, 629/ISb-16 a commentary.

T'Ung-lien, 15, p. 84e. On the selection procedure see also Chang Ch'un, K'QQ­

hwan chih-IU, pp. 27 -68. 89

90

See Tsukiyama, Seiji seido, pp. 195-204.

Seeers 119/l2b- 13a; Ch'en Yin-k'o, Cheng-chih shih, PI>- 65-6 discusses this

incident. With regard to the general advantages of status-group solidarity, it is - irrteresiing to consider whether Tolstoy's description of Obionsky's attitude

toWard holding office could perhaps also have been used for members of the old families in Tang China. Although Oblonsky was lazy and young he occupied a

distinguished and well-paid post_

Half Moscow and half Petersburg were his relations or friends. He was born

among those who were or who became the great ones of this world. One third of the official world, the older men, were his father's friends and bad known him as a baby, he was on intimate terllJs with another third, and WaS well

aCquainted with tbe last third. Consequently the distributors of earthly bless­

ings, such as government posts, grants. c'oncessions, and the like, were all his

friendS. They could not overlook one who belonged to them, so that Oblonsky

had no special diff'lClllty in obtaining a lucrative post; he had only not to raise

any objections, not to be envious, not to quarrel, and not to take offense - all

things which, being naturally good-tempered, he never did. II would have seemed to -him ridiculous had he been told that he would not get a post with

the salary he required; especiilny as he did not demand anything extraordinary. He only wanted what other men of his age and set were getting, and he could

fill such an office as well as anybody else. (Leo Tolstoy, Anll/1 Karenina, p. 13.)

While these types of personal factors may very wen have had greater importance in nineteenth-centuIY Russia. they were not totally absent from T'ang China. 91

See for instance Karl A_ Wittfogel and Feng Chia-sheng, History of Chinese Society, Liao, pp. 458-9; Fukushima, NambokUchOshi, pp. 175-204_ Tsukiyama

not only discusses this rubject regularly throughout his Seiii seido, but makes a special study of the Ts'uis and Lus, and concludes that acquiring the chin-shih was the most important factor in their position (pp. 163-92}. Ch'en Yin-k'o, Cheng­ chih shih; pp. 53-67, by contrast asserts that the old families depended largely on family privilege and the ,;nng-ching examinations. 92

For instance, although Ts'ui Mien's family was one of the most successful and respected families of Ts'uis in the T'ang, noted for its scholarship, of the fourteen

men whose method of entry is known, only four passed the chin-shih, five used

forms of family privilege. four passed other examinations, and one received a direct appointment. If even these Ts'uis saw no stigma in entering without passing 93

r---

r

the chin-shih, it seems unlikely others would. This list was calculated on the basis of the offices held, the most widely available

r

--

,-

r

---

r

Notes to pp. 109-10

153

fact. Each official also had a grade (chieh) which could be higher or lower than his office. These grades are occasionally listed on inscriptions. Of the 16 times they

are mentioned in this sample, ten times the grade given was a Whole number higher,

and once lower. If these grades, where knowll, are used instead of the rank of the office; 34% (rather than 31%) of the Ts'ui men held rank five or higher posts.

Calculation of ranks has been simplifled for county and prefectural offices by

using the rank for medium-sized units. For instance, Magistrates of counties in the area of the capital were rank 6a, or large counties rank 6c, of medium sized

counties 7a, of medium:smaU counties 70, and of small

cOunties 7d.

Rank Thas

been used here in all cases. Another way the system of ranks has been simplified

is that aU Chief Ministers have been counted as rank two, even though their� con­ current posts were generaUy of lower rank. Rank of offices are found in CfS 424 and HTS 46-49B.

94

95

.

.

Ins. 6. For a similar case, see Ts'ui K'ai in Appendix II. After passing the ming­

ching examination at age 1 9, he served as an Administrative Aide at three places and later was Magistrate in five counties. Although he held office for at least forty years he never reached Prefect not held any capital post of much importance. Ins. SO, 52, 18, 16; the father and sons iii Ins. 18" and SO. It should be pointed out, however, that none of these Ts'uis can be shown to be descendants of Ts'ui I,

and it is possible that their c laims to be Po-ling Ts'uis were fraudulent. But per­

haps it is just as likely that they were omitted from tbe HTS genealogy because either the

Po-ling Ts'uis did not keep record� of those families which had become

professional soldiers, or such posts did not qualify for inclusiOn in a national genealogical compendium such as the Hffing-tsU hsi-lu which may have been

96

sources for the HTS tables. (See Appendix I.) The only case I know of a Ts'ui frustrated in his attempt to gain a post is Ts'ui

Ts'e who sought unsuccessfuUy for six years. (CfW 578/4b-5b) According to the HTS genealogical table, 72C!43a, however, he�eventuany acquired a position.

Instances of Ts'uis dissatisf1ed with their careers after entering the bureaucracy include n'ui Fan, who was disappointed that after years in the prOVinces he did

not get a central government post (ln� 55), and Ts'ui Jib-chih, who looked enviously out from his�office to the building of tbe Department of State where he

had· never been able to get a post (TPKC 187, p. 1403).

97

Several other Po-ling Ts'uis have biographies, but not on account of their political accomplishments. The politically important Ts'uis are, in branch one Hsing..Jcung (CTS 190A/15a-b, fiTS 201/8b-9b), Hstian-wej (CTS 91/8b-lOa; HTS 120/

Ba-9b), Huan. Tsung; and Chieh {CfS 108/'a-8&; HTS 120!9b-12a), Sun (CTS

I 36/10b-I2a; HTS 167/4b-5a), lung (CTS 162/13a-b; HTS 159/l 3a-b), Ytian­

lueb, Ytian-shih, Hang. Hsilan (CTS 163/4a-7a; HTS 160/8b-l0b), Coo (CWTS 93/5b'-'6b; HWTS 55{23 b-28a); I (CWTS 68/tb-3a). In branch two,Tim-li (CTS 81/1a-2a; HTSI06/7a"':b), Mien(CfS 188/1Ob�14b; HTS 129/3a-5b),

Ya-fu, Chili, Leng{CTS 119/9b-17b; HTS 142t3b-8b), Ch'j (CTS 115/la-2b; HTS 209/14b-1Sb). �Han-heng (CTS 122/6a-7a; HTS l43/12a-b), Tsao (CfS 130/9b-lla; HTS lSO/6b-7b), Hung-Ii (ITS 163/8b-9b, HTS 164/14b-16a), Kung, Kuan, Yuan (CTS I77/l l b-ISb; HTS 182/5b-Ba). In branch three, Jih­

yung, Jih-chih (CI'S 99/la-3b; HTS 121/3a-5a), Kuang-ytian (CfS I11/1a; HTS 141/la-2b), HSiian-liang(CTS 165/17a-18a;HTS 164/l6a-11a),I-sun

(enS

69/6b-7a). In tbe An-p'ing branch, Jen-shih; ShifI (CTS 74/14a-19b; fITS 99/

131-168.) Those who�Qlnnot be identified as members of any branch are Ning. Li

98

(CfS 117/3b-l 0a; HTS 144/Sa-lOb), Yen (CTS 1 88/17a -18b; HTS 164/7a 88), Chu-chien(HWTS 55/23a-b). This calculation is admittedly approximate, but hopefully conservative. The num­ ber of regUlar (liu-nei) officials in the T'ang has been estimated as about 14,000

r

--

r---

,-

Notes to pp. 1 1 0-13

1 54

(see CTS 8 1 /5a; Tang hui yao, 74. p. 1 3 34), or more ( T'unK lien, 40, p. 230B). If the average career is taken as twenty years, there would have been about 200,000 officials in the rang. J u�t over 1 000 men have biographies in the HTS

(that is, are listed on the chapter titles). excluding the collective biographies whit..i1 are generally in recognition of achievements other than politi£al importance and biographies for sons of the various emperors. Thus, one in 200 T'ang officials was given a bio�raphy in the HTS. Above. the number of Po-ling Ts'uis was esti­ mated at 1 1 50. with over 90% officials. forty-two Ts'llis are listed in chapter titles in the HTS. This is approximately one in 25 officials. 99

Two o f these were lines not in t h e main branches of the Po-ling T s'ui lineage: Ts'ui len-shih and Shih, and Ts'ui Ning. Li, and CbU-cl\ien. Two were in branch one: Ts'ui Hsing-kung, Hslian-wei, Huan, Tsung, and Chieh, and TS'ui Ylian-Weh, YUan-shih, HsUan, Hang, I and Cho. Two were in branch two : Ts'ui Mien, Yu-fu, Chih, and Leng, and Ts'ui Kung. Kuan and Yilan. Two were in branch three: Ts'ui Jih-yung and J ih-chih, and Ts'ui Kuang-ylian, Hsuan-liang, and I-sun. For sources

100

101

see

note 97.

CTS 190A!ISa-b, 9 1 /8b - l Oa, 1 08/6a-8a; HTS 201 /Sb-9b, 1 20/8a - 1 2a. CTS 1 7 7/1 1 b- l 5 b (quote I Sb); HTS 1 B2/5b·-Ba. Within these politically pro­ ductive families, several men in succession gained prominent positions, but by no means all the members of the family. Most members were similar to the 'average' Ts'uis in t heir accomplishments. This can best be illustrated by the family formed by the descendants of Ts'ui Yen described in Appendix II. Four of them rose to eminent positions and were given biographies in the dynastic histories. Twenty­ four other men in his family (basically all of them), held some office, althoujl;h like the 'average' Ts'uis described earlier. half rose no h�her than Magistrate. Eight ended in county posts and five in lower prefectural posts.

102

\03

For example, Liu Tz'u i n t h e late r a ng lIttributed the prominence o f t h e family of Ts'ui Kuan and his brothers, sons, and nephews to the tradition of filial piety nurtured by a wife who unselfishly cared for her mother-in-law. HTS 1 63/20a2 1 a. [o'or instance, in the early T'ang. Ts'ui Hsing-kung's talent was recognized b y Tang Chien, who gave him his daughter i n marriage and employed him as a sec­ retary. (CTS 1 90A/ 1 5a, HTS 20 1 /8b-9a). TS'ui Ch'i in the 7405 accepted an appointment under Sung Hun. and then accompanied his patron when he was exiled to Ling-nan. K'TS 1 1 5/1a. HTS 209/ 1 4b- 1 5a). Ts'ui Kuang-yUan ap­ parently had little scholastic ability, but was a gambling-partner of the powerful Yang Kuo-chung, and rose through his favor. (CTS 1 1 1 / 1 b). Ts'ui Yu-fu wrote an e�say justifying the practice of mourning or showing grief for a former patron. (CTW 409/2a-Sb).

104

105

ITS 1 36/ lOb- 1 2a. CTS 1 I 9/ 1 4a, CTS I 77/ I S a - b. The edicts appointing and dismissing Chih refer

to the achievements of his father Yu-fu and grandfather Mien. CTS 64/3a, 1 2b 1 3a.

1 06

A few inscriptions do claim a connection with the Po-ling Ts'uis. A Chin dynasty ( 1 1 25 - 1 234) inscription for someone surnamed Ts'ui describes the high position of the PO-ling Ts'uis in previous periods, mentioning their position as officials. as the guardians of ritual. and as an exclusive social elite which was ashamed to marry with lesser families. Such facts did not have to be mentioned in the T'ang since they were well known. This inscription, however, does not contain any specific des\'Tiption of the connection of this Chin family with any Ts'uis in the

T'ang. (Chi'/ll (unK-chih, 1 69/30b-31 a.) A Ming dynasty inscription for a

prominent official states that he was a Po-ling Ts'ui, and mentions descent from

a

man in the Northern Ch'i. Since the Yuan period his fam ily had lived in Kuang-

Notes to pp. 113-15 hung in Hopei. (elli·!u t 'ung-chih,

155

1 7 2/ 17b. ) There were also a number of Ts'uis Ming and Ch'ing

living in Hsiao-hsing in Jebol in the Ming. In the course of the

they moved to various areas of Northeast China. (Chi-!u t 'ung-chlh, 168/41b, 1 73/ 19a-b.) O ne Ch'ing inscription for a Hsiao-hring Ts'ui claims that they are deScended from the Po-ling Ts'uis famous from Han to the end of Tang. This source states that while the Ts'uis declined and scattered in subsequent periods, in the Ming one family had moved back there and remained there for seven gener­

ations. (Chi·!u t 'ung·chih, 1 74 /56 a.) Ts'ui Shu, the weD-known eighteenth-century scholar ilnd historian, was from the Hsiao-hsing family; however, he made no

. reference to any connection with the Po-ling Ts'uia in inscriptions for his relatives. K'ao·hsin {u-Iu, 1/9a. In the Northern D y nasties Ts'uis started in rank seven and quickly rose to rank !O7 five and higher. Their official careers would seldom have placed them in positions where they had to treat men of undistinguished origins as superiors. In the Tang when so many Ts'uis served iri low county and prefectural posts they could not avoid such situations. Since, however, inscriptions very rarely mention a man's superiors, it is difficult to cite concrete evidence. But considering that over half the Ts'uis served as Constables early in their car�ers, unless one wants to assume that almost all Magistrates came from the great families (which wQuld imply a

much greater domination of the bureaucracy than anyone has ever demonstrated) a large proportion of these men must have served under men of lesser birth with

108

whom they would not think of arranging marriages. On the breakdown oLdistinctive family traditions, see Naba Toshisada, TOdai shaktJi bunkashi kenkyu, pp. 5 3 -89. Naba discusses the circulation of popular manuals of good manners which he attributes both to the decline in the aristocrats' famify traditions (they had to consult boo ks) and to the desire of men of lesser birth to learn the rituals and manners which seemed to distinguish their social

109

betters. Yung: TPKC 144, pp. 1 039-40; Chin hua·tzu. 1 /3 b. I: CWTS 68/ 1 b -3a ; ChU­

chien: HWTS SS/21a-b. I-sun: CWTS 69/6b-7a. ChU-ehien is described as a CII'ing-ho Tsui, but at the same time as the son and grandson of Po-ling Ts'uis.

110

CWTS 9 3/ 5b-6b ; HWTS 5S/23b-28a.

o

o

A PP E N D I X I

The reliability of the genealogical tables in the Rsin T'ong shu

The genealogical tables in the Hsin T'ang shu (HTS) are the most extensive source available for the Po-ling Ts'uis in the T'ang. They list more Ts'uis than all other sources combined, and also have the advantage of indicat ing kinship relationships. Some scholars have relied heavily on these tables in their re­

search of individual families and clans. 1 Before using them In the present

study, however, I decided to examine carefully the nature of these genealogi­ cal tables in order to assess fairly their limitations and reliability. This appen­ dix, which examines these problems, has-been written primarily for other

scholars who have at some time tried to use these genealogical tables. Anyone else who wishes to follow the technical arguments presented here is advised first to examine the content of these tables.

To briefly review the format of the genealogical tables, the organizing

principle in compiling them was

that each of the almost 400 T'ang Chi#

Ministers be given a genealogy.:I These genealogies were then grouped accord­ ing to surname, ninety-ejght in all. The section for each surname starts with

an account of its origins in the distant past, usually rather sketchy until the Han dynasty, and then if there were Chief Ministers of that

surna

me from

different lineages, an account of the branching of the surname was given.

Next follow the tables, wltich have space for twelve generations. Many of the tables for large lineages begin in the fifth or sixth century and continue

through the T'ang. For a common surname, many genealogies were needed;

for instance, there were seventeen Chief Minist ers surnamed Chang, and they are listed in twelve' separate genealogical tables, one with over four hundred names, but others as short as ' Cheng-chou Chang clan: Ling;. Chief Minister 3 to T'ai-tsung, [his son ] Shen-ch'eng: Almost from the time these tables were completed scholars have pointed

out that they are incOnSistent and contain numerous errors. Hung Mai, in the

rn Sung, and other scholars after him, attributed these problems to the

Southe use

of private, family genealogies which were not compiled by professional

historians, but by amateurs who frequently made glaring errors or provided fanciful accounts of the descent of the family from a high official of the 4 Chou, Han, or Chin dynasty. Other scholars, such as Shen Ping-chen 0 6 79 -

1 737), author of a commentary to the tables, put more of the blame on the 157 r

r

,'-'

r-

._-.

r

-- ' . _ ,

Appendix I

158

compilers of the tables, Ou-yang Hsiu and Ui Hsia-ch'ing. S The compilers

apparently had no rules for the inclusion of styles ( tzu), posthumous names, noble ranks, and so on, which were sometimes omitted even when they could

be found elsewhere in the histories. Shen Ping-chen finally concluded that these tables were virtually useless.6

While the types of errors and inconsistencies that would result from the use of poorly-edited family genealogies may have worried traditional Chinese scholars, they need not necessarily trouble a modern historian who cares nothing about the pre-Han origins of the surname, remains skeptical of every­ thing in the introduction concerning branching, but wishes to use the infor­ mation in the tables themselves. If the tables for the Po-ling Ts'uis were based on a private family genealogy it would actually increase their value. Private genealogies would have been vital to any sort of lineage organization, ritual, political or economic, and their format might reveal patterns of leadership or stratification, o . r t he emphasis placed on line of descent and degree of relation­ ship. Even if privat.e family genealogies were not extensively used in compil· ing these tables, some sources must have been used. If these works can be shown to have been reliable reflections of T'ang opinion on ancestry and the composition o f lineages, then despite the errors and omissions o f the tables, they contain useful information. The genealogical tables t hemselves vary very widely, and apparently were not all based on the same kind of sources. The compilers did not give longer

genealogies to more prominent families, nor did they trim the genealogies of families w hich produced only one Chiet Minister, but used the best material

available. 7 The smallest genealogical tables are not really genealogies at all,

but are merely presentations in table form of the father, grandfather, and per­ haps great-grand father, children, and grandchildren of a Chief Minister or other high official. Such information couW easily have been based solely on the records in the government archives, particularly on the hsing-chuang nor­

mally prepared by relatives or close associates soon after an official's death. 8 The brief tables present no problems as long as it is kept in mind that they

focus on important officials and their direct ancestors and d escendants. Sec­ ond and third cousins are probably missing. At the other extreme are the very largest genealogical tables, containing several hundred names and extending to the end of the T'ang. These tables must have been based on family genealogies; no government office or private scholar was compiling such record s in the late T'ang. These very large genea­

logical tables have many similarities. They all have a relatively high birth rate

(number of sons per man), seldom show an only son following an only son,

do not list just officials or the d irect ancestors or descendants of officials, and

so

on. Eight cases which definitely fall into this category are listed below. This

list was arbitrarily cut off at genealogies with over 300 names; some of those

with 1 5 0 or 250 names could also very well be accura� representations o f somewhat smaller lineages.

Appendix I

159

Table 1 1 : Characteristics oj eight of the largest and most convin cing genealogical tables in the HTSa

Name

. members % officials

birth

% only sons

rate

of only sons

%

blanks

._. ._-------_ .. -

1 Chao-chun Tung-tsu Li

1 1 46

50%

2.4

3%

1%

913

5 2%

2.4

3%

0

794

51%

1 .9

6%

7%

543

55%

1.9

8%

3% 4%

2 Jung-yang Pei-tsu Cheng 3 Fan-yang Pei-tsu Lu

4 Ho-tung

Hsi-tsu Hsueh

5 Lo-yang 490

58%

2.3

5%

6 Chin-yang T'ang

44 1

2.5

4%

0

7 Ch'u-chiang Chang

432

54% 23%0

2. 1

4%

0

8 Lang-yeh Wang

317

52%

2.6

2%

0

San-tsu Tou

aTlle !IOlirces for tllis table are in the HTS as follows: (l ) 72A/30a--69b; (2) 7SAI Sb-44h;.(3) 73A120b-4 J a ; (4) 7 3 1l/25b-40b; (5) 71 8/8a-27a; (6) 74B/ 2 l a 393: ( 7 ) 72C/3b-14b; (8) 72B/2a - 1 13. The number o f 'members' on th is chart is

the number of names given, plus the minimum namber of blanks necessary to ' complete the genealogy. The birth rate is the average number of sons per man, for

all those men for whom any sons are listed. "The Ch'li-chiang Chang genealogy shows an unusuaily low proportion of officials. but this can perhaps be explained by the fact that it extends through the Five Dynasties and into the Sung. See Ts'en Chung-mien, second preface, p. 2 1 .

I n t h c bibliography chapter o f t h e T'ung-chih (a twelfth-century work) a number of genealogies for individual families or clans are listed, including ones for t hese same eight lineages, t he Chao-chun Li, Lang-yeh Wang, J ung­ yall3 .Cheng, Fan-yang Lu, Ch'u-chiang Chang, Tou, T'ang, and Hsueh line­ ages. 9 These genealogies may have been used by the HTS compilers. None of the PO-ling Ts'ui genealogical tables faU into either of t hese cat­ egories. They are neither so large and complete that they can be accepted as derived from private genealogies, nor so small as to be d ismissed as reconstruc­ tions. And while there are many other tables of intermediate size, the re is no intermediate type. Tables of medium length often show low birth-rat�s, con­ tain many blank spaces, frequently have only sons follow only sons, and so on, but there are so many differences between them as to make it unlikely that they were all derived from one well-edited source. Some statistics for a sample of these genealogical tables are presented below in Table 1 2.

The six genealogical tables for the Po-ling Ts'uis could have been based on

Appendix I

1 60

Table 1 2: Characteristics offifteen genealogical tables of intermediate sizea

birth

Name 1

members % officials

rate

% only sons % of only sons blanks

Po-ling l a . Ts'ui

" Ib " 2a " 2b " 3 " An-p'ing 7 Ch'ing�ho Ta-

2 3 4 . 5 6

fang Ts'ui

8 " hsiao-fang 9 " Ching-chou 10 T'ai-yuan I Wang 11 " 2 1 2 Lung-hsi Li 1 3 Ho-chung tungch'un tiu 1 4 " hsi-ch'un 1 5 Ch'ing-ho Chang

99 82 1 46 1 09 95 49

60% 42% 71% 63% 5 8% 70%

2.0 1.9 1 .9 1.9 1 .8 2. 1

9% 2% 9% 5% 3% 6%

8% 1 0% 1 8% 5% 1 3% 0

1 17 1 80 56 64 64 288

45% 67% 56% 40% 35% 53%

1.6 2. 1 1.3 1.8 1 .9 1.8

1 3% 6% 34% 1 3% 6% 1 5%

1 4% 3% 23% 2% 8% 1 2%

95 1 42 45

52% 72% 86%

1 .3 1 .7 1 .7

3 7% 1 5% 1 3%

27% 1 3% 2%

"This tab le is based on parts of the IITS as foUows: (1-5) nC/45a-60a; (6) ncl 43a-44b;{7-9) 12C/33a.,..42b; ( 10- 1 1 ) 72B/14b- 1 7b ; ( 1 2) 72AI1 5a-22b; (1 3) 73A/6b-1b; ( 1 4) 73A/lb-5a; (IS) 72C/16b- 1 1b.

number of different types of sources. The compilers may have had access to private family genealogies which were not as complete or detailed as the ones they had fen the eight very large lineages listed above. It is d ifficul t to ascer­ tain whet he r selective genealogies were common because very little is known about the methods of compiling genealogies in the T'ang. l0 If the Po-ling Ts'ui lineage owned no common property and had no legal need for a como' plete ·list of its members, the quality of thek genealogy might have depended very much on whether any individual had 11 personal interest in genealogical matters and searched out the names of the sons of distant cousins who had moved south. Another possible source for the Po-ling Ts'ui genealogical tables is the com­ prehensive national genealogical works compiled periodiCally through the rang. A significant number of such works survived into the Sung. The T'ung chili lists twenty-three genealogical works dating from the T'ang which covered more than one family. Those ten chuan or longer include: Ta T'ang a

r

Appendix I shih-tsu chih

161

(638 ) ; Hling-shih p 'u (659); Ta T'ang ksing-tsu hsi-lu ( 7 1 3 ) ; j­

k.uan p 'u (late seventh century); K 'ao-ksiTJ,g liieh ch i (late seventh century) ; Hsing-shih shih-lun (early eighth century); K 'ai-yiian p 'u (c.

726 ) ; YUan-ho

hsing-tsuan (81 2 ). 11 These works varied considerably in length, up to two

hundred chuan, with the three longest all from the seventh or early eighth centuries. It is not known whether any of these works contained complete genealogies. The only one of these works to survive, even in fragmented form,

is the ten chUan Yiian-ho hsing-tsuan . This WOl"k describes the origins of .sur­

names, lineages, and branches, giving the descent of many Tang men in a

narrative form, not a genealogical table. J2 There is no evidence that these

works were concerned Particularly with questions of biological kinship; their concern was with the socio-political elite and often specifically with the fam­

ilies 0'£ officials. J3

In preparing the HTS genealogical tables, the compilers could have sup­

plemented either family or national genealogical works with information found in funerary inscriptions, inscriptions for ancestral temples, hsing­

chuang, introductions to literary collections, and so on. Hundreds of such documents survive in the Ch 'iian T'ang wen, compiled in the Ch'ing d ynasty, and many more must have existed in the Northern Sung.

This discussion of sources available to the compilers of the HTS tables

suggests one explanation for their inconsistency; if they were compiled from

a variety of works of different date and format it would have been an imposs­ ible editorial task to achieve complete consistency. But the question of the

accuracy of specific items in the tables must still be considered. Errors could have resulted because the Sung compilers were not careful, or because the

T'ang works themselves contained false information. The only satisfactory way to attempt to evaluate the a ccuracy of the information in the genea­ logical tables is to compare them with more reliable or complete

sources.

For

this pur po se funerary inscriptions (mu-chih) and similar sources are best. If a person caUed himself a Po-ling Ts'ui, it would be recorded in his inscription.

These inscriptions were prepared or commissioned by family members; if any­ one knew the names of a man's father and grandfather, it should have been

his relatives. MoTiya Mitsuo , in a work published in 1 95 1 , used such inscrip­

tions to study the Tai-yuan Wang genealogical tables. While he was often able

to supplement information on the tables, and could show that the accounts o f origins in the introduction were not always correct, h e could find only one

actual error in the tables: the sons of a younger brother were a ttributed to the older brother, who may have had no children.14

I have made a similar analysis of the genealogical tables for t he Po-Jing

Ts'uis. These tables have been carefully compared to all other available

sources, especially fifty funerary inscriptions which mention men on t hese tables.

IS

On the whole the accuracy of the information in the genealogical

tables holds up very well. Furthermore, it has been possible to reach some general conclusions about how the Po"ling Ts'ui genealogies were constructed.

r -

,-

r -- - -

,

-

162

Appendix I

First, the compilers of the HTS used or consulted the funerary inscriptions

written by prominent writers such as Chang Yueh, Po Chii-i, Ch'Uan Te-yu, and so on, which have been preserved in the Ch 'uan T'ang wen . Second, they used some other reliable sources, more detailed for the early T'ang than for later periods. It seems most likely t hat this source was a comprehensive genealogical work such as the Chen-kuan shih-tau chih, Hsing-tsu hsHu or the Yuan-ho hsing tsuan , and not private family genealogies. Third, they paid little or no attention to what was said about a man's ancestry in the biogra­ phies in the two T'ang histories. It would be tedious to describe all specific items of comparison between the genealogy and other sources on which these conclusions have been based. The principal themes can be illustrated by t hree small sections of the HTS genealogical tables which might have elicited suspicions from a scholar who only had access to the biographies in the dynastic histories for supporting evidence.

The first example, shown in Table . J 3, was chosen be.cause it is a case where people who became famous in the eighth century, Ts'ui Jib-yung and Kuang-yiian, are shown to be descended from a man mentioned in the Wei shu as having died in about 5 20. 16 No one in the four or five intervening gen­ erations achieved sufficient historical importance to warrant a biography in the dynastic histories. Jib-yung's biography merely states that he was of the Po-ling clan, and Kuang-yuan's only ment ions his father and grandfather, and name given for his father is different from that in the genealogical table. Moreover, neither Jih-yung nor Kuang-yiian lived in Po-ling or even Hopei; both are described as residents of Heng prefecture in modern Honan. 17 A

the

skeptical modern historian might well wonder whether Jib-yung and Kuang­ yuan had any connection with Tsuan at all. Perhaps the compilers of the HTS felt obliged to put them in somewhere since they called themselves Po-ling Ts'uis and both were prominent men, Jib-yung a Chief Minister. A similarity between the name of one of their ancestors and someone on an old genealogy could have led the HTS compilers to insert them at this place. In this particular case the compilers of the HTS can be shown to have relied on materials which accurately reflected T'ang opinion; the HTS com­ pilers were not ma nufa cturing kinship ties where there was no evidence. The kinship data found in four sources st ill extant is shown below. None of these sources contradict the information in the genealogy, though

some variation in the characters used in names is found. It is clear that the compilers of the HTS tables did not use copies of either the 708 or 733 inscriptions since these both include information missing from the HTS tables.

However, these inscriptions confirm the accuracy of whatever sources the compilers did have. By contrast, they may very well have used Chang Yiieh's inscription in t� Ch 'uan T'ang wen since exactly the same men, with exactly

the same offices, are given on ea ch It is also possible t hat they used t he YUan­ ho hsing-tsuan since it gives variants of t he names very close to those on the .

Table 1 3 : Descendanta of Ts'ui Tsuan according to the genealogical table in the HTSB

Tsuan

i I

CMeh 1

CIt'eng

I

I

l-piau

ChirSU I

I

t 1

K'

Yueh

1

I

Ts'ung 1

Kuans-yuan

Kuang-tj

(abrov)

(abce.)

I

I

8Source; HTS 72C/51b-59a.

•

Hsins-piao

I

1 - - - - - - - - - ---- - - - - - -- - - -

Shlh-li

�I

I �

__ __

(abrev)

�I

__ __ __

Ku-cllien

K'ang

I

1 Chi

I

1 CIt'ion

----.--I

CIt'eng-kou

Jih-yung

Jih-hsln

Jlh-cllih

Jih-hsuan

(abrev)

(abrev)

(abr.v)

(abrev)

(abrev)

(abrev)

__

--

I

I

I

I

I

-

I

I

I

I

,

I

164

Appendix I

(I) Tsuan

( 4)

r

( 2)

ChUeh

I

Hsien

Shih�i

I

I

Piao

(2) From the notes

(3) Fro m the

on an inscription

written by Chang

dated 708, quoted

rubbing o f an

inscription

Ylieh after 707

in a Sung work.

dated 7 3 3

(Chin-shih lu 251

Yiieh I

I Kao-cl!'iu '

of an inscription

57).

I

K'uei

( I ) From the text

(Ins.

I

Ching-ssu

I

Ching-ssu I i I ¥iieh Hsieh

Jib-yung

'-piao

!-pian

I

I Chi

I

( 3)

I

I

K'ang j

IJsien

Kuang-yiian

(4) From t he Yuan­

ho hsing-tsuan (p. 267).

(jns. 1 1 ).

6b-7a.) genealogy. The HTS genealogical tables give Kuang-yuan's father as Yiieh, contradicting the biographies .in both of the T'ang histories. Bl\t as can be

seen from both the 708 inscript ion and the Yuan-ho hsing-tsuan, t here was sufficient evidence that his name was actually yueh. A second source of suspicion in the HTS genealogical-tables is the exist­

ence of numerous gaps. Do t hey show -that the ;luthor d id not have access to a standard genealogical work, and t hat his so urces , being fragmentary, are unreliable? An interesting example in this regard are t he sons of P'eng in

branch two. The account of this line in t he HTS tables iuhown below in

Tab le 1 4.

P'eng's eldest son Pao-te is mentioned in his Sui shu biography. 1 8 However,

none of his later descendants have biographies in the T'ang histories. On the

Table 1 4 : Descendan ts of Ts 'ui p'eng Ilccording to the HTS genealogical

tablega

P'eng (off, 3)

----�-\I - - - --------

1 '--

PaO-Ie (off, 5) I.

I

I Chen (off, 6)

Tao·pin 1

I

J ung

I

Yen (off, 6)

Chill·le (off. 5)

...- - - - - - - � - - � - - - - - -

(abrev)

I

Ching-yjin

Yii (off, 5) Yu (off, S)

1

",uan (off, 4)

aSource: HTS nC/52a. Those for whom an office is listed have (off) after their

names, along with the rank achieved.

r ----

r

Appendix I

165

genealogical tables at least three men's names are missing, and the line seems to d isappear after five generations. The blank spaces also create ambiguity 19 about the lines of descent. The accuracy of at least two parts of this genealogy is demonstrated by three funerary inscriptions. One dated 7 3 2 concerns a PO-ling Ts'ui named Kuang-ssu, whose father was named Ching-yun, grandfather Chih-te, and 20 This then confirms that Chili-te was indeed a son

great-grandfather P'eng.

of P'eng, and Ching-yUn his son. However, the offices listed for P'eng and Chih-te are completely d ifferent from those listed in the genealogy, and there­ fore this inscription was not a source for the HTS genealogy, nor based on a common source. Ching-yUn has no office in the genealogical table, but the

inscription lists him as a county Magistrate. The second inscription dated 749 concerns another great-grandson of P'eng, this time through his eldest son Pao-te. 21 The man, I-pin, and his father, Shao-chien, are not on the genea­ logical table, but I-pin could clearly be a brother or cousin of Tao-pin. The offices listed for P' eng and Pao-te accord well with the genealogy. A third inscription, written seventy-five years later in 824 confirms that Shao-chien

was a son of Pao-te, lists Tao-pin as his son, Jung as Tao-pin's son, and lists his son and grandson as Shou and Chi. 2l The offices of Pao-te and Shao-chien are similar to the earlier inscription, and offices are listed for Tao-pin and lung who had no offices on the genealogy. An expanded genealogy, using the infor­ mation from these inscriptions is shown below in T
A third source o f suspicion with the HTS genealogical tables i s t he fact

that the information they contain sometimes contradicts the information in the HTS or CTS biographies. Table 1 6 is a genealogy of Mien and his relatives reconstructed from their biographies. According to both of the T'ang histories, Yu-fu adopted the son of his Table

1 S : Descendants of Ts'ui reng according to the HTS genealogical table

as

supplemented by three funerary inscriptionsa

P'eng (ofO' i

r

Pao·te (ofO>

i

I Shao�ien (off, 6)'

Ching-yUn (off, 7)'

1

r

I

I-pia,

Tao-pin (off. 9)"

Chen (oft)

I

Chih-\e (ofO> t

(off, 8)'

I d. 749 Jutlg (off. 8)" j I j Shou (off. 5)* d. 823 Yen (of0 I

Kuang-S$U (off, 7» d. 732

I

Yii (of0

I

Yu

(off)

Hsuan (off)

Chi (off. 8)'

72C/52a; Ins. 1 0, I S, 33. Those marked with an asterisk ( ") are mentioned in at least one of the inscriptions. Ranks are given for those whose name or office were omitted from the genealogical table. 8Sources: HTS

r -- -

,--

-

-

,

r- --- --

r -----

166

Appendix I younger brother Ying_fU.

23

In the Chiu T"ang sh u, Leng is a second cousin of 24 (In the HTS

Chih, descended from a younger brother of Mien named T'ao.

his specific ancestry is not given.) In the HTS genealogical table, however, the relationships are more distant , as shown below in Table 1 7 .

As can be seen, in this source Yu-fu adopted the son of his second cousin,

not his brother, and Leng was descended from a cousin of Mien, not a brother. case

The modern scholar Chou I-Jiang cited this

as one of the many kinds of

Table 1 6 : Genealogy of Mien, Yu-fu, Leng, and Chih as reconstructed

from their biographies in the CTS and HrSa

Shill-cltien

I

?

Mien !

, Yu-fu

Chill :

K'ai .?

I

I Tao

I

t

I-fu

Ylng-fu

I

I

Chill

!.eng

I .

Yen

aSource: ers 1 1 9/Bb-16b; HTS 1 4 2{6b. Table 1 7 : Descendants of Hung-chiin according to the genealogical

table in the HTSa

Shill
I

(ahrev)

Hung-chiin

(abrev)

I

I

Hsuan

I

Cheng

Yen I I Hao l"'__-, I_� Hun Mien I

· Ch'eng-fu

I

I

Yu-fu

I Tao

!

I-fu

I

Leng

I

Yen

I

Chan aSource: HTS 72Cf53a-b_

I Chih I

1 p'ang

I

Ying-fu

I

Appendix I

167

errors found in t h e genealogical tables.2s Yet a s demonstrated i n A ppendix II,

the genealogical tables are more accurate than the biographies. 26 Their basic

lines can be confirmed and greatly expanded by eighteen funerary inscriptions and related sources. That the authors of the b iographies might confuse cousins and brothers is not surprising. Yu-fu would have addressed e ither I-fu or Ying-fu as ' younger brother'. Without a genealogy it would have been impossible for anyone to detect the actual relationship. However, it is clear that the <;ompilers of the

HTS genealogical tables had access to more complete information. All three of these examples reveal the basic reliability of the sources which the compilers used, since they can be confirmed by excavated funerary inscriptions. The first example is one of many in which the HTS genealogy compilers could have used or consulted a Ch 'uan T'ang wen inscription, since the information corresponds exa�tly. Of the sixteen inscriptions in the Ch 'uan Tang wen for Po-ling Ts'uis on the" genealogical tables, there is only one

which mentions further relatives not on the tables.27 By contrast, of thirty­ four inscriptions for Po-ling Ts'uis o-n the tables which have been excavated in the Sung or later, twenty-six ,give names of sons or ancestors not included on the HTS tables. These inscriptions could not have been used by the compilers. Both example one and example three contain evidence that the compilers

of the HTS genealogical tables d id not attempt to make sure that the authors of its biographies prOvided consistent information. In both of these cases the

genealogical tables have been shown to contain the more accurate information. Moreover, all three examples show men whose names or offices were omitted : five in example one, six in example two, and ten in example three. For the

seventh and eighth century those who held relatively low offices ( rank six to

nine) were apparently much less likely to be listed on the genealogical tables, or if listed, to have the title of their office given. This can be seen clearly in example two. P' eng' s great-grandsons were mature men by the end of the

seventh century. Yet of P'eng's sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons, only the offices of two who held rank five posts are listed; the five who held rank six, seven, eight,

or

nine posts are omitted or at least their posts are not given. For

the eighth century, the offices of Chen, T'ing, Yii, and Hsiian are all listed, and all were rank four, five or six. Jung, who held a rank eight post is shown as

having none, and Shou, who had already passed the chin-shih and held "

several offices, was omitted. The exclusion of men whose offices were low is very common on the genealogical tables for the Po-ling Ts'uis, particularly for the seventh century, where the median rank of the offices of m en listed was

between four and five, while the median rank of men not listed was between

seven and eight.

The second example illustrates another common phenomenon: for seg­ ments of the lineage which produced no Chief Ministers or men who received biographies in the T'ang histories, information extends for only three, four,

168

Appendix I or five generations into the Tang, even in cases where ex cavated funerary inscriptions demonstrate that the line had not d ied out. At least six other

similar examples could be cited where there is proof that the line continued, and many more where there is some doubt. Even in example three, where there were two Chief Ministers, men appear to have no progeny when in fact they did.

From the analysis of a large number of instances such as the three described above, it seems unlikely that the compilers in the Sung had a private family 28 genealogy for the Ts'uis. Not only is it unlikely that a private genealogy would have had so many, often apparently random, omissions, but also a fam­ ily genealogy would not have had this format. All genealogies have to stop somewhere, and usually the final compiler has full�t information about his contemporaries, especially his close relatives. The genealogies for the three large lineages whose growth is shown below in Figure 1 all have very clear cut­ off points. But this is not the case with the Ts'ui genealogical tables which are

patchy and generally more detailed for the early Tang. The composition of the Ts'ui genealogical tables

can

be explained in a

much simpler manner if one assumes that the compilers used two or more 29 T ang genealogical compendiums. For instance, let us suppose that the com­ pilers had copies of the 20O-chiian Ta T'ang kling-tsu ksi-lu , compiled in 7 1 3, and the ten-chiian Yuan-ho hsing-tauan, compiled a century later in 8 1 2 . The large size of the earlier work then would explain why the tables are most detailed for the seventh century. (For this century, of men mentioned on the fifty-six excavated funerary inscriptions, forty-nine percent are found on the

HI'S tables.) Nevertheless, because of the political purposes of the Baing-lsu hlj-lu , most of the men listed held higher offices, rank six and up. Yet ther� are also many blank spaces and men whose offices have been omitted, perhaps because t he compilers of the Hsing-tau hsi-Iu started with all higher officials and added only their close relatives (omitting their offices if low). The sec­ tions of the Ts'ui genealogical tables for the eighth century, which would have been based on the YUQn-ho hsing-tsuon , are quite different. Because of the Hsing-tlUtln's much smaller size, many more names have been omitted.

(Only thirty-one percent of the men in excavated funerary inscriptions are listed. ) Since the purpose of this work was to document the ancestry of officials alive in the early ninth century, there. is less of a bias toward high officials. (Men's fathers and grandfathers' names and offices are given no

matter how low their ra.nk. ) But because of its retrospective origin, there are

many cases of only sons following only sons, and few lines dying out in 750 or 780.. For the ninth century , the compilers would have had no genealogical reference-work. In fact, the tables contain information only in eight places,

seven of which concern the families of important officials who have biogra­

phies in the Tang histories. This information could have been found in miscellaneous writings, inscriptions, and so on. This hypothetical explanation of the sources the compilers used is merely

-

r-

r- ----

Appendix I

169

the simplest one w hich explains the. basic features of the Ts'ui tables. There is no reason to assume that the compilers had copies of only these two national compendiums; the results would be much the same if they used in addition the Chen-kuan shih tsu chih, K 'ai-yuan p 'u, and so on. 30

From the analysis presented so far, one can conclude that the Sung his­

torians had access to extensive sources which accurately reflected 'f'ang beliefs about men's ancestry. But were T'ang views always correct? Certainly some men in the T'ang must have made inflated claims to eminent ancestry. Is there

any way to recognize which places are most likely to be based on faulty evi­

dence? While such questions are of n ecessity speculative, a few guidelines can

be suggested. First, a line which was included in each of the national compre­ hensive genealogical works in turn is more likely to have had genuine claims

,

to eminent ancestry than a line which was unheard of until the mid eighth or

ninth century when some man appeared with a list of ancestors dating back

to prominent men o f the Northern Dynasties or even Han. Secondly. all of the comprehensive genealogical works concerned families of importance in their time; there would have been little reason to give details on lin es long

extinct. Consequently a section of the genealogy which shows some branch­ ing in the early Tang, with one or more lines dying out, is likely t() hue used

seventh or early eighth-century sources; as a corollary, a section which has

only sons follow only sons in succession for several generations is probably

retrospective, based on a source which gave a particular man's direct ancestors, who may or may not have been mentioned in any early source.

According to tbis line of reasoning, perhaps the most questionable claim to

Po-ling Ts'ui ancestry found on the genealogical tables is that of Hung-Ii, a

Regional Commander who d ied in 830. His CTS biography says that he was a Po-ling Ts'ui, a descendant of Ang in the Northern Ch'i, and gives the name o f his father and grandfather. 31 O n t h e genealogical table h e i s shown as the fifth

only son in a row, and the first to gain any prominence in the T'ang. 3:: This

part of the HTS tables corresponds very closely with a funerary inscription

written for Hung-Ii's father by Po Cbii-i, 33 and thus must r.epresent what

Hung-Ii himself claimed. The Sung compilers accepted this claim, but it ap­ pears that they simply tacked Hung-U's genealogy onto the table after the other descendants of Ang. It is unlikely that any of Hung-U' s ancestors were

listed in the early genealogical compendiums because then one of them would surely have had a brother. See Table 1 8. 34

Up ta tbis point evidence has been presented concerning the accuracy o f

the specific information in t h e H T S genealogical tables. A t t h e same time, the

fact that the genealogies are tI uite incomplete has also b een demonstrated.

There are several ways of estimating the extent of the omissions. First, exca­ vated funerary inscriptions mention numerous men not on the genealogical

tables. Of the 160 men called Po-ling Ts'uis on fifty-six excavated funerary inscriptions, only thirty-eight percent are listed on the HTS tables. 35 Even if one considers only those who clearly belong on the tables because their father,

, --

r -

1 70

Appendix I

Table 1 8: Descendants ofA ng according to the HTS genealogical tabJea A ng

I

I

Chiin-ts'an

I

r Hsiin

To-hun

I

i

I

Yiin

j

I

Mi

Hsing-ch 'eng

1

Tun

Chi-sun

---,

-

Hsia

I

I

Chili

Shaojui

I

I

Ting

Vii

Sheng-chlll

Yii

I

Chung-sun

I Un

I

Ching-po

I

Tsao

I I

I Shu

Fu

i J-,

l-po Wen-po

I t

Hung-II

Wu-po

(eight ,OilS)

3Sou1ce: HTS 72C/S7a. grandfather, or great-grandfather is listed, still only sixty percent are listed.

Thus it appears that .the genealogical tables list only about half the men who were born into the Po_-ling branches. For the seventh and eighth centuries

those omitted tend to be low officials, though for the ninth century the genealogy is so incomplete that many men who held rank four or five posts were left off. Another approach to estimating the omissions in the tables is to compare

the Po-ling Ts' ui branches with the branches of other lineages whose genea­

logical tables appear to have been based on complete family genealogies.

Figure I compares the growth of branch two of the Po-ling Ts'uis with the

Tung-tsu

branch of the Chao-chlin Lis, the Pei-tsu branch of the F an-yang

Lus, and the Pei-tsu branch of the Jung-yang Chengs. Generations are corre­ lated by 'Inte rmarriages in the sixt h century. As can be seen, in 550 aU of the

lineage branches had less than thirty adult males. The Li, Cheng, and Lu

branches steadily increased in size so that in about 800 t hey had one t o three hundred men, but the Po-ling Ts'ui b ranch never got larger than thirty-three

men. Figure 2 compares the frequency of a man having one, two, three, four, or more sons for branch two of the Po-ling Ts'uis and the Tung-tsu branch of the Chao�chlin Lis, 36 While in both of these branches it is most common t o have only one son, t h e distribution o f sons i n the Chao-chun Li branch ap­

pears to be much closer to what would occur naturally, with the proportion of men having more sons declining slowly. Since the Chao-chlin Li statistics were d erived from a genealogy which included 1 1 46 men, the high proportion

Appendix

I

1 71

' I

260

f I

200

il

.r>

�

,

,

180

0

\ , ,

I I 1 I J I I

220

.. e ...

, ....

I ,

240

<:

...

160

140

I ;'

120

1 00 80 60

I ;' / /

4J)

;'

I I I I I

I

;'

/

/

/"

2

3

4

I

\,

I / I I I

/ /

/ ;'

20

I , ,

Ts'ui

5

6

7

8

9

)0

11

12

Generation Figure

13

1: Number o f men p e r generation listed in the HTS genealogical tables for the second branch of the Po-ling Ts'uis, the Tung-tsu branch of

the Cba
of men with several sons cannot be due to accidental factors, but must rep­

resent a situation appropriate to their social class. For sixty percent of the

Ts'ui men to have had only one son seems very high by comparison. Certainly

there was too much intermarriage between these lineages for there to be any genetic differences b etween them t hat could account for differences in fer­

tility. Also because of intermarriage the customs of these families must have

been largely identical with regard to matters such as remarriage, adoption, recognizing the sons of concubines, and so on. While it is not necessary to

Appendix I

1 72

60

40

20

3

2

4 Number of sons

5

6

Figure 2 : Percentage o f men having given numbers of sons in the second branch of the Po-ling Ts'uis (black) and the Tung-tsu branch of the Chao-chun Lis (white). conclude that the Ts'ui branches grew a s fast as the Lis, still it would appear

that often only one out of several sons is listed, and that this phenomenon

makes it appear as though the Ts'uis stagnated during the rang w hen in fact they probably continued steadily to increase in number.

The purpose of this analysis of the genealogical tables in the HTS was to

reach an assessment of their value to a study of the Po-ling Ts'uis. Some of the basic questions can now be re-examined. First, are the tables a useful reference work to verify whether a man was a Po-ling Ts'ui? Here it is necessary to distinguish between a man's true ances-

r

---

r - -

Appendix

I

1 73

try and what he may have claimed. Excavated funerary inscriptions of men listed on the Po-ling Ts'ui tables show that they all called themselves Po-ling 3'7 Ts'uis. However, the genealogical tables do not provide a complete list: at no

time is there any indication that people whose names were left off were

not recognized socially .as Po-ling Ts'uis. In terms of the validity of claims to Po-ling Ts'ui ancestry, the information for the early T'ang can be more readily accepted than that for the later centuries. Much of the data for the eighth and

especially the ninth century did not have the advantage of being based on a comprehensive genealogical work whose editors could have scrutinized various claims to ancestry. Thus, false claims are more likely to have found their way into tbis part of the genealogical tables. Second, are the particular lines of d escent shown accurate? That is, are men assigned to the appropriate rather? It is in this regard that the genea­ logical tables appear to hold up the best, though the ambiguities of the blank

spaces in the tables must always be recognized. Third, can the number of men listed in a table be used as a clue to the prosperity ofa particular segment, branch, or lineage? Here the answer seems to be very clearly negative. The existence of wany omissions makes it hazard­ ous to conclude that branch one of the Po-ling Ts'uis was smaller than branch two simply because its tables include half as many men. And there is no way

to compare the Po-ling Ts'uis with families such as the Fan-yang Lus or T'ai­ yuan Wangs whose tables may have been based on very different kinds of

sources. Finally, can the information which is given in the tables be used to infer

the political position of the Ts'uis? In other words, despite numerous omis­ sions, are the o ffices listed typical or representative? Would they provide a useful source for statistical analysis? Unfortunately this does not appear to be the case. A relatively large sample of funerary inscriptions shows Ts'uis, on

the average, to hold lower and less prestigious offices than those given on the genealogical tables. But the biases are not systematic, making it impossible to take their effect into account.

, � -�

r

- -

, -

r-� �-��

,-

o

o

NOTES TO A PP E N D I X I

2

For instance, Moriya, Mombatsu, Takeda, 'KOno Yomi'; Yano, 'Tasha no kiwku seiji ni tsuite', and his subsequent articles listed in Chapter One, note 2 1 . Not everyone was lmally included. Altogether 369 were li sted and 22 omitted. (HTS 7 5B/43a, T s eng Chung-mien, ed. Ytian-ho hsmg-lsuan ssu-chioo chi, second preface, pp. 4�5.) HTS nC/la-2la; Cheng-chou branch on 2 1 a. Jung-chai sui-pi, pp. 57 -8. Both of these men were interested in genealogical studies. See Sung shih, 331/17a, James T.e. Lill, Ou-yang Hs;u, pp. 1 1 2- 1 3 ; Chou I-liang, ed. Hsin T'ang lIhu lsai· hsiong shih-hili pioo yin·le, pp. i ii ; Ts'eng Chung-mien, second preface, pp. 214. Ts'en believes LU Hsia-ch'ing was the major author of the tables. Tang shu tsai-hsiang shih-hsi piao ting wei', p. 7576. For instance, t he Ch'u-chiang Chang and the Chin-yang Tang lineages each had only one Chief Minister, but their genealogical tables include 432 and 44 1 names respectively. The Nan-tsu Ts'ui had five Chief Ministers, but their genealogical table was less than one-third that size (HTS 72C/3b- 1 4b ; 27b-32a; 74B/2 1a39a). See D.e. Twitchett, 'Chinese Biographical Writing', pp. 1 03-6. T'ung-chih, 66, p. 784. The genealogy for the Fan-yang Lu was five chiian in length. The only surviving rang genealogical texts are some fragments found at Tun­ huang which have been caned 'TUD'huang ming-tsu chih' - 'Record of Famous Lineages of Tun-buang'. Ikeda, in 'Techii shizokusbi no ichi kesatsu'. argues convincingly that they were draft genealogies submitted for possible inclusion in the Hsing-tsu hsi·/u, compiled 707 1 0 This genealogical information was pre­ sented in narrative form, including descriptions of each man's character and talents and listing his final post. One of the two most complete texts (that for the So family), is highly selective, mentioning 'descendants' and 'clansmen' without providing the names of the intervening people. If the HTS compilers had texts of this sort, they would naturally have had to leave many blank spaces. There is also some limited evidence that through the rang genealogies were written in a dif­ ferent 'old style'. Ou-yang Hsiu and Su Hsiin are considered the creators of the new style, but the extent of their innovations is not clear. Chang Hsiieh-ch'eng believed that earlier genealogies gave the names of all lineage members un one chart, with notations on a separate commentary (Chang·shih i·shu, 23, p. 363). If his belief is co rrect , early genealogies would have been similar in format to a col­ lection of genealogies attached to a Southern Sung edition of the Shih·llhuG hsm· yu (Wang T ao ed.). In these genealogies everyone is listed in rows by generation; no spaces are left, rather lines of descent are indicated by subSCripts. Annotations of offices held or other distinctions are separate from the chart. It would have '

3 4 S

-

6 7

8

9

10

-

.

'

1 74

Notes to appendix I

1 75 from it is not obvious if the name of a

been easy for such 'genealogies' to be selective, only listing the famous men a family, for, on casual inspection of the chart,

man's father and grandfather are missing. On the 'old style' see Taga Akigoro,

'Kofu no kenkyil' ; Yano Chikara, 'Shisetsu joroku no Icachi ni tsuite' ; Chou Iliang, Shih-hsi pilla yin-te, p. vi.

11

. Tung chih 66, p. 783. Most of these works are also found in other Sung bibli­

ographies, such as

!ITS 58/29a-b. To T'ong shih-tsu chih is often called Chen­

kuan shih-tsu chih. K'oo-hsing lueh chi is given as Chu-hsing lueh chi in HTS :"81 29a. Another indication that many works concerned with genealogical matters survived through the Northern Sung is the fact that the scholar Teng Ming-shih compiled a work

caned 'Analysis of Ancienl and Modern Texts of Surnames and in 40 chuan_ Large parts of this work

Clans', (Ku-chin h silfg-shih shu pien-cheng)

survive, showing that it quoted fro m many earlier works, even some that are not listed on any Sung bibliographies. 12

This can be seen from Ts'en Chung-mien's reconstructions in YUan-ho hsing-tsuon

ssu;chioo chi, passim. 13

For instance, it was Emperor rai-tsung's desire to honor the important officials in his court which led to the compilation of the

rust of these works, the Chen­

kuan (or 1"0 Timgl shih-lsu chih. Likewise; because new families gained favor

under Kao-tsung and Empress Wu, a second compilation was made. In this work every civil and military official of rank five or higher was included. The officials' closest relatives (brothers, sons, and grandsons) were listed but not their entire lineages. Such great emphasis on official rank, however, was not popular, and the third of these works, the Hsinf{-tsu hsi lu took the Shih-tsu chih as its model and presumably included more distant relatives. The K'ai'yUon

p 'u was considered

supplement to this last work, adding people proni·inent in the early K'oj-YUan

a

bad been o mit ted from the earlier Jist. See Twitcbett, 'Ruling Class', pp. 62-6. The YUan-ho hsing-tsuan was ordered by Emperor Hsien-tsung because he wished to avoid making mistakes in granting noble titles which by custom period who

were supposed to use tbe ancestral home or 'native place' of the man invoived.

The emperor ordered scholars to investigate the 'clans of the ministers and great officers' (ch 'ing la-fu chih tsu-hsing}.

They were also to list the offices of sons From their titles, many of the privately

and grandsons. ITs' en, preface, pp. 6-7). compiled works

listed in T'ung-chih, 66, p. 783, also seem to have largely con­

cerned the families of officials. One work was called 'Preeminent Clans of the

Cbief Ministers', one chuan, and another 'Record of the Clans and Lineages of Tang Officials" 14

five chuan.

Moriya, Mombatsu, passim ; for the one error, see p. 68. It is of course possible that even

this is not an error but a case of adoption. On pp. 82-3 Moriya d iscusses

another case where the genealogical tables present the sons in a different order

than the CTS and HTS biographies do, but witbout any inscriptions it is imposs­ 15

ible to be sure which version

listed 16 17

is correct. in the Bibliography cannot be related to men

The other 24 inscriptions listed

in the tables.

HTS 72C/57b-59a; WS 57/1 7a.

CTS 99/l a. l l l /l a -b; HTS 1 21/3a, 1 4 1 / 1 a.

18

Sui shu, 54/10a.

19

This section illustrates the ambiguity of blank spaces. All the genealogies bere are presented in western style, with sons d i stributed evenly under their father, in order, with the oldest on the left. In the Chinese tables the eldest son is directly under the father, but other sons are to his left. While it is clear that at least two

names are missing between Ching-yUn and Yu, it is not certain whether the miss­

ing men are Ching-yiin's son ·and eldest grandson, Ching-yun's first and second son,

No tes to appendix

1 76

I

or even Ching-yun's brother and nepbew. It is even possible tbat Yii and Hsiian are not descendants of P'eng, but of some unknown younger brother of his. In the genealogical table OR the same line with Chih-te is a junior relative Chih-chi. , Because of this ambiguity it is unclear whether, he is a brother, cousin, and so on. Because he is not concerned in the acco\lnt here, he and his son have been omitted from the table. A more exact replication of the Chinese format is shown below: i

P'eng

--

Pao-te

Chih-chi

ChiMe

Chung-kung

Ching-yun Tao-pin Yu

20

21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

.

Yu

J ung

Hsiian

T'ing

e

Ins. 1 0. Ins. 1 5. Ins. 3 3 CTS 1 19/13b-14a; HTS 1 4 216b. CTS 1 1 9/ 1 6a-b Chou I-liang, Shih-hsi pillo, preface, p. ix. The geneaiogical table does make an error in the name of Mien's father, giving Hao instead of K'ai. (See Glossary). Ins. 73 is the exception. It lists three sons for a man who on the genealogical table had only one son, and even the one son's name is J1Qt on the inscription. It should be pointed out that these conclusions apply only to the Po-ling Ts'ui tables. In a few special.cases intermediate-sized genealogical tables may have been de�ived from private genealogies. The Kuo genealogical table may have been based on an 'old style' table-commentary genealogy (mentioned above in n. 1 0). A small part of it (HTS 74A/33b-3Sb) is shawn below in the Chinese format. -xx

----

-xx xx x

_____

-x xxx xx -------

x x x x x x x xx x x

D

c

A

B

11 may not be impossible for a man to have six or nine sons, but for all of them to . be officials. as shown here, seems unlikely. And for the lineage to forget the name of their father While remembering the names of their sonless uncles seems even less likely. However, if the Sung compiler had a smudged list of the important clan members of the Kuo lineage, this might have been the most honest recon­ struction he could make. He may have known from the generation and from other legible subscripts that group B were sons of either or both of the men marked A , o r any unlisted brother of theirs, and decided to take the most cautious choice.

r

---

,

Notes to appendix

I

1 77

The nine people in group D were probably sons of several of the six the compiler may have had no way of lcnowing exactly.

29

C men, but

Ts'en Chung-mien has taken a different view in the second preface of his study of

·

the Yuan ho hsing·tsuan. He does not believe that the compilers of the HTS tables

a variety of comprehensive genealogical works, but rather that they relied aimost exClusively on the yitan·ho hsing-tllUfln, supplementing it for the ninth century with funerary inscriptions. He reached these conclusions after a careful comparison of the genealogical tables with the relevant portions of the Yuan ho hsing-tsuon, which often closely correspond. For instance, there are numerous cases where the descendants of a rnan are given in a funerary inscription, but used

-

appear in neifher the Yuan·ho hsing-twan nor the genealogical table (pp. 8-9). Perhaps even more convincing are the examples Ts'en cites of men who

are

listed

with the office they held in the early YU4/n-ho period when from other sources they are known to have gone on to 'other higher posts (pp. 9- 1 0). There even

appear to be errors in the tables due to mispunctuation of the YUan-ho hsing­ tSUDn (pp. 1 0- 1 1 ). Ts'en also demonstrates that many portions of the genea­

logical tables were taken from works not in a similar table form, but from narra­ tives such as 'X's cousin Y, y's grandSon Z'. When such information is transposed into table forin ambiguities restilt (pp_ 1 1 - 1 3).

While Ts'en's points are all well argued, and it is easy to accept that the com­

pilers o f the HTS used tbe Yuan-ho h,ing-tsuon, it is more difficult to conclude that they used few if any other sources. Many of his arguments coukl apply

equaDy well to other comprehensive genealogical works, which have unfortu­

nately completely disappeared and cannot be compared. The Yuan-ho hsing-tSUDn itself was compiled inless than a year (preface, pp. 6-7), and must have relied on earlier worles for much of its information. Many of the similarities in wording or data between the Yuan-ho hsing-uuon arid the HTS tables could be due to the

fact that both used the same sources. While Ts'en points to 'areas that seem to have been cut off in the first decade pf the ninth century, in the Po-ling Ts'ui

tables there are rnany places where information stopped in the mid-seventh or

early eighth centuries. ' In terms of the overall composition of the tables, there are further objections to Ts'en's partiality toward the Yuan-ho hsing.ttmon. He does not discuss the great

variability in the_genealogical tllbles, as shown above in Tables 1 1 and 1 2_ Neither

does he satisfactorily account for the very largest genealogies with several hundred

nameS. He asserts that not more than one or two of these coukl be based on pri­

y

vate famil genealogies, but does not explain how so many names could have been ' presented in a comprehensible fashion in a straight narrative. Nor does he recog­ nize the coincidence that the rung chih lists genealog-ies for all of t1�e clans or

30

31 32 33 34

branches which have very large genealogical tables in the HTS.

Moreover, because these works could easily

have survived in incomplete form, for

some families there could have been no sources, for o thers three or four.

ers 1 6 3/8b.

HTS nelS7a.

lJis. 74. This genealogical table again illustrates the. ambiguity of the HTs tables. Accord­ ing to PS 32/236, Ang had five sons. From this table it is possible to assume that

Hung-Ii was desCended either from I. or from a younger son of Ang whose name has been lost, or even that the compilers were not certain whether he was or was not a descendant of I. As Ts'en Chung-mien points out {second preface, p. 1 8).

when the compilers did not know the name of a rnan's father, they usually put

him in a junior position. even though he may very well have' been descended from

an ekler brother.

r-

r -- -

Notes to appendix I 35

1 78

For this calculation, inscriptions from the CTW have no t been included. This i s

because they may very well have been a source for t h e HTS tables, a n d thits would

them is listed in the tables. ' that these were often due to lack of information, particularly in the ninth century. Some­ times there may appear to be exceptions, but they are often the result of mis­ skew the sample since virtually everyone on

36

Cases where no sons are listed have been omitted since it is pro bable

takes. For instance, Ts'ui Tsao is shown on the genealogical table to be a Po-ling

Ts'ui and is described as a Po-ling Ts'ui in inscriptions by Ch'iian Te-yu (Ins. 63, 64, 67). Yet

his daughter is called a Ch'ing-ho Ts'ui by Han Yii in his inscription

for Ch'Uan Te-yii, her husband (CTW 562/5a). The text of the inscription is only

is no rubbing. Presumably the family corrected the error. of discrepancy does not occur on any rubbings.

Han Yii's draft; there This kind

o

o

A PPEN D I X I I Annotated genealogy of the descendants of Ts'ui Yen, d . 646

By the T'ang the number of Po-ling Ts'uis grew to a thousand or more men. When studying this large group it is easy to lose track of the characteristics and experiences of individual Ts'uis and their families. In order to give color and shading to the generalizations and statistics presented in Chapter Five, one particular family has been singled out for d etailed examination. Although the names of some members of this family have been lost, and for many of its members only a few facts are known, still it is the best documented of all families of Po-ling Ts'uis through the survival of thirteen funerary inscriptions and five other private b iographies. A list of these is given below in Table 1 9.

The genealogy of this family follows. The annotations to this genealogy

supply information on marriages and personal experiences in addition to pol­ itical careers Where known, the method of entry into the bureaucracy and .

the final posts held by Ts'ui men have been given. Annotations: Generation one (children)

1 . Hsuan. A prefectural Chief Aide (HTS gen. nC/53a). 2. Chieh. After reaching the post of Administrative Aide for a Prince (rank seven) Chieh 'died young' and his wife and children were cared for by his younger brother K'ai (Ins. 2 5 ). 3. Daughter. She married a Ching-chao Tu and when he died she depended on her brother K'ai (Ins. 25). 4 . K'ai (632-705). K'ai was only fifteen when his father Yen died. Since his mother had d ied five years earlier, he may have lived with an elder brother or uncle. Three years later, at age eighteen, K'ai entered the Grand Academy through the protection privilege. The next year he passed the ming-ching examination, specializing in the Spring and A utumn A nnals with the Tao He served successively as Administrative Aide in three places,

commentary.

and then held a low post in the central government. While he was there, his

elder brother and his sister's husband both died. K'ai undertook to support

both widows and their children. His own sons were still young, and as might

be expected his resources were exhausted merely feeding such a large group of people. According to his funerary inscription, to pay for the funerals of his brother and brother-in-law, he had to sen his slaves and horses. At one point

1 79

Author

Subject -----

A Funerary inscriptions:

1 K'ai

clansman , Ts'ui S ung

2 K 'ai' s wife, nee Wang

'b,rother-in-law, Ts'ui Mien

3 Hun's wife, nee Lu

4 Meng-sun's daughter 5 Mien's daughter, Mrs Lu

cousin, Ts'u! Yu-fu

6 Chung-fu 7 1-fu

cousin, Ts'ui Ya.-fu

8 Chung-fu's wife, nI?e Li

husband's nephew, Ts'ui Ch'i-ch'en

9 Ch'i-ch'en

1 0 Chi

cousin, 1s'ui Leng

1 1 Leng 1 2 Leng's daughter, Mrs 1 3 shu

Yiian Chen nephew, Ts'ui Shan

Li

cousin, Ts'ui Fan-hui

B Other biographical sources:

1 Inscription for the remains of Mien s house '

Yen Chen-ch'ing

,

2 Intra. to Mien's collected

-,

works

Li Hua

for Mien' s wife, nee Wang

husband Ts'ui Mien

3 Quotation from inscription 4 Intro. to Ch'eng�fu's poems

Li Po

5 Intro. to Yu-fu's collected works

Ch'iian Te-yii

- - - - ---

- -

-

----

Table 20: Genealogy of the descendants of Ts 'ui Yen 8

V.n

GeneratIOn

I

�!

I

1 ---K-"-'r-lIlI�g_-�.�---___,

I I

Hsii:m ("b'Mh J.>='fu

r--__ J

Chent:

.

Hun-Lu

r------,

Mells-sun

C'hllng·fu

I

-tu

"U

sr� Ch'r� u I D

1

fu�h·ln.

I

t·fu"L.

I

M,n-ylng ,,"Lu Ch'l�h'..

Kun.-tu

j

()aU

\

i---n --'jr--'r,-r j --',

O'6Ri'fu

"'� ('na Chung,,,

Chln·y�,

Mien "" Wan;

l'dut W) l1j rJ

DeLu D=lu. DaLu ¥i,I-(1I"W\lU8

Shu.....

r

D.V,na

Situ fln..jll,fi

aSource: See Table 19.

Date

Reference

705, recopied 7 7 8

Ins. 25

7 2 1 , recopied 7 7 8

Ins. 24

7 3 7 , recopied 7 7 8

Ins. 2 3

739

Ins. 1 2

769

Ins. 20

778

Ins. 2 2

778

Ins. 26

795

Ins. 27

799

Ins. 28

Ins. 3 2

820 823

Ins. 73

870

Ins. 39

873

776

Ins. 40

CTW 3 3 8 / 1 1 b - 1 7a

before 776

qrw 3 1 5/4b-7b

734

p. 8 1

Moriya, Mombatsu

CTW 349 / I Oa-b CTW 493/9b- I l b

Pf l" I

') Chilt (&duptetl by Yu.fu)

Appendix II

1 82

the capital area suffered a serious t amine and at times there was no food at all in the house. The family survived, however, and soon K'ai was made an Auxil­ iary Secretary trank six). In 669 at thirty-eight sui he was made a Magistrate. In that capacity he served successively in five counties, but was disappointed in not rising more quickly. Finally he was made a prefectural Major and then

Chief Aide with a grade of five. When his friend and superior Lu Hung-tse died, K'ai retired , not willing to be the subordinate of the younger man sent to replace Lu. K'ai was later given the title of Baron of An-p'ing. Perhaps to suggest that his decision to retire came from philosophical principles, his inscription notes that he liked reading the Tao-te ch ing and Diamond Sutra. Nevertheless, he also recognized the importance of the classics. He told his son Mien that he had studied the Classics of Poetry, His­ tory, Ritual, and Changes with his father and grandfather, who had studied with Lu Te-ming and K'ung Ying-ta, prominent scholars of the Sui and early T'ang. He had himself instructed Mien and wanted Mien to be sure to carry on this family tradition. Before K'ai died at seventy-four sui in 70S, he ordered his sons to take charge of the family documents which were in his possession since his elder and younger brothers had both died. He also instructed them to treat his own writings as his final instructions (Ins. 25 f 5. K'ai's wife nee Wang (649-72 1 ). A T'ai-yiian Wang, K'ai's wife was seventeen years younger than he, and married at age thirteen sui. A funerary inscription written by a Ts'ui clansman who was also a political subordinate

of her son says that she was kind to her relatives and took care of the young nephews for whom K'ai had taken responsibility. She once asked her husband to help her brother, a Confucian scholar. Later her son Mien married this brother's daughter. After her husband and eldest son died she instructed her second son Mien that it was up to him to carry on the family's profession of service at court. By the time she was fifty, K'ai's wife was blind, or nearly so. Her son made every effort to stay in Lo-yang so t hat he could care for her. According to Yen Chen-ch'ing, 'Whenever there was a lovelY dawn or fine scenery, he would take her out of her retirement and go on- pleasant excursions. He would prop her up, pointing to the right and left, and laughing and chatting, give explanations. Relatives and friends would come and go, but none would know of her difficulties' (Ins. 24 and CTW 338{l 5b). 6. Chih. Reached the post of prefectural Major (rank six). (HTS gen. 72C/ 53a and Ins. 32). -

-

-

Genera tion two (grandchildren)

1 . Cheng. Held a rank three post, Guest of the Heir Apparent (HTS gen. nC/53a). 2. Hun (d. circa 707). In his teens Hun went to Ch'ang-an to study. In 698

he took the special imperial examination fOT the ' Virtuous and upright', pass­ ing in the first class. Within a few years he held the rank eight post of Examin-

Appendix II

1 83

ing Censor, but died d uring the mourning period for his father (CTW 338/ 1 2a, Ins. 24, 2 5 ). 3. Hun's wife nee Lu ( 680-· 735 ). A Fan-yang Lu, she was left a widow

with two sons and a daughter before she was thirty. She lived with her b rother­ in-law Mien, and he wrote the funerary inscription for her (Ins. 23, CTW 338/ 16a).

4. Mien (673-739). After studying in Ch'ang-an for a number o f years, in 698 Mien passed the chin-shih examination. Both he and his brother Hun that same year passed a special imperial examination. Those who had not passed slandered Mien, and Empress Wu ordered a second examination. This time Mien was ranked as first in the country. Four of the essays he wrote for these examinations have been preserved (CTW 273 / I Oa-17b). Although Mien never became a Chief Minister o r even the President of a Board , he was well known for hi.'! ability and character. After an initial post as county Registrar, he spent most of his time in the central government in

Ch'ang-an or Lo-yang, holding in succession almost all of the 'pure' posts

sought by ambitious officials. After several promotions he requested transfer

to La-yang so that he couW care for his mother. Early in the k'ai-yuan period

(7 13"741 ) he was made Deputy Censor ( rank four) and worked with Ts' ui

T'ai-chih, a Ch' ing-ho Ts'ui, in investigating official corruption. Soon he was made Inspecting Commissioner for the capital region. In this capacity he recommended good people for positions as local officials. He also investigated the relatives of several powerful people including Lu Huai-shen and Yao

Ch'ung. They res!>onded by praising Mien's historical talents and having him made an Editing Secretary (rank five), a demotion in rank and as the history says, actually

a way of depriving him of power ( CTS

1 88/ 1 l a). .

After further appointments, in 7 2 1 Mien quit to mourn his mother. When the p eriod was completed, Chang Yiieh, the President of the Secretariat, asked to have him appointed Vice-president (rank four). Before long, however, fric­ tion developed between them and Mien was sent o ut

as

a Prefect. In 725

when Emperor Hsiian-tsung traveled east to perform the [eng and shan sacri­ fices, be visited Mien and other local officials. The Emperor praised Mien as

one of the three best officials he had seen and had him brought back to the capital (TCTC 2 1 2, p. 6768). There he was put in charge of the placement

examinations. Yen Chen-ch'jng quotes a popular saying about his selection of officials, 'Mien is a person who is pure, bright , thorough, penetrating and

honest' (CTW 338/ J3.b).

In 7 1 2 Mien bought a residential compound in Lo-yang. There he set up

an

ancestral temple.. The buildings were over sixty years old, modest but clean.

He established separate quarters for Hun's widow, for his elder sister who had returned to live with him, and for two women named Cheng and Li, perhaps

his concubines or the wives of his nephews. His own residence was made of old unpainted timbers. According to Yen Chen-ch'ing he spent most of his

salary providing for tbe families of his sister and sist�r-in-Iaw and carrying out

Appendix

]84

II

the seasonal sacrifices, which was the one a ctivit y in which he d id not insist

on frugality.

Mien was known as an eXJ)ert on ritual and also frequently wrote poetry

for state occasions.

In 732 he was invited to enter the Pavilion of Worthies

where he wrot e a subcommentary to the Tao·te ching. This work later circu­

lated. Tbe next year he was made Director of the Imperial Library. He held severa) other posts, including Prefect again, befo re d ying in 739, age sixt y­

seven (CTW' 33 8j l l b- 1 7a , 3 1 5/4b-7b, ers 1 88 / 1 0b - 1 4b, HTS 1 29/3a­ Sb).

S . M ie n's wife nee Wang (686-73S). A T'ai-yuan Wang, she was Mien's

first cousin, the daughter of his mother's b rother. They married when she was eighteen and he thirty aui. In his inscription for her he praised how she nursed

his mother through her long illness, and remarked on her ability to g et along harmoniously with his uncles' and brothers' wive s (Moriya, Mombatsu , p.

8 1 ).

6. Tao. T'ao's final post is given variously as prefectural Major (Ins. 39),

Major to a Prince (Ins: 40), Vice-Minister of Justice (HTS nCIS3a and Ins.

73), o r Minister of Justice (eTS l 1 9/ 1 6a-b). Perhaps there is some confusion between his highest and his final post, or bet ween the post he a ctually held

and posthu mous titles.

7. P'ang. A Prefect (rank four) (HTS gen. 7 2CIS3b). Generation three (great-grandchildrenj 1 . Meng-sun (d. 762). Hun's eldest sOn, but 'not his heir since not a son of

his wife nee Lu. Meng-sun held a rank eight post by 739, and

his last office

was as Magistrate ( rank seven) (Ins. 1 2, 2 3 , 2S).

2. ChU!i8-fu (698� 762). In 7 1 2 Chung-fu inherited the title of Baron of

Awp' ing from his grandfather K'ai. He passed the ming-ching exams and was appointed

as

an Administrative Aide while stiR a youth. A fter mourning for

his grandmother who died in 721 , he was again made Administrative Aid e. When his mother became ill, he nu rs ed her for a year before she died in 7 3 5 .

After this second mourning period b e was appointed county Constabl c ( rauk nine) and after severa l promotions reached the positio n of Mag ist ra te

(rank

seven) . Even though his uncle Mien was a d istingu ished court official, he did not advance rapidly. Whlim Emperor Hsiian·tsung fled to Szechuan at the

beginning of the An Lu-shin rebellion, Chung-fu followed him there and was pro moted to Assistant Editing Secretary (rank six). His younger cousin Yu·fu had t ake n

his wife and

children and all of their other relatives to the South­

east. Chung-fu went to join them in 756. After making this difficult journey

he died in 762, age 6 S sui. His cousin Yu-fu wrote his funerary inscription

(Ins. 22). 3 . Chung-fu's first wife nee Lu (d. 734). A Fan-yang Lu, she died in the Lu estate while still young (Ins.

22).

4. Chung·fu·s second wife nee Li ( 7 2 7 ....:. 94). After his first wife had been

dead many years Chung·fu remarried , this time to a Lung-hsi Li girl. As her

1----

1

,---

Appendix 11

185

inscription r�lates, since he was already a Magistrate she had heavy official responsibilities. In addition, her ritual duties were extensive since her husband

was the ceremonial head of a large extended family. After her. husband died

in 762 she depended on her cousin-in-Jaw, ¥u-fu, and later her nephews. An educated woman • .the inscription written by her nephew says she ' constantly read the Classic of Filial Piety , the Analects, the Etiquette for .women,.and

the Warnings for Women, and especially loved the Budd hist canon. She had de�ply pe�etrated the true emptiness and would recite the Diamond Sulra

and the Prohibitions of the Bodhisattva.' She was forced to flee south by the rebellions of both An· Lu-shan and Chu Tz'u, and was an important figure in holding the family together in those .difficult times (Ins. 27).

5 . I-fu (702-56). I-fu entered the bureaucracy through use o f the protec­

tion privilege, first holding the post of Ritual Attendant. Before he was twenty

he had acquired a regular post. According to the. inscription by his cousin, Yu­ fu, he was a model local official. He had once been recommended to a post

by An Lu-shan, but had not gotten along with the men there and was replaced before the outbreak of the rebellion. He joined the rest of his family fleeing south, and died on the road in 756 at Ju-yang, still north of the Yangtse. He

was crudelY encoffined there, and his body had to be carried on the rest of the journey. His last post was. that of Magistrate (rlink seven) (Ins. 26). 6. I-fu's wife nee Li( 7 1 2-S2). A Lung-hsi Li (Ins. 26). 7. Daughter. She married a Mr Li (Ins.

23).

8. Ch'eng-fu (d. 758). Mien's eldest son Ch'eng-fu may have been the fam­ ily rebel. On the HTS genealogical table only

�8 name, Ch'eng-fu, is given. He

is not mentioned in Mien's biography in the dynastic histories, but in the ac­

counts by Li Hua and Yen Chen-ch'ing, he is described as a talented person

who passed the chin-shih , served as Compiling Secretary (rank nine) and died 'young'. Li Hua adds that he was also Constable of Shen county (rank nine) (CTW 3 38{ 16b, 3 1 5/7a). Yu-fu's postscript to K'ai's inscription indicates that Ch'eng-fu was not the primary heir although the eldest son, adds another county where he was Constable, and states that he died in· 758. On.the basis of this information it would appear that this Ts'ui Ch'eng-fu was the same

person as the Ts'ui Ch'eng-fu who was a friend of Li Po. One poem addressed

to Li Po survives in which Ch'eng-fu d escribes himself as a banished official of

the Hunan ,area. (Ch 'wn T'ang-shih , 26 1 , p. 2806). U Po wrote poems to

Ch'eng·fu (Ch 'wn T'ang shih ) 73, p. 1 7 16, 1 78, p. 1 8 1 7 ) and a n introduction

to a collection of Ch'eng.fu's works. In it he stated that Ch'eng-fu was from a 'literary clan that practiced their craft for generations', and noted that it is

difficult to live with a great name. He mentioned Ch'eng-fu's service as a Com­ piling Secretary, his two terms as Constable near the capital, and says that it

was while he was a subordinate to the army that the affairs occurred which

led to his banishment along with twenty to thirty other officials. Although he

was an official twenty-eight years he never reached the level of Secretary in

r

--.

r

--

r---·

186

Appendix II

the Department of State (rank five). Li Po also notes that Ch'eng-fu wrote his works while in exile, and every time an official came to check on him, he would hide them away (CTW 349/ l Oa-b). While the information about Ch'eng-fu is admittedly scanty, it is interest­ ing to speculate about his life. Though Mien's relatives wrote inscriptions for each other regularly, nothing about Ch'eng-fu survives. In a perverse way it was fortunate that he had been ba nished since it was to his home that the hundred-odd Ts'uis fled during the An Lu-shan rebellion (CTW 409/7a). Yet, while inscriptions often mention depending on Yu-fu in this period, none express any appreCiation for Ch'eng-fu's efforts. Perhaps he was somewhat lacking in familial loyalHes. Li Po says it was difficult to live with a great

name ; did Ch'eng-fu resent coming from a prominent family and having a famous father? Or as the son of a secondary wife, did he feel that his relatives looked down on him? Or perhaps he merely preferred drinking with friends and writing 'poetry to worrying about family responsibilities. 9. Daughter. She married a Fan-yang Lu who d ied young (Moriya, Mom­

batsu,

p. 8 1 ).

to. Daughter ( 7 1 7 - 5 9). After her husband, a Fan-yang Lu, had died she

accompanied Yu-fu and the others on the j ourney south in 7 5 5 and died there

in Yu-fu's offiCial residence (Ins. 20).

1 1 . Daughter. S he married a Fan-yang Lu who died young ( Modya, Mom­

batsu, p.

8 1 ).

1 2. Yu-fu ( 7 2 1 -80). The principal heir of Mien, Yu-fu had passed the

chin-shih examination and acquired a post as Constable (rank nine) by the

time An Lu-shan captured Lo-yang. According to his biography, b efore flee­ ing he entered his ancestral temple and took down the wooden tablets rep­

resenting his ancestors so that they could be carried on the journey (CTS 1 1 9/ l Oa). His experiences in the South are difficult to reconstruct. In 7 5 9 when

he was a Major in Chi prefecture (in Kiangsj) his elder sister who was staying with him died (Ins. 2 1 ). Her daughters may have been among the orphans Yu­ fu cared for. Another sister also seems to have lived with

or

near Yu-fu. Her

son, Lu Mai, later a Chief Minister, studied with his uncle Yu-fu in the South

in his youth and was deeply influenced by him (CTW 507f l a-3b). In 765 Yu­

fu was a subordinate of the Inspecting Commissioner of Chiang-nan-hsi cir­

cuit (CTW 409/3a). In 769, however, he returned to the capital and began to arrange final burial for his relatives ( Ins. 20). At that time he was a Secretary of the Board of Personnel (rank five). By 776 he was a Major to a Regional C<Jmmander, ( CTW 338f 1 6b ) 'and in 778 was Officer of the Secretariat (rank five) (Ins. 2 5 ). His biogra phy in the official history virtually b egins at this

point. Since at that time there was no Vice-president of the Secretariat, Yu-fu took on those duties, and continually quarreled with the Chief Minister Ch'ang Kun. Finally Ch'ang Kun had him d emoted and sent out to the prov­ inces. However, when the emperor learned that the other two nominal Chief

Appendix If

187

Ministers. Kuo Tzu-i and Chu Tz'u, had not been party to this decision, he decided instead to demote Ch'ang Kun and made Yu-fu the Chief Minister. Although Yu-fu served as Chief Minister for only a year, his achievements were impressive. The history states that ever since the An Lu-shan rebellion, the procedures for recruiting officials had broken down. Under Y4an Ts'ai

corruption was rampant, and under Ch'ang Kun only those with literary talent

could obtain posts. Yu-fu tried to remedy this situation, and in one year ap­ pointed over 800 people to office. The emperor once cpmmented that people criticized him for employing men he knew personally, hut Yu-fu replied that he had no way of judging the talent or character of men he was not ac­ quainted with. Yu-fu seems to have had some literary abilities and was friends with the early leaders of the 'old prose' movement, particularly Li Hua and Tu-ku Chi (HTS 203/2a, CTW 409/16a-20a). Yu-fu died without any sons. His biogra­ phy reports that after he became sick he told his wife that the younger son of his 'brother' ¥ing-fu should act as principal mourner and carry on his sacri­ fices (CTS 1 1 9/9b- 1 4a, HTS 142/3b-6b). 1 3 . ¥u-fu's wife nee Wang. Praised for her character and integrity, she fell into the hands of the rebel Chu Tz'u in 783-4, but survived and was able to turn over to the emperor the gifts she had received from the rebels (CTS 1 1 9/ 1 4a). 1 4. Shih-iu. Magistrate (rank seven) (Ins. 3 2). 1 5. I-fu. An Assistant in the Ministry of Justice (rank. six) (Ins. 73). 1 6 . [-fu's wife nee Lu. A Fan-yang Lu (Ins. 73). . 1 7. Ying-fu. A Magistrate (rank seven) (CTS 1 1 9/ 1 4a).

Generation four (great-great grandchildren) 1 . Shen. In 778 Shen held a rank eight post as Judicial Investigator in the

Ministry of Justice ( Ins. 25 ). 2. Daughter (d. 739). W ithin the first year of her marriage to a lung-yang Cheng she died in childbirth at her grand-uncle Mien's official residence (Ins. 1 2). 3. Chen-ku. He d ied before his father did without ever holding office (Ins. 23. 25). 4. Man-ying. He d ied before his father without holding office and without leaving any heirs (Ins. 2 3 25). ,

5. Daughter. She married a Fan-yang Lu and died before her mother (Ins. 27). 6. Ch'i-ch'en (750- 9 9 ). An orphan at age six, Ch'i-ch'en was cared for by his aunt, Chung-fu's second wife. He was among the large group of relatives who journeyed south during the Rebellion of An Lu-shan. In 778 he had not yet held a post. In 783 he was again driven from the capital by the rebellion of Chu Tz'u. By 795 he was in grade six, and when he died in 799 he was a

prefectural Chief Aide (rank six). He had no sons to survive him (Ins. 2 5 , 2 7 , 28).

Appendix II

188

7. Po-liang. He died before 778, having reached the rank seven post of Palace Censor (Ins. 2 5 ). 8. Chung-teo He died shortly before 778, having reached the rank seven post of Transmitting Officer to the Heir Apparent. He left an infant son, not yet named (Ins. 25). 9. Shu-hsien. He died before 7 78 without holding office and without leav­ ing any heirs (Ins. 25). 1 0. Chih ( 7 7 i-829). A younger son of Ying-fu, at nine sui he was made the heir to Yu-fu, who had no sons. When the mourning period was over, he entered the Hung-wen Pavailion. By 8 1 8 he was a Secretary of the Chancellery (rank iive) and by 8 2 1 at age fifty he was a Chief Minister. The edict appoint­ ing him to this post noted that his adopted fatmer: 'stood brilliantly at the head of the Chief Ministers at the beginning of Emperor Te-tsung's reign. A man of strength and decisiveness, people still praise him. Since Chih is his heir, the family's traditions will Jlot be lost' (CTW 64/3a). Chih was able to d iscourse eloquently on matters of ritual and history but unfortunately did not prove t� be a great statesman. He was removed the following year after an episode in which he and his 'cousin' Len� were .con­ sidered responsible for the difficulties t he court had encountered in keeping control of Hopei. The edict dismissing him again remarke4 that he had been appointed Chief Minister because his ancestors Mien and Yu-fu had .in success­ ive generations proved ·loyal and true (CTW 641 I 2b). Successively demoted, Chili died as a Prefect in 829, age fifty-eight (CTS 1 1 9/14a- 1 6a, HTS 1 42/ 6b-8a). 1 1 . Chi. Chi fled south during the Rebellion of An Lu-shan, perhaps in the party with Yu-fu. The Inspecting Commissioner of the area had him appointed Constable (rank nine) and he died ill that post, without an heir, his only son having died young (Ins. 32). 1 2. Leng (754-823). Leng qualified for office through the protection privilege, first serving as a Ritual Attendant. Unlike 'lny of the other Ts'uis in this family, he made a name for himself as a strict official, capable of getting the taxes collected. His career was largely in the provinces, ranging from county Registrar (rank nine) and assistant to various commissioners, to Pre­ fect, Double Tax Commissioner and, in 822, Regional Commander with a rank three title. He was allowed to retire in 823 at age seventy. YUan Chen, who had known him for years, says t hat he was devoted to his family and especially to his elder brother whose name has not been preserved. He once offered to exchange his rank four post for a ·rank five retirement post for this

brother. The emperor sympathized and gave the brother a title. Yuan Chen also wrote that Leng regularly provided the expenses for the weddings and funerals of his relatives who could not pay themselves. This would sound like stereotyped praise if it were not for the inscription he wrote for his cousin Chi whose body he arranged to have returned to La-yang from Hunaq in 820.

r

r ---

I

Appendix II

1 89

Altogether he had ten children, seven daughters and three sons (Ins. 73, 32; CTS 1 1 9/ 1 6a-1 7b, HTS 1 42/8a-b). 1 3 . Leng's first wife nee Cheng. A lung-yang Cheng, she had three daugh­ ters (Ins. 73, 39). 14. Leng's second wife nee Lu. A Fan-yang Lu, she had two sons and three daughters. She is described as taking special efforts to find suitable hus­ bands and wives for her children (Ins. 13, 39). Generation five (fourth generation grandchildren)

I . Fu-ch'ing. Born after 778 and alive in 799, he �ook charge of the funeral for Ch'i-ch'en (Ins. 28). 2. Kung-tu. He died before 778 without holding office (Ins. 25). 3. Chan.yen. Alive in 778, he had not yet held office (Iris. 25). 4. Jou. A Magistrate (rank seven) (Ins. 40). 5. Daughter. She married a Hung-nung Yang, and was left a widow with no sons. She had to depend on an uncle for support (lns. 32). 6. Cliti-tse. He died befor-e reaching maturity (Ins. 3 2). 7. Chi-chang. Alive in 820, he handled Chi's funeral (Ins. 3 2). 8. Daughter (808� 70). She married a Chao-chlin Li at seventeen sui, and fifteen years later after accompanying her husband to several posts, she was left a widow. At that time she moved in with her brother Yen, whose wife had died, and raised Yen's sons (Ins.�29). 9. Ch'eng. In 823 he was in the Ch'ien-niu guards, an irregular post prob­ ably attained through the protection privilege as a step towards a regular bureaucratic office (Ins. 73). 10. Yen or Nai By 823 he had passed the ming-r;hing examination. Leng's biography also says he passed the chin-shih and acquired a post under a Regional Commander. His final post was a Secriltary in the Department of State (Ins. 73, 39; CTS 1 1 9/ 1 7b). 1 1 . Hslin. In 823 he held the post of Carriage Attendant.. an irregular post probably attained through the protection privilege as a step toward a regular bureaucratic career. (Ins. 7 3 ). Generation six frifth generation grandchildren)

1 . Shu (824-72), Shu started as a Horse Parader; an irre:gular post probably acquired t hrough the p rotection privilege as a first step to a regular career. His first reguiar position was as Constable (rank nine) and aJter four promotions he became a Magistrate (rank seven). He had retired to mou.rn a relative when he died. He had no sons or nephews to succeed him or conduct: the funeral (Ins. 40). 2. Fan-hai. By 873 he had been nominated to take the chin-ahih exam­ ination. That year he wrote the funerary inscription for his cousin Shu. (Ins. 40.)

3. Shan. By 870 he had been nominated to take the chill-shih examination . He was educated by his aunt who 'ex plained to him the family's rank'. He

,-

�

,-- -

r--

Appendix 1I

190

wrote her funerary inscription, explaining that his affection and gratitude

toward her were

so

deep that it was inappropriate to ask a man of letters to

undertake the task (Ins. 3 9 ).

4. Chih. He also

was

raised by Yen's sister, Mrs Li (Ins. 39).

1

o

o

A P P EN D I X I I I Marriages of Po-ling Ts'uis during the T'ang

When marriages are mentioned in historical sources, the personal name of the spouse is not always supplied. The following tables list all known marriages of Po-ling Ts'uis in which the personal name of the Ts'ui (or one of his or her close relatives) was given. In cases where the status of the non-Ts'ui spouse's family can be determined, it has been classified as not prominent, a prominent family (one listed on the national genealogical compendiums reconstructed by Ikeda On, 'Todai no gumbo hyc', or Niida Noboru, Chugoku hoseishi kenkyu, 111, 630-49), an old family (one of the twenty-nine families prominent since the Northern and Southern Dynasties listed in the eighth-century essay by Liu Fang ( HTS 1 99/ 1 8b - 1 9aJ ), or one of the seven families forbidden to intermarry in 659 (Po-ling and Ch'ing-ho Ts'ui, Chao-chiin and Lung-hsi Li, Fan-yang Lu, lung-yang Cheng, T'aj-y uan Wang). In these tables 'D.' stands for daughter.

1 91

Marriages of Po-ling Ts'uis during the T'ang I. Ts'ui Men A. Men who were politically important or the close relatives of such

men

Can spouse be Spouse

identified?

1 Hsing-kung

Chin-yang T'ang Chien's D.

CTS 58/la

2 K'ai

T'ai-yuan Wang Hui-fu's D.

HTS 72B/17a

Name

ij]

�j

'i

1.

,�, }

HTS 71A/23b

Ho-tung P'ei Fang's D.

3I

;!.�

Huaio-chien's granddaughter

R. a�

4 Hsuan-wei t,

,tit:

�.

5 Hun

if 6 Mien

;�

1J-. �

•

LU;). Fan-yang Lu Chin-yu's D,

HTS 73A{22a

Tai-yuan Wang Wen-chih's D.

Hrs 72B/17a

! Ii'" fJ-

1.ifr.z

7 Sheng

Jung-yang Cheng

8 Sheng-chili

Hsiang-chou

�

Hsing-pao's D.

� )�

li' �J . '

HTS 7SA/49a;

Yiian Hsiu's sister

if. 1�

CTS 127/4a

>:_'Iiil!lllli' .ta... , , ""11'11'_'_____•••___

9 Chuns-fu

f� lij

LUIII-hsi Li C hens li's

HTS 72A/21a

-

great granddaughter,

Shao's D.

t �. rt '

AS

10 Chung-eu

Fan-yang Lu Tan's D. Ji;1t

11 I-fu

Lung-hsi Li Shih's D.

12 Yu-fu .%

Wang

l3l-fu

Fan-yang Lu

�� 1�'

k� ,�

ikJ�

14 Huan

}fL

15 Huan

;� 16

Lin

i!

17 Tsao

j.t 18 Shu

j,& 19 Fu

� 20 K'ang

JiG

fi

HTS 73A/20b HTS 72A/19a

1,t

� .t

Jung-yang Cheng

D. I.i.li... �{tLung-hsi Li Huang s D.t L

HTS 7SA/3Ib

Chang-yu's

'

Fan-yang Lu

A-

Ho-tung Liu lung's D. Ching-chao Wei Lung-hsi Li

HTS 72A/14a

t "/J

�� 1J;.

t

�b'/v t,

T'ai-yuan Wang

[,tf. 1;.

HTS 73A/4b

�

� n:. � �.

Spouse's family status

Source

Prominent

CTS 190A/15a

t3

family Seven clans

Ins. 24

Old family

Ins. 57

Seven clans

CTW 17/8a

Seven clans

Ins. 23

Seven clans

Moriya, Mombatsu.

p. 81

44

Seven clans

Ins.

Old family

HTS 150f6b ..... 'C N

Seven clans

Ins. 27

Seven clans

Ins. 22

Seven clans

Ins. 26

?

HTS 142/6a

Seven clans

Ins. 73

Seven clans

Ins. 60

Seven clans

Ins. 60

Seven clans

Ins. 63

Old family

Ins. 64

Old family

Ins. 67

Seven clans

Ins. 74

Seven clans

Ins. 54

�

:g �

R. $('

�

.....

�

Can spouse be identified?

Spouse

N ame

HTS 75A/17b

Jung-yang Cheng

21 Leng

,t

Chih-shang's D.

t�

�

,'Ii]

Fan-yang Lu Kuo-i's D.

22 Leng

;� 23 Hsuan- liang

1.. k,

& .", ". 1J'L�J •.,) Fan-yang Lu j,

24 Shen

,J!; 25 Hung-li

T'ai-yuan Wang Shao's D.

26 Chiu

Lo-an Chiang " :1

27 I

Jung-yang Cheng

28 Sun's father

T'ai-yuan Wang Hsiang's

�t, 11

.L��

!�

!�

"r It "­

Shih-chi's D.

J�

..

�------.- --

f1

HTS 72BflSa

}J>1 -----sister 1-

-

---_. __.

B. Other Ts'ui men 1 Ku ang-ssu

t�

2 Shou

it

3 Jung

tfj'

4 Yiian-p'ing t,t 5 Ta-fang's son 1.....

1:1

Fan.yang Lu Hung-chiang's D.

.t 31- � Jung-yang Cheng ·t � ti'

HTS 73A/33a

Fan-yang Lu Cheng-i's D.

!if.t:J

Lung-hsi Li

-t-

Tu-ku Hsin's granddaughter, Feng-hsien's D.

af}.!\.\.�� , t-- ,1....

6 Hsiin

Hung-nung Yang Hsu an-yen ' s D.

7 Sung

Emp. Hsiian-tsung's D. 1.,

8 Ch'i

Emp. S hun -tsung's D. ��_ 'if,

/Iii]

,tJ

,�, ��

;t-

PS 61/5a HTS 71B/41b HTS 83/16a

HTS 83/22a

fCJ 91

T'ang /$;

�-

�r J.�

10 T'ung

Cheng Sun's sister

11 Hsing-chien

Imperial house Li Wei's D.

12 Wu-po

Hsiao Chih-chung's D. ill .t :t-

.".. iu.. 13 Tsai

p' eng-ch' eng Liu

14 Wen-hsiu

Ho-nan Ch'u

� I�

ift it

�

�

1,�

IS T'an

;�

Hsueh a

tj >Jx., �J

5� � �{j

HTS 75AJl9a

� ft.,

HTS 70B/12a

HTS 71A/lb

Spouse's family status

Source

Seven clans

Ins. 73

Seven clans

Ins. 73

Seven clans

Ins. 54

Seven clans

CTS 91f8b

Seven clans

Ins. 35

Prominent

Ins. 34

�

�

;: I:l..

1:<.

�

family Seven clans

Ins. 58

Seven clans

CTS 136{10b

Seven clans

Ins. 10

Seven clans

Ins. 33

Seven clans

Ins. 33

Seven clans

Ins. 3

Prominent

Ins. 46

family Old family

CTS 52/8a

Old family

HTS 83/16a

Old family

HTS 83/22a

?

HTS 1 82/8a

Seven clans

Ch 'uan T'ang shih

Old family

CTW 589/12b

Old family

eTS 1878/7a

Prominent

Ins. 53

�

� � ;:s

� �

5lfl9a 72C/53b Ins. 69

294,p.3347

family

P rom inent

Ins. 48

family ?

Ins. 49

..... \Q V.

IIUlt

Name

I

17 Ch'ung

Hsiang-chou Yuan

18 Li

5�. fu it Lung-hSi Tung I4L

19 Lin

l,ung-hsi Li t

J�

20 Hsuan-yin

Yin-ch'iian Ch'en

21 Han

Chao�lieh's D. Cheng �r

rt.

i,

�i )

22 Chien 23

LUn

27 Kung-li

Emp. Kao-tsu's D. l� H.

28 Chun

Ch' ang-sun .t>... Jt.

29 Huan

Ching-chao Wei Cho's D.

30 Fan

Ho-nan Yii ;� I'f) l'

31 Yang-yuan's

Chao-chun Li Shou-hsu's sist e

iff

�

r� �

""1

,.l 'It

HTS

73A/2la

HTS

83/3a

HTS 77/6a,

�t

74A/24a

r

t ,1 t

II. Ts'ui Women A.

Close relatives of politically important men

ti'

1 Meng-sun's D.

lung-yang Cheng

2 Mien's D.

Fan-yang Lu Chung-fu

3 Mien's D.

Fan-yang Lu Chao, ! ;.� T'ing-yen'sson ,iii. t Fan-yang Lu Chao j !&

,k*

;�

4

l

HTS 73A/3b

Lit-

Fan-yang Lu Yin's D.

if

father

I

If. .u �J

26 Ha n' s father

i-

l

i

Tso &

�

�

II

HTS 75A/49a

Lit

iit

f,. �(

,

i}J

25 Huan

�,

.,

Kuang-shih's D.

!iF * it.;

rf.uf

I

;�j lk

Ho-tung Liu Tsung-yuan's sister

fiJ

24 Shu-chin

I

;'�

Ch'ing-ho Chang

5L

,

identified?

160

;'t

I

Call g�8UU ��

Spouse

�

-,

______ ""4_,","_� ___

;,� M ien' s D. � I�

5 Ch ung-

� It) �

"

fu' s D.

! �<..1�

Fan-yang Lu Ch'eng 11 {tt-

HTS

73A/29b

HfS 73A/33b CTS 136/9a CTS 146/12a

gpouse1s

family status

Source

Prominent

Ins. 50

Ol d family

Ins. 59

Prominent

Ins. 41

�

�

�

$:l'

family

�

family Seven clans

Ins. 41

Prominent

Ins. 45

family Seven clans Old family

Ins. 66 Ins. 71

CTW 591/2b-3a

?

HTS 164/7b

?

Ins. 42

'!

Ins. 42

Seven clans

Ins. 14

.._

.... 'C 0\

.-"" _____===.::

.;1;,.

Old family

HTS 83/3a,

?

HTS 182/8a

Old family

Ins. 55

�

01dfamily

Ins. 55

�

Seven 'clans

Ins. 2 1

Seven clans

lns. 12

nC/5la

Seven clans

� �.

Moriy a, Mombatsu,

p. 81 Seven clans Seven clans Seven clans

Moriya, Mombatsu,

p.81

Ins. 20;

Moriya,

MQmbatsu, p. 81 Ins. 27

�

�

Can spouse be

identified?

Spou�e

Name 6 Shih's sister

T'ien-shui Ch'tian Ch'e

7Hun's D.

Li

8 Leng's D.

Chao-chiin Li P'an

9 Chien's D.

Lit'

it

.:,

ltt

i�-

10 Hung-Ii's D.

4,,1�

..... 1k$\ 1��

f

t

Huang-fuHung

t

:1&

'f. Jl ;"

11 Hung-Ii�s D.

Ch'iao.chiinHsia-hou Fei

12 Hung-U's D.

Chao-chiln Li T'ung-ch'eng

13 Hung-ii's D.

engaged to Fan-yang Lu I-tien

14 Pen's D.

Lang-yeh Wang Teng

,.. i�

1;, i!

;r" f(

�. �.

15 Tsao's D.

it

16 Tsao's D.

i'!.

ttt,1o

HTS 72A/27b

t"Lt

HTS 75B/19b

):- �.t "tz.. &.�lt

!�

I�I'

1.

HTS 72B/6a

;i"

Hung-nung YangHung-ch'eng

�'"

'1<..4

HTS 71B/42b

1], �l

T'ien-shui Ch'iian Te-yii

ft j,t·.'4

HTS16S/17b

B. Other Ts'ui women

1 Pei's D.

Hung-nung Yang Hsiin

2 Wei's D.

Chao-chiin Li

�

.��

ftJ �,

t .af

Shen's elder brother

3 Tan's sister

Wang Ssu-chih's father

4Huan's D.

Ch'iian

5 Yen-lang's D.

TuHsiin

;t

11

Ji

�� .

6 P'ing's D.

�

7 Jen-i's

\:.t·

D.

8 Fan's D.

9

t

Shou's D.

(!.

10 Kao-ch'iu's D.

,� iL.

11 Chien's D.

�,

12 Ts'ao's D.

.ft.

i.J,·)t

HTS 72A/29b

" fj. ��J

Ho-tung P'eiHui

;� t l. t-

Nan-yang Chang

If] ft; 'Jk.

HTS 71 A/ISb

T'ai-yuan Wang 1. Fan-yang LuHung,

son

of Fan j '/J.,. If­

Fang K'uan's father

HTS 73A/33a

I; t

Ho-tung HsiiehHsiin

;� t iI't �.

Ching-chao Tu Yiian-ying

�. ',1;.}1. llA!

Spouse's family status

Source

-------

Prominent

family

CTW 390/l9a-20b

?

Ins. 23

Seven clans

Ins. 39

?

Ins. 31

?

Ins. 35

Prominent

Ins. 36

Seven clans

Ins. 36

Seven clans

Ins. 36

Old family

Ins. 68

Old family

Ins. 64

:t..

�'" :::

� �.

::::

Prominent

Ins. 67

family

CTW 509/1a

Old family

Ins. 32

�

Seven clans

Ins. 56

� �.

?

Ins. 49

?

Ins. 42

?

Ins. 4

Old family

CTW 506{13a

Prominent

Ins. 16

Seven clans

Ins. 55

Seven clans

Ins. 37

?

Ins. II

Old family

Ins. 72

Old family

Ins. 13

family

....

'C> 00

:t..

�

�

...... 'C> 'C>

Can spouse be

Name 13 Hsing-tsung'sD.

� ;f,

14 Yin's D.

�1.

IS Yang-yiian's D.

rb ?u

16 Chung-jung'sD.

if:!'f-

fJ .£

Ch'iao-kuo Tai Shu-Iun

�!. �

It. �t\�

Ho-tung p'ei Hui

t. t-- .

t t·��

i�

Li Wei-chien

19 T'ing's D.

Ho-tung P'ei Fu .t. iL

20 Lun'sD.

,,�

21 Shen-yen's D.

%-�

Fan-yang Lu

f �l II

Hq-nan Yen Vung-chih

;4 It) ttl 'n ,

.....

Fan-y�ng Lu !

23 I-pin's D.

Lit

k�

HTS 211168 HTS 71A/4b

,t

22 Shui-ssu's D.

7i� ,Jj�

HTS 71A/15b

� tJ

18 K'o-kuan's D.

!I.t

HTS 143/11b

Chao-chiin Li Chai-hsin's Ho-nan Yi.ian

q tt

"1

Liu Mi

17 T'ung'sD.

i�

'!

identified?

Spouse

HTS 73B/19a

Spouse's family status

Source

��----

4

� ;::I

30

?

Ins.

Prominent family Old fa mil y

CTW 502/15b

Seven clans

Ins. 4 7

Old family

Ins. 31

Not prominent

CTW 5651gb-lOa

Old family

CTW 565/l0b-Il a

Seven clans

Ins. 51

�

�

CTW 506/138

Prominent

CTW 392/6b

family Seven clans

Ins. 17

?

Ins. 15 I\,J

�

-.

.

�

7

rs II I

Not prominent

Ins. 69

Seven clans

Ins. 52

Prominent fam ily Old family

Ins. 61

�

CTS 52/8a

;::: : 0...;

Old family

CTW 563/21b

Seven clans

CTW 717/20a

Old family

CTW 187B/7a

Old family

51/ 1 1 b Ins.2S

Seven clans

Ins. 29

Seven clans

Ins. 9

4

�

s::..

�.

o

J

BIBLIOGRAPHY

fhis bibliography of cited sources is divided into three parts: I, T'ang in scrip­ ions cited in the notes by number; II, other primary sources, by title; and III, nodem secondary sources, by author.

. T' ANG INSCRIPTIONS \. Unpublished rubbings of inscriptions in the collection of the Academia Sinica, Taiwan. Reference number given after date.

1.

'T'ang Lo-chou tsung-kuan-fu ssu-maTs'ui Chang-hsien mu-chih'

2.

'T'ang 'Ts'ui fa-shih t'a-chih'

3.

T ' 'ang ku Su-chou ssu-ma ch'ing-che tu-weiTs'ui T'ai mu-chih ping hsii'

4.

' T aT'ang Hsiieh w ang-yu hsing Chen-chou JUng-te hsien-ch'engTu

ft.J ,5- �'I �f,. !� 0) kj -If. t. -f-u !- it626: 24220 }� 1t ;[, 'I'l' 1� Va' m

644: 17475

stJpH iJ!.:j ttf :If 41' 11 ��!. u... !h'

655: 17539

!'j�

chiin ku ch'i Po-ling Ts'ui shih mu-chih ming ping hsii' 5. 6.

!

.Ii... ..,f}ffi

'1': 1t.�.. J.. �ih Rf t� �l'[ i\; -\- Uo· i& li.!j.

it

657: 05256

r",r�

'Ta T'ang ku ch'eng-wu-Iang Ts'ui chun mu-chili ming ping hsii'

t.S.tj�;Lt

�l,f��t�l�

660: 13341

T ' a Chou ku Chen-chou ssu-huTs'ui fu-chiln mu-chih ming' f,

+I� 'l r -It %1.J; -t-Ve,; j� J

691: 12913

.

rt1 i

�L

7.

T ' a T'ang I-feng-hsien k'ai-kuo-nan Ts'ui lang mu-chili ping hsii'

8.

'T'ang Chi-yin-chiin ts'an-chiin Po-lingTs'ui fu-chiin mu-chili ming'

9.

T ' a T'ang ch'ien Hsii-chou lu-shih ts'an-chun T'ai-yuan Wang chiln ku

:",!1l Jz f..,. 'll� 1; t f-f -t-Vo' * k

.i!J

� it t� � f

"

1'l !it lq � t-�. j{z

717: 13042 722: 19063

fu-jen Po-lingTs'ui shih mu-chili ming' f... fIJI

J{.

1

t

r'z.. f_ /-

'11t.

\1 '\ t..... V'ti if1

�, � 11'1 j��t '

724: 13886 '

t- f /.,

O.

K ' u taT'ang ku Yang-chou Yang-tzu hsien-ling Ts'ui fu-chiin mu-chih

1.

T ' 'ang Ho-nan-fu Wen-hsien-wei Fang chiln ku fu-jenTs'ui shih mu-chih

ming' q-�J...

�

.

�U� +\: t� t �. J�,- { '\:1 � t,M,,1;

m_p���.��

733; 16775 2,

�

�.�hI4��.�l�A'

Tang Cheng Pin ch'i Ts'ui shili mu-chih' 16802

732: 13669

fl1

h

fl'� f .;l! }1:.t. t·

739:

202

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203

'Tang ku ch'ao-i-Iang hsing fung-shih she-jen Ching-chao Tu kung wei Yiian-ying fu-jen Lin-ch'ing hsien-chiin Ts'ui shih mu-chih ming ping

;it �t f1l\ e� ff it. t t" I� :f. "t +1 t i\, It'- VcJ �1 .1r 739: 13360

hsii'

14.

1;,

f-...

� � 4�:

I,

1

i #J ;jlJ��' ti�: �"rlf & t tJ 4 t. f�!,- it i4; ,i �!..fu-.� �it '

J

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d-?u U!

'Tang ku Yang-chou ta tu-tu-fu Yang-tzu hsien-ling Po-ling Ts'ui fu­

Uf if �J �

15.

't�

1.'

�. .!<; fr)

m J'l�j lUi' 4- �

74�: 23912

>!/t. 4; t.(1 � f.... !.... � tt il. .t.

'T'ang ku fu-jen Po-ling Ts'ui shih mu-chih ming ping hsii'

rtJ 1ft 11 i<J t- $-�d21 1i t

750: 13149

Tang Lu chiin fu-jen Ts'ui shih mu-chih',�

752: 17817

j (J...../- '

....

,ll: !:.. ' ..... ,1 i\.,t.. it,-

18.

'T'ang ku Ho-nan-fu Kung-to-fu che-ch'ung tu-wei Ts'ui Chili mu-chih'

19.

'Po-ling Ts'ui fu-chiin mu-chih ming ping hsii'

m

�U� � I1'- ;q...*j fi{'f) tr 11 t � t..Vo'

!?r,

753: 23916

it -i\: �'l}

"

753: 19069

ft t.. &6' JlJ

20.

'T'ang Wei-chou Kuan-shih hsien-wei Lu kung fu-jen Ts'ui shih mu-chi'

21.

'T'ang Li ch'u-tzu mu-chih ming ping hsii'

22 .

I� n" j<1 �

i(; *. 4j ,t 'i. f_ ' ..... J! i{, t. &G

769: 13069

m t k...i

769: 17862

-t-V", j�1 '1" it

'Yu Tang ch'ao-san ta-fu hsing pi-mu-sheng chu-tso tso-lang ssu An­ p'ing-hsien k'ai-kuo-nan Ts'ui kung mu-chih ming ping hsii'

1i: � �

���n�Sj�����,'.m��t���i1i

778: 14681

11' � ,&.

1_

t. i-�,

778: 14683

23.

'Yu T'ang Lu fu-jen mu-chih'

24.

'Yu Tang An-p'ing-hsien chiin tseng An-p'ing-chiin fu-jen Wang shih

25.

'Yu Tang ch'ao-san ta-fn shou Ju-cbou chang-shih Jhang-chu-kuo An­

mu-chih'

� ,� * � �'. � !i\ � y. t� J.,

"

r�

1 K. !..�-

778: 16597

p'ing-hsien k'ai-kuo-nan tseng wei-wei shao-ch'ing Ts'ui kung mu-chih'

1ft .t.J t'.... 1_ 1-, 1 ;� It' �. f..... ;til It '�-t-M,' 778: 17727 1)

26. 27.

�i

t

,� 1 y. ft� ':1 'fl � it �t�1

Tang ch'ao * lang she Wei-chiin Wei-hsien-ling

o

�j'.I/rr t�

�i'�,?-

00

';jt �

* *

778: 17880

.�,

mu-chih ming' 1;

.f.l

'Tang ch'ao-san ta-fu hsing chu-tso tso-Iang ssu An-p'ing hsien-nan [Po­ ling Ts'ui) kung fu-jen Lung-hsi hsien-chiinLi-shih mu-chih ming ping

'8 tL r� f_ \] � ',I:, '1'£ tl' J).J t of �'- ':J '�1 ;t ,it ) 795: 23637 � � "'. l1 t- i" t.. �b j� .n: Jr hsii' J1l

28.

J�

'Tang ch'ao-i t'ai-tzu wen-hsueh Ju-chou chang-shih Ts'ui Ch'i-ch'en mu-chih'

29.

'i.. f_

ftJ �1 jJo f...... J z 'f ��

�.1

-tL!....!fi � i t. �t:,.

799: 12958

Tang ku ta-Ii p'ing-shih Po-ling Ts'ui fu-chiin mu-chih ming ping hsii'

.#1 'JU, �t � f

I' ti.. t 1f:J t .Ie- Vel it t ft'

807: 17932

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j)? � f_ f�.� jfqU:_ t � � 'P L tj � i

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814: 08003

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:li

1fj ��7 f· 't-.t �It

i--:"

-t �t .

f!1!1,--- � �L r� !� fu �� Jt� �lJrt

824: 13! 81

1-

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36.

hsu' .� �'F � J t ti' l j� 1tl �i' ff, f- lit. J� � t] t�! � � � t t: �7 1.. fJ_ t ft- I�

;j'u�� f, *.... .m:-,;: \� � 1i lt�j 6, � 't t ';..l. ��".!�..rr It

831: 13813 'T'ang ku Tung-tu liu-shou chien-chiao shang,shu tso-p'u-yeh tseng ssuk'ungPo-ling Ts'ui kung hsiao nu mu-chih ming ping hsii'

04:' � l1b:-� ,t) �

847 : 18038 37 .

l1Uj i� � t

Ii

l� it t �-, 1· :ti

t- Vt:i

'Tang ku Hsiian-chou Hsuan-ch'eng-hsien fu Fan-yang Lu fu-chun ping fu-jenPo-ling-chiin Ts'ui shih mu-chih rIling ping hsu'

� 4�

38.

� �t *-

V1 -1 if

�1 t. 1i!]� fj tt .fi

J-_

I�

J�

� K � I!-j j

It -'t -It i\, :t.�. � j. �

'TangPo-ling Ts'ui shih chung-shang wang nu mu-ming'

·r � t"5i.t.ift

858: 17997

IS Iff fft -It I\.. '

861: 01237

39.

'T'ang ku Kuang-chou tz'u-shih Li fu-chlinPo-ling Ts'ui fu-jen chih'

40.

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j! st flJ

Itl 1·11.... t #f ft t� It!({ f....

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41.

{pz !-}�;r1� 1)

t. i{,.

� (I.-..f.. t- �T

8 7 3 : 13951

8 7 0: 18097

�� 11'1 n.z ;� * j�,- � ft t

'T'ang ku t'ung-i ta-fu chien-chiao kuo-tzu chi-chiu hsing Wei-chou ssu­ rna

chien shih-yii-shih shang-chu-kuoPo-ling Ts'ui fu-chun mll-chih ming

ping hsu' 42.

I,.

� Ki! � f� f,- ;t..,& � 1- f..;r;l rf 11 itJ I) .f] f- 'rr .1 t....); ,1i

I� 11'£.- ( fj h t-dt,

iff t tY

it t i\, !-� i� -t.}ri·$f1 �

it

8 7 6: 14571

'Ta Chin kuPo-ling Ts' ui shih fu-jen mu-chih ming ping hsii' f� 941: 12835

� �'

B. Published transcriptions of excavated funerary inscriptions 43.

'Tai-tzu shao-shih chung-shu-ling k'ai-fu i-Cung san-ssuPing-chou tu-tu shang-chu-kuo Ku-an Shao kung Ts'ui Tun-Ii per

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t;. I\, t.}d if: t

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l 1- �ti J.f:r ..tr P)

f�;ts

*'l 'f ttl A., 1...; �'.

,}..

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'r'ang ku tien-chung shih yu-shih Tzu-chou chang-shih chih chun-chou shih Ts'ui fu-chun mu-chih ming ping hsii'

k L t4

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tl

.(1 JJ .t ilti � t

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:if ;".... 11. ,tl f �j rUt! � �,(1 J� itr l �� t \� � it iA. 1., t �., ,Jl 814: Ching­ ttl -k.. L -It � � � iq 1tc /_1.... �'-� t. Vo J� ..tr ?f

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814: Chin-shih ts'ui

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'r'ang hsiang-kung chin�hih Lu chun fu-jen Po-lingTs'ui shih mu-chih'

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817: Mang-lo chung-mu i­

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'r a ng ku Hao-chou tz'u-shih tseng Ii-pu shang-shu Ts'ui kung mu-chih ming ping hsii'

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'lung-yang fu-jen Cheng-shih mu-chih ming'

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705: CTW 232/4b-6a.

}l"il'! .I� �*.:t t 1J .f_,� ;11· i\, !.Mdf:;

13a-14a.

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784/1a-2a. 61.

1�:tIl' i\

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't�

766: CTW 521/

1,�·.� 768:

CTW

'T'ang ch'ien Ch'u-chou ssu-ma Ho-nan Tu-ku kung ku fu-jen Po-ling

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'Cheng-chou Yiian-wu hsien-ch'eng Ts'ui chiln fu-jen Yuan shih mu-chih

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773: CTW 391/9a-lOa.

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t

f......

'"

r* rt

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t}

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65.

J�:.t�_..� �? }\;«1

� !-M:.i �t! 1)

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m ��� !�

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16a-18a.

):

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103

795 : CTW 504/6a-7b.

It t

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798: CTW 502/ '

799: CTW 566/ 1 1b-

'Yang ku chi-shih-Iang shih-chih-chieh Fang-chou chu-chiin-shih shOll Fang-chou tz'u-shih tz'u fei-yjj-tai Ts'ui kung mu-chih ming ping hsii'

?� �tl;f.y t� 'tA If %] ;\1 � f r .� i).-' 801: CTW 503/6b-8b.

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t. g,U�

817: CTW 589/2b-3b.

823: CTW 654/22a-2Sb.

fj fs t.

I........

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L '1\' � . Tokyo, 1 974. d �� 111 1:. J:.. 'Ko-Kan no sanko ni mirareru kika to ni t suite" ,t. ;/:_ iT' ;. 't� :::.. "'" ; J/L � & 't- t � �1 I : ] (

Nagata Hi emasa

t

shutsujj

)

Toyoshi kenkyu, 24 : 3 ( 1 96 5 ), 298-322. \'Sl )� /.t; if... �l Na/tei Kanan zensh u , X, \'f.] � � � ir-j, Tokyo, 1 969. NUda Noboru II : � l!l Ii!' Chugoku hOseishi kenkyu; Dorei nodoho, kozoku Naito Torajiro

it. �'1 L .q

sonraku ho ·r � Tokyo,

Niwa Taiko tsuite',

1 962.

1L

J;t

tf- 1. �1; it-.· �'- if. �1 � ,t,

-I} �� 11.1 t 'Gi-Shin jidai no meizoku-Shunshi no hitobito ni � -1 4 1� If} J, �t - �J �'V "' !- 't I:. 7 ' ) L Chugoku

chuseishi kenkyu.

Tokyo,

1 970.

., 1!1 � iL . Zui-Tosh ; kenkyu r� Jl J... .� 1L Kyoto, 1 968. Ochi Shigeaki lli � t IIj Gi-Shin Nambokucho no seiji to shakai � � \� � �'J r1l :L� 1:. *1- t-- Tokyo, 1 963. 'Kyiihin kanjinho n o seitei to kizokusei n o shutsugen', JL J<1 '� '- ;1;.. tT\ ..) t. t. t �L""l 6) � �t Kod.ai gaku, 1 5 : 2 ( 1 968), 65-8 1 . Nunome ChOfu

'Nancho

00

It) �]

kokka to shakai'.

tT\

II (Sekai rekishi. V). Tokyo, 1 970.

l� �_ !:. �t t-

Toajia

' Ryo-Chin jidai no koka zokuzo kika no kan no megutte', �

f ;,t- !.1i �

'TO-Shin

� <.:

•

L Sh im,

keisei,

1- ft � II�

97 ( J 966), 3 5 -67. Nancho no zokumonsei ni tsuite', f.. .ti It) .� 01 �t_ rj tT\

i!

no

.'J

I::. 7

"

Kodai gaku , 1 8 : 1 ( 1 972), 1 - 1 5 . Okazaki Fumio i� � 1... /, Gi·Shin nambokucho tsushi .ft t I� .t; �� ill � Tokyo, 1 968 reprint. Nam bokucho ni o.keru sho kai keizai seido If] 1lJ til.' 1 :' 11:.- t t :3 H. t ,� ;�i. tj iL Tokyo, 1 96 7 reprint. Ossowski, Stanislaw. Class Structure in the Social Consciou.rness. New York, 1 963. Palmer, R.R. The Age of the Democratic R evolution , I . Princeton, N.J., 1 969.

\ 'Lun San-kuo shih-tai chih ta-tsu' ,

P,ang Sheng-wei �t.1 '!

c f{t_ H.vin-ya

Pul\eybank, Ed win G. London,

1 95 5 .

�

6 : 1 ( 1 964), 1 40-204. The Background of thf' R eb ellio n of An

hsueh-pao,

�

I� �1 '1� (.

Lu-shan.

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Stone, Lawrence. The Crisis of the Aristocracy: LS58-1641. abridged ed., New York, 1967. Su Ch'ing-pin 4-& $ 'Yuan-Wei Pei-ch'i Pei-Chou cheng-ch'iian-hsia Han­ jen shih-Ii chih t'ui-i', fu � �t �. .Jb

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Toyo shigaku

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F:J � t Lt l. � -f. Shigaku, 3 1 ( 1 9 58), 6 13 -43. 'T6dai shijin no gumbo ni tsuite', j 'it l' /.... ", �� R I:' 7 . , r �l-\

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Z 6)

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Shigaku, 24: 4 (I 95 1), 26-53.

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Zui-To teikoku keiseishi ron rfJ .i5

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Yen Keng-wang

Ilj .f.j

o

o

G LO S S A RY

An-hsi �

%

An-p'ing � f

An Lu-shan � � J.t

chai-/ang

t tj

')L

Chang ( family)

Ch'ang-an � �

�� �!tj Ch'ang Kun * tl Ch'ang-lo ,'1J � Chang Chiieh

Chang Heng

chang-net � Ill)

Chang Niu-chiieh

chang-shih � L

� t If) '

Chang-sun (family) � �'. Chang Wei *- il Chang Yen it !-

Chang Yiieh

.

� �L

Chao (family) �.

Chao-chiin Li (family) l.!Ut t che-ch 'ung tu-wei �f1 wr -.61' �� Ch'en ( family) ft Ch'en-chun Hsieh (family) '

Chen-kUiln shih-tsu chih

Ch'en-!iu

ff. 1i

"

l.. � r �{ Jl. tt K. � {J'

Cheng (family) *1 ch 'eng ,J!..

Cheng Hsiao-ni 1 r IJ · ',I{;

Cheng Ta-ni ti f 1,'(. Cheng Tao-yung l11 �

Cheng Yen-tsu lr

Cheng-fun

Jt.�

,1 � IL hi

Chi (prefecture) :1 Chi (province)

t.

218

219

Glossary

Chia K'uei t it.

chia-men f �t chia-tsu 'f �f, '

Chiang-nan-hsi ;1.

$] ,�

chieh rr> chieh-tu shih fr 1. III

Chien-k'ang

lL"�

A' Jt

ch'ien-niu wei Ch'in (Prince)

chin-ma ;1.. .� chin-shih III 1" ch 'in-shih ft l'

��

�J

Chin-yang ", it; Chin-yang T'ang (family) J!ti � �

Ching-chao-chun ahou f1. . ,t. -'f' 1

Ching-chao Tu (family) �. "L f:t. Ching-chao Wei (family) if· 'tl Ching-ching � tt Ch' ing-ho .Chang (family) \� ;1', Ch'ing-ho Fang (family) 0% Ch'ing-ho Ts'ui (family)

�

�� ;� j� ;� -i1

ch 'ing-liu ;� 5fu chiu-ch 'ing 1L �t� chiu-p 'in JU JI7 chiu-tau i\ �f� ,

Chu (family) �� Ch'u-chiang Chang (family) .Jfl ;1 �

chu-hsing t

-it

Chu-Iu Wei ( familY) i�_ � tf""

chu-tso lang ..fi 11, tt

Chu Tz'u �ilL Ch'uan Te-yu � 1d J.J.

ch'Uan-yu a f.t chun �� Chun-shu chih yao # :f itt t chun-t 'jen �'� I!J Chung-ch'ang T'ung

chung-cheng

-1' it.

Chung-shan ,¥ ';'1

chung-shu she-jen

-1

�r f'- 1!G

-' It- )

,

Ch'ung-wen (Pavilion) ,�. � Cho (commandery) :ij-,

chou :IT\

Erh-chu lung

'J !J.:-t

220

Glossary Erh-chu Shih-lung

;.. Ja

erh-p 'in

Ii) if- t. �

Fan-yang Lu (family) ;l

fang

fiJ

fang-ch 'eng tu-fu {eng-ch 'ao ch 'ing

feng-chien Jj d. {u-ping

gozoku

rt) "

ttl � �i' �

f- � �

Kj !f,

'� 'I#,

han-lin hsUeh-shih han-men

Han Yii

� rJ � ,to

hao-chieh

'fie

� ��'f

1"

'JTf�

,�� 1tr_ Ho-ch'iao ;.."1 �

hao-tsu

Ho-chien Hsing (family) �1 r:) �i' Ho-pa (familY ) 'I *fi.. Ho-pa Sheng i �t-� Ho-tung Liu (family) ,� f- �� Ho-tung P'ei (family) ;.;1 �, �

hou 1ff;

Hou Ching J�

hou-men

It �,:

hsiao-lien

;� �_

l

Hsiao ( family) .1" Hsiao-hsing 'J . �

hSiao-tsung ,} .

Hsieh (family)

�

hsien

'f!,

ftj

��

H$ien-pei Hsien-yang

A �J �J w.:.

hsing-chuang

hstng-chiin tsung-kuan Hsing-shih p 'u

�'! i� �

Hring-shih shih-Iun

�j ". .It ,�

d K, t it II} , t

hsing ts'an-chiin shih '.;

Hsing Ying fir �� Hsii Ytin l!< fL.,

hsiian

it.

Hsuan ching t. .!\

Hsiieh (family) a­ Hsiin (family) �

hsun

t)

hu 11>

Glossary

hu-pu

'

221

t�

Hua-yin Yang (family) .,li ·t 1, 1 Huai-nan ;,� � Hung-wen (Pavilion) \.. 1._

-k 1.1 !t

[-kuan p 'u

[-/in t �� i-men 'Ii �I i-t'ung sa��s� �.1�

:

�

Ju-yang ; , tb Jung-yang Cheng !t � ti'

K 'ai-yiian p 'u r� fu £fi Kan (prefttCture) � Kao Chao .� t Kao Ch'eng ,� ;f

K'Qo-hsing lUeh chi *j 1t � }{.)

,� l:'�

Kao Huan

kao-men ,�] !�J

Kao Shen '�J ,t. Kao Yun .�1 L

kizoku l

t:�

Ku (family) ij; Ku-ch'eng h 1�

ku-Jj �t t.

Kua (prefecture) j;-.,

kuan-ch 'a shih .kJ '" 't..

Kuan-chung fJ '1 Kuang-cb'ien .... t Kuang-p'ing Sung (family} ", t 1, Kuang-p'ing Yu (familY) j, f ��r Kuang-tsung �. � •

. kuei-tsu -t tit, kuei-yu -t 1<;

Kuo (family) 1r K'ung Hsi �U . K'ung Ying-ta �u #1. ;1.

kuo lr.] kuo-hsiang 1f] -4l1 kuo-j tu-wei � t1- �l 4j Kuo Tzu-i 1 l' l' 'J.; Lan-ling Hsiao (family)

lang-chung �! l'

�. rt �l

Lang-yeh Wang (family) I�" l�l' l�

Ii (clerk) L

Li (family)

t

[ -- ,

-­

f -

Glossary

Ii (script)

�

Li Hsi-jen t- 4' ',;. Li Hsi-tsung t- 1ft ff· Li Hsien-fu � Li Tsu-hsiin t �j tJ) Li Hua Li l t- I. Li I-yen t k t1c Ii Ling t "l Li Pao t t

tQ

tf

Ii Po

Ii pu

t ;'1

t- -tr

Liang ( prefecture) j�, Liang Chi -w. t

liang-shu; shih \� f<-/lt Liang Tung .f�.tL /ing 'i'Ling-ch'ang '{ � Liu (family) �a Liu Fang t��

- liu-nei it, \"']

�

Liu Tz'u �� !;D

1m wai

;t

9�

Lu (family, of Fan-yang) l Lu (family, of Wu-chiin or Hsien-pei) 1ft­ Lu Chan t � Lu Hsiian t � Lil Hsia-ch'ing 1; t ,? Lu Huai-shen t '!t f� Lu Mai t ;.f! Lu P'u '- ,;t1 ' Lu Te-ming �'- tt J!;� Lung-hsi Chao-{family) � 1�1 ,€ . Lung-hsi Li (family) � ?' t� Ma lung h \�'1f.. Ma Yen I' K. Ma Yuan .�" nL Mang (Mountains) { �

men-fa ,"A ':';' men-sheng ." � men-ti r� 17 miao ,.9 min-pu � ;"1' ming-ching g� A

222

Glossary

mou-ts'ai k 1 mu-chih -t-fu' Mu-jung (clan)

nan f:J Ku fj�

1m

Pan Piao tJ!.

pel

t:>- f�

4J '� .t IB

Nan-chu-Iu

Pan

223

.frfl-

1t. £ P'eng-ch'eng !", � P'ei (family)

P'ei Chun

pj-chao ,,� lJ pi-shu chien fill $ 'k p 'iao-chi ckiang-chun � � ;j!f t p 'iao-chi ta chiang-chun ,!,f. .tf.r ,- � pin-k'o t :fi.P'ing-ch'eng .t

I�

-r- r�

P'ing-yang

� ,�, +t­

P'ing-yuan Tu (family) Po Chii-i i!J

k, �

Po-hai Feng (family) l�� � !j Po-hai Kao (family) ):t'J Po-ling Ts'ui ( family)

'J} ,�

j� rl -It

po-shih r� t p'u-yeh \L�1 son-chi ch 'ang-shih .t,� � � son-chi shih-lang .1.. !¥-1 1� �i' son-kung ;., 'I-� son-wu men :.. ;. I�] Shan-hu (tribes) J,

�I�

shang-shu sheng ,'tj shao-ch 'ing .Jj Itil

1,i ij

Shang-ku Chang (family) t �i-- �

Shao-i a& �: �he �t. Shen (county) :,},

shih (gentleman) .: shih (kin group) i\

Shih-tsun (Prince) -\t J..

shih-iang

�� �,r

Shih Lo ;6

JD

i�

mih-sun-fu -t#;J ��'. shih-ta-fu l' L !� shih-tsu (hereditary families) t. 1If,

f

224

Glossary sh ih-tsu

(scholar-official families) t i{f,

1� 1J? L

shih-yu-shih

,'iJ d.

ssu-hsing

,B I � :f

ssu-hu ts'an-chun ssu-k 'ung &J

1

�h Ssu-ma (family)

ssu-rna

Ssu-ma I � !:; it

� #:J .

$J � �

ssu-nung ch 'ing

ssu-ping ts'an-chun ssu-t 'u

&) it-

ta chiang-chun

1�

ta hSing 1_ 11.

ta-Ii ch 'ing f-

ta-Ii p 'ing-shih

J,} 'f'

-1'-.

�t f

f_

ta chung-cheng

�

'f }:.

tf. If-f f_ sf H" j'

ta ssu-k 'ung f,

�

f.

ta ssu-nung ,� � 1.

Ta T'ang hSing-Isu hsi-lu f_ it d. i�_�,�� To T'ang shih-tsu chih f_ � I\, rJr, {; t'aj-fu r,, 'j�

, 'ai-Iu ch 'i�g f." t'ai-hsueh r"

'f

-'1 i�r

1"ai Kung f." 'j.

t 'ai-shou

[, 1

1"ai-yuan Wang (family) f\.. t· f.. Tang Chien It �': Ting (prefecture) ;t ling-tsu

1" o-pa

'L fit,

J{l tJi...

Tou (family) f. Tou Chang t TOll Hsien f �. Tou lung 'iT ;1J1.. TOll Ku ft I� Tou Mu 'f[ �

�

ts'aj-fang shih }it.. �iJ

�" tsaj-hsiang '.f .f� Ts'ao Ts'aQ 'r "t. ts'an-chun

it

(so chung-lang chiang fr.

Ts'ui (family) t Ts'ui Ang fi. ;jJ Chan-yen � ;

'r �I �

r

GlosYilry

t

Ts'ui Chang

Ch'ao �J Che �.

Chen

225

}�

Chen (N. Wei) f1K­

Chen-ku JJ. Cheng if

I�

Ch' eng (Ch'ing-ho) it

I

Ch'eng (son of Chieh)

Ch'eng (son of Leng) Ch' eng-fu � Jtj

,� it

4:"�

Ch'eng-kou

Chi (son of K'an8) 3ii. Chi (son of Shou) �t

f

Chi (son of Shih-fu) Ch'i (Han) �

't�

t t -k­

Ch'i (T'ang)

Chi-chang

Ch'i-ch'en !f� \t Chi-liang �- l

t it f -ffl'Chi-tse f �'l Chi-t'ung t ji. Chi-shu

Chi-sun

Chieh (N. Wei) J-t

Chieh (T'ang)

Ch'ieh .! Chien (c. 430)

la1;

d..

Chien (c. 470) "t Ch'ien ;�i

Chih (son of Hao) 11 Chih (of Kuang-ch'ien) ''rf

Chili (son of Hsia) :i1 Chili (son of Yu-fu) ��

. Chili (son of Yen, brother of K'ai) a t

Ch ili (son of Yen, brother of Shan) ,.

Chih-te l·. 1t· Ching-po

l "1:1

Ching-ssu !it iI� Ching-yiin l it.

Ching-yung !jl b Cho (N. Wei) Cho (T'ang) t'u

·�·t

Chou-p'ing

, --

-

711 t r

..

r

---

Glossary

226

Ts'ui Chu-chien t 'r� Chli-lun � 11� Chuan

f.�

Ch'uan IJL Chlieh �� Chun n Chiin-ts'an � it Chung-che lit "!1 Chung-fang H "(; Chung-fu �� Chung-mou it t Chung-sun lit A;t. Chung-te �'r tt­ Fa tFan-hui i�.fif Fu � Fu-ch'ing ffl Jjl Han-heng it 'IJ . Hang iit; Hao (c. 200) � Hao ( K'ai) 1I� Ho �a

'V

=

Hsia /'}­

Hsiao-fen � tt­ HsiaO-wei � Hsiao-Ylm 1 ;�, Hsieh IiYIJ Hsien (N. Wei) .M! Hsien (N. Ch'i} it. Hsien (Tang) � or �\ Hsin otf\

�

Hsing-ch'eng �1 -;,i. Hsing-kung �) 1-1] Hsing-piao �11 *­ Hsiu-ho + t- i" Hsii .t4)

Hsiian (Chief Minister) i!. Hsuan (son of Yen) II! Hstian (son of Yii) ,[ Hsuan-Iiang

j.. �

Hsuan-po 'f ','t1 Hsuan-wei j, ,� Hsiian-yu '� �( Hsun (son of Te-hou) t�7

Glossary

22 7

Ts'ui Hsiin (son of Leng) J-t Huan j�� Hun If

Hung (Chin) )!; Hung (eh'ing-ho) t Hung-chiln �� .L Hung-Ii ,... � Hung-sheng ; ... fr Hung-tu �j. t. I (Han) tl J (Former Yen) t�, I (N. Wei) }� I (Sui) ;fC I (T'ang, politically important) Jf I (T'ang, son of K'ang) ;� I-fu (son of Hun) k. In I-fu (son of T'ao) J�

m'

I-ju -t �'7 I-piao Ilk tL I-pin k.�� I-po It' !J\:) I-sun p'� �., 1 en-shih 1:: ''I' lib-chib t1 N lih-hsin tl V! Jib-hsiian !J 'r lib-yung � In Jou $ lung (N. Wei) .fit. Jung (son of Tao-pin) f� Jung (politically important) � Kai §t K'ai et K'ang (son of Shih-Ii) .tflJ Kao-ch'iu ,fi; iL K'o-kuan .i) lL Ku-chien Ifl �� Kuan Jt Kuang �, Kuang-ssu {, �� Kuang-ti fuiL Kuang-yiian .{J itK'uei it:. Kung J!,

Glossary

Ts'ui Kung-tu 'f,.. K'uo ,�r

228

L

Leng it. U � Lieh .!,!, Lin ;,l Lun �

Lung-tzu

�L t

Man-ying ;1) ;A,u Meng-sun k �'. Mi &" Mien (N. Wei) � Mien (T'ang) )�

Mo �t Mou-k'ai � lfJ . Mu tl Nai j� Ning f P'ang ;t; Pao-te t ;t· P'eng .j Ping 1. Po-chien �t1 �t. Po-liang 1l:J It Shan (son of Yen) � Shan (of Wei-chou) ;,t Shao-chien il'b 1/;':: Shao-jui �g. :i­ Shen tt Sheng-chih � j� Shih (Han) L Shih (T'ang) lL Shih-chien '! $l.

Shih-fu iAJ Ifl Shih-Ii 1!t � Shih-shun 1: 1! Shih-yUan -t fo Shih-yiieh 1: !'j Shou jt.. Shu (Han) �r Shu (Ch'i) W Shu (son of Sheng-chih) i� Shu (son of Jou) .� Shu ( i 8th century) If..

Glossary

229

Ts'ui Shu-hsien k I Shu-ts'an �t It Shun ;! SSIrku

.f:; �

Sun �� Ta-na ii � T'ai-chih t: J� T'an t T'ao Tao-pin it :(. Te-hou �t· � Te:-li It i1. Ting 1J1 T'ing i.iL Ts'an it or. t Tsao i1. Tsuan t Tsung NL Ts'ung �, Tun-Ii jvt Tzu-fa .} Jt Tzu-lang .} � Tzu-po t Tzu-shu -}- � Tzu-tuan f �� Tzu-wu -} � Wen-hsiu i.. Wen-po i. 1'fJ Wen-yeh �f'> Wu-po (son of Shu) � �tJ Wu-po (of Ch'ang-an) .t, � Yen (Ch'ing-ho) '1L Yen (son of Jung) 1£ Yen (politically important) 1� Yen (son?f Leng, of Lo-yang) .l. Yen (son of Hung-chiin, grandfather of Mien) ... Yen-po J:!.. Wj

;�

r!

�

Yin � Ying-fu ' ITI Yu (ca. 450) Yu (ca, 500) ;a

·ff

�

Yu (T'ang) Yii (father of Hsiian) Yii (son of Yii)

�

,fi

r---- -

1--

Glossary

Ts'ui Yii (son of Chih) 1JJ. Yii-chih * .L Yu-fu �� In Yuan (Han) �t Yuan (T'ang) it. Yuan-chen 1G Ii;­ Yuan-hsien f'u 4r� Yuan-lueh fu � Yuan-shih {) iv Ytieh 1ft.., Yung a

tsung ff, tSUng-/u �-I., t, 'ung-shih \'It tsung-kuan .tt ., Tu (family) ft

k �'

Tu Fu Tu Lo-chou �t 1.r1�

tu-tu �t �

Tuan Ying );1. l� Tung-Iai 1:- J-

tzu 1tz'u-men >7_ rJ tz 'u-shih -t.] t..... mn-iang 1(, �r

Wang (family) .1. Wang Fu 1 (J Wang Han l t Wang 1 1 , Wang Jung 1. � Wang Mang 1.. Wang Pin $. WJ Wang Shu i � Wang Tao 1. Wang Tun . Wang Yun Wei {family) .

it

f

/

wei

4J

Wei-chou

�

i�r tl"l

Wei Shou �I!:> �

wen-lin-kuan 1.. fL!�

Wen-yang ;t l� Wu-hsing Shen (family) � �. ;1(.; Yang (family) �

230

Glossary

231

� "-

Yang Chen

Yang Chien fh

�

1{7 ,/k

Yang Chun

��

Yang Hsiung

� 1.:... Yang Tz'u � � Yang Yin � � Yao Ch'ung .fI£, t, Yang Ping

Yen Chen-ch'ing Ul. �. Yen Chih-t'ui

Yen-ti l

yin !

�

� z. :IIt.

'ltV

Yin (family) �t Yin

(prefecture) �t �

Ying (Prince)

Ying-ch'iian Hsun (family) Yii (family, Hsien-pei)

=1

.t�

" 1 t]

Yii (family, of Ying-ch'6an) k.

j.t +1 j�j§

Yii-ch'ih (family) 4j Yu-ch'ih Ch'iung

Yu (province, prefect ure ) l1l'i

yu-shih

ta-fu

�f L t, f�

yu-t:IU I
Yii-wen T'ai Yu Ya

�� ti

!J �

� t 1t�

Yuan ( familY, Han and S. Dyn,)

Yuan (family, T'o-pa) iU YUan ( family, Hsitm-pej) it>

Yiian An

��

Yuan Ch'a i'u :l.....

fu �. i! it Shang It lit]

Yuan Chen

Yuan Feng Yuan

Yuan Shao

i! J�

it- 51; yiian-wai lang � �r tr Yuan T'ang

Yuan Wei l'L ff�

�

o

o

INDEX

I

j

-I

I I

Access t o office: see Office-holding Adjunct General (pieh chan). 64. 69, 70 Adjunct Officer (pieh chill ) . 1 41 n. 1 26 Administrative Aide «(s 'an-chlin). 6 3 , 64. 73. 78. 108. 1 09, 1 4 0 n.1 26. 1 5 3 n.94. 1 79 . 1 8 3 Administrator (of principality) (hsiang) , 36 Administrator ·of the capital (ching-chaochun shou). 7 3 Agriculture. 4 3 - 5 An Lu-shan. 1 85 An LU-shan rebellion, 9 3 , 9 7 . 1 06, 1 50 n.91 . 1 83, 187, 1 88 Ancestor worship. 39-40 Ancestral temples. 98, 147 n.40, 1 83. 1 86 Ancestry. attitudes towards: see birth. attitudes towards An-p'ing county (see also local base). 35 Arbiter system: see nine-rank system Archaeology, 1 3. 1 3 3 n.46 Aristocratic families, definition of, 9-1 1 Assistant (ch 'eng). 1 0 8 Assistant Editing Secretary, 1 8 3 Assistant Governor (yin·ch 'eng). 1 40 n. 1 26 Attendant Censor (shih yu·shih), 35 Attendlint Official (ts 'ung·shih), 35 Auxiliary Secretary (yUan·�i long). 1 8 2

Balazs. Etienne, 1 20 n. 1 Baron (nan). 67, 1 82, 1 83

Birth, attitudes towards. 6, 1 6, 1 8, 2 1 . 23, 24, 2 7 , 28, 29. 30, 53, 83-6, 88, 94, 95, IOO-2, 1 l 3, 1 1 9, 1 38 n.6 1 . 1 48 n.53. 54. 1 49 n.SS, 56, 57. 58, S9 Board of Personnel (Ii-pu), S I Branches (of lineages), 1 45 n,16, 1 7 Brewing business, 4 2 Buddhist monk, 1 0 3 Bureaucracy, bureaucratic forms o f organ· ization, 30, 48, 7 2, SO, 1 02, ] 0 3-4, 119 Bureaucratic positions: see office-holding

Calligraphy, 39, 4 1 . 1 34 n.55 Carriage Attendant (wim-long), 1 89 Case study, reasons for, methods of. 7-9, 1 2- 1 4 Cavalier;!ttendant (san-chi shih ·!i1ng), 5 1 Cavaliel;!ttendant with Direct Access (I 'ung·chih san-chi shih-long), 1 40 n. 1 26 Cavalier-consultant (san·chi chang·shih), 66 Censor-in·chief (yii·shih ta·ju ), 1 1 0 Central control, failures of, 1 9-20 Chang Chiieh, SO Chang family: gee Wu-chUn Chang family, Ch'ing-ho Chang family Chang Fu, 1 25 n . 20 Chang Heng, 38, 4 1 . 1 3 1 n.28 Chang Hslieh-ch'eng, 1 74 n.1 0 Ch'ang KUD, 1 86-7 Chang Niu�ueh, 50 Chang Wei, 53 Chang Yen, SO Chang YUeh. l 02, 1 62. 1 83 Ch'ang-an, 2 8 , 68, n , 73, 9 1 . 96, 98, 1 09, 1 28 n.49 Chang-sun family, I I , 29 , 74 Chao I. 4 Chao-chlin Li family, 1 1 , 25, 30. 53, 58, 5�. 6 1 . 88, 95, 96, 1 23 n.33, 1 27 n.39, 1 28 n.S3, 1 36 n.2 1 . 1 37 n.37. 1 59 , 1 70, 1 89 Charity. 43, 45 Ch'en Chao-lieh, 1 96 Ch'en family, 1 9, 23, 29 Ch'en Yin-k'o, 5, 6, 9, 1 44 n.8, 1 4.8 n.45, 1 49 n.67. 1 52 n.91 Ch'en-chiln Hsieh family, 1 1 , 20, 22. 23. 1 27 n . 3 1 Ch'en-chlin Yin family, 2 0 Cheng Cheng-yu, 1 93 Cheng Chill-shang , 1 94 Cheng family : see Jung-yang Cheng family Cheng Hsiao-n!, 1 36 n.27 Cheng Hsing-pao, 192 Cheng Shih-chi, 1 94

232

.1

Index Cheng Sun, 1 95 Cheng Ta-ni, 1 36 n_27 Cheng Tao-yung, 6 1 Cheng Yen-tsu, 1 36 n.27

Chen-kuan shih fSu chill , 1 62, 169, 1 75

/.

n. 1 3 Ch'en-kuo P'eng family, 1 24 n_3 Chi prefecture, 51 CIlia K'uei, 41 Chief Aide (chang-shih), 64, 66, 70, 7 1 , 1 79, 1 82 Chief Minister, 9 3 , 1 07, 1 1 0, I l l , 1 1 2, 1 49 n.57, 1 6 2 , 1 67, 16.8, 1 87 , 1 88 Chieh (tribe), 5 2 Chien-k'ang, 20, 2 3 Ch'ien-niu guards �ch 'ien-niu wei), 1 89 Chin Fa-ken, 5 Chinese-Hsien-pei antagonisms, 77 Ching-chao Tu family, 179 Ch'ing-ho Chang family, 160 Ch'ing-ho Fang family, 1 28 n.41 Ch'ing-ho Ts'ui family, 1 1 , 25 , 30, 85, 1 0 1 , 1 23 n.33, 1 28 n.4 I , 5 3, 1 36 n.22, 143 n. 1 54, 1 48 n.54, 160 Chin-shih examination, lOS, 1 07, 1 1 0, 1 1 4, 1 44 n.6, 1 50 n.7 1 , ] 52 n.92, 183, 1 89 Chin-yang Tang family, 1 59, 1 74 n.7 Ching-chao Wei family, 1 28 n.53, 1 36 n.21 Chou I-liang, 166 Chu Tz'u, 1 47 n_42, 148 n.49, 187 Ch'u, Tung-tsu, 1 20 n_l Ch'il�chiang Chang family, 1 59, 1 74 n.7 Chu-ko Liang, 1 30 n.22 Chli-lu Wei family, 59, 1 37 n37 Ch'Uan Ch'e, 198 Ch'ilan Te-yu, 1 62, 1 78 n.36, 1 98 Chung-ch'ang Tung, 1 24 n.5 Clans: see kinship organization CJass structure: see social stratification Classic of Changes, 36, 39 Clerk (Ii), 42, 47 Clients (men-sheng), 42 Clique struggles: see factional disputes 'Cold' families (han·men), 20, 23, 1 27 n.28 Commander of an Expeditionary Army (hsing-chan tsung·kuan), 74 Commandery {chan}, 5 Commerce, 44-5 Compiling Secretary, 1 85 Confucian familism, 3 9 -40 , 43, 58, 84, 119 Consort families, 38 Constable (wei), 1 06, 1 0 8 , 1 8 3 , 1 85 , 1 86, 1 88 Cor.ee exemptions, 23 County (hsien), 5 Cross-(:ousin marriage, 59

233 Cultural activities, 21 , 24. 29, 38-9, 401 , 1 28 n.50 Deputy Censor (yu-shih chung-eh 'eng), 183 Deputy Garrison Commander (koo-; tu­ wei), 1 09 Dignitary of the Highest Rank (j-t 'ung fIl1NSU), 65 Direct appointments, 46, 47, 1 04, 1 06 Director of the Imperial Library (pi·shu chien), 32, 1 83 Double Tax Commissioner (liang shui­

shih), 188 Duke (kung), 74, 75 Dynastic h istories, 1 2 3 n.34 'Eastern' Ts'ui, 55, 1 36 n.22 Eberhard, Wolfgang, 1 2 2 n,21 , 1 28 n .4 1 , 145 n . 1 3 Editing Secretary (chU-lSO long), 1 83 Education, 39, 58, 99 Eldest sons, 63 Emign!s, 20, 26, 2 7 , 1 27 n.3 1 , 1 29 ft.58, 62 Emperor Hsiao-ming (of Wei), 136 n,22 Emperor Hsiao-wen (of Northern Wei). 25, 27, 53, 62, 65, 66, 1 36 n.22 Emperor Hsiao-wen'uanking of families: see 'settling the lineages' Emperor Hsiao-wu (of Wei), 68, 7 1 Emperor Hsien-tsung (of T'ang), 1 75 n. 1 3 Emperor. HSilan-tsung (of T'ang), 1 83, 1 95 Emperor Kao-tsu (of T'ang), 1 97 Emperor Kao-tsung (of T'ang), 30, 88, 95, 1 75 n. l 3 Emperor Shun-tsung (of T'ang), 1 95 Emperor T'ai-tsung (of T'ang), 30, 88, 109, 1 75 n . 1 3, 2(n Emperor Wen-hstian (of Ch'i), 77 Emperor Wu (of Liang), 23 Empress Hu, 68, 1 39 n.80 Empress Liang, 1 32 n.30 Empress Teng, 1 32 n.29 Empress Wu, 1 75 n . 1 3 , 1 83 English aristocrats, 7, 8 Equal-field (chan-t 'jen), 6, 28, 82, 1 42 n . 1 47 Erh-chu clan, 68 Erh-chu Jung, 68, 69, 70 Erh-chu Shih-lung, 68 Estates: see landholding Ethos: see style of life Examination system, 32, 80, 1 06, 1 07, 1 10, 1 1 7 Examining Censor (chien-ch a shih ya­ shih), 106, 1 82 Extended family: see kinship organization

r

-

Index Factional disputes, S, 6, 26, 65, 67 False claims to eminent ancestry, 1 69 Fan-yang Lu family, 1 1 , 25, 26, 30, 53, 59 , 6 1 , 85, 88, 95, 96, 1 36 n.2 1 , 1 3 7 n.27, 143 n . 1 49, 1 59, 1 70 , 1 74 n.9, 1 83, 1 86, 1 87 , 1 89 Feasts, 4 1 'Four categories o f lineages' (ssu·hsing), 26, 55, 1 27 n.37 Fried, Morton, 1 24 n.2 Frodsham, J.D., 1 25 n. 1 8 F u Ch'iert, 4 1 Fuji.wara family, 7, 8 Funerals, 40, 45, 58, 1 79 Funerary inscriptions, 8, 1 1 , 1 3, 75, 78. 79, 8 1 , 90, 96, 99, 1 00, 1 04, 1 24 n.35, 1 4 1 n. 1 28, 143 n.5, 1 44 0.8, 1 2. 148 n.44, 1 49 n.58. 1 54 n.l06. 1 6 1 , 1 67 Garrison Commander (che.ch'ung tu· wei), I 09 Ganison forces, troops, 2 7 , 74, 80, 82, 1 09, 1 28 n.54 Genealogical oomp.mdiums, 6, 7, 10, 30, 1 46 n.1 8, 1 60, 1 68, 1 69 Genealogical research and compilation, 2 1 , 6 1 . 145 n.l 8 Genealogical tables, of the Hsin Tang shu, I 2 , I 3, 75, 78, 79; 85 . 90, 9 1 . 1 4 1 n. 1 28, 1 4 4 n.8, 1 45 0.1 6 , 1 5 3 n.95. 1 5 7-78 Genealogists. 1 2, 34 General (chiang·chUn), 1 1 , 75 Government academies, 32, 1 04-5 Governor-general (tsung-kuan). 73, 74 Grade (chieh ) . 1 52-3 0.93 Grand Academy (t'ai·hsueh). 40, 1 79 Grand Administrator (t 'oi-shou), 35, 37, 48, 5 3, 63. 66. 69, 78, 8 1 , 1 3 7 n.49 Grand Arbiter (til chung·cheng), 66, 1 35 n.19, 1 37 n.49 Grand General {ta chillng·chun}, 74 Grand General of Cavalry (pilla·chi til chiang-chiln), 73 Grand lnspector-general (ta·tu·!u), 74 Grand Minister of Agriculture (ta ssu­ nung), 5 1 Grand Minister o f Works (t 'ai-ssu kung).

35 Grave sites, tombs, 55, 8 1 . 91 , 98, 1 33 n.44, 1 42 n . 1 44 Guest of the Heir Apparent (t'ai-IZU pin-k 'o), 1 82 'Guest-retainers' (pin-k '0), 42, 48, 1 34 n.62 Han Yti, 1 78 n.36

234 Hanlin Academicians (Hon·lin hsueh·shih), 110 Heng prefecture, 1 6 2 Ho Ch'ang-chtin. 5 Ho-ch'iao, 68. 70 Ho-chien Hsing family, 53, 1 36 n. 21 Ho-pa Sheng, 70. 73 Ho-pa YUeh, 68 Ho-tung Hsueh family, l 1 , 1 23 n. 33, 1 5 9 Ho-tung Liu family, 1 23 n.33, 1 28 n.41 , 1 36 n.21 Ho-tung Ma-shih family, 1 24 n.3 Ho-tung P'ei family, 1 1 , 1 9, 2 5 , 1 36 n.21 Horse Parader (chin-mo), 1 51 n.80, 1 88 Hou Ching, 23, 7 8 Houses subject t o government oorvee (i· men or san-wu men), 1 9 Hsiao Chih-chung, 1 95 Hsiao family, 1 1 , 23, 29, 1 28 n .53 Hsiao-hou Fei, 1 98 Hsiao-hsing, 1 S4 n.106 Hsieh family: see Ch'en-i:hiin Hsieh family Hsien-pei, 24, 25, 27, 28, 52, 65, 68, 80 Hsien-yu Hsiu-li, 56 Hsing Ying, 53 HSing-shih shih·fun, 1 6 1 Hsing-tsu hsi-/u: see Ta T'ang hsing·lm hsi-Iu Hsiung-nu. 19, 52 HSiiIln ching, 1 31 n . 28 Hsiieh family: see Ho-tung Hstieh family 1isueh Hsun, 1 99 Hstin family: see Ving-i:h'iian HsUn family Hua-yin Yang family, 1 1 , 1 9 , 28, 38, 1 36 n. 2 1 . 1 8� Huan Wen, 21 Hung Mai, 1 57 Hung-nung Yang family: see Hua-yin Yang family Hunting, 41

Ikeda On, 7 l-kuan p 'u. 1 61 Imperial ooncubines, 5 9 Imperial family: see rulers Inspecting Commissioners (pn.ch '0 shih, tsai-fang shih, kuan-ch'a shih), 1 09, 1 83, 1 86 Inspectoc-general of Fortifications (fang· ch 'eng tu·tu), 73 Inspector-general (tu·tu), 73 Intermarriage: see marriages Irregular posts (lm-woi), 1 5 1 n.84 Johnson, David G., 6, 7 , 1 21 n.I s , 1 22 n.2 l , 1 38 n.62 Judicial lnve�iigator (ta-li p 'ing·shih), 1 8 7 Jung-yang Cheng family, 1 1 , 25, 30, 59,

Index

235

6 1 , 88, 9 5 , 96, 1 36 n.21 , 27, 1 37 , n . 3 7 , 1 47 n . 2 9 , 1 59, 1 70, 1 87, 1 89 K'a;-ytian p'u, 1 6 1 , 1 69, 1 75 n.1 3 Kao Chao, 64, 67 J{aQ Ch'eng, 7 1 , 7 6 , 7 7 , 85 Kao Huan, 68, 70, 7 1 . 76 , 7 7 Ka o Shen, 1 40 Kao Yitn, 5 3 K'ao-hsing lll�h chi. 1 6 1 Kawakatsu Yoshio, 5. 1 22 n . 2 1 Kinship organization, 8 , 1 5 , 2 1 -2, 26, 3 1 . 45, 46, 53, 5 5 -6 1 , 68, 78, 82, 83, 903, 94, 116, 1 24 n.2, 1 26 n.25, 26, 1 3 3 n.41, 1 46 n.20, 1 5 8 Ko Jung, 70 Ku Chi-kuang, 4, 5 Kuang prefecture, 60 Kuang-p'ing Sung family, 59, 60, 6 ) , 1 36 n.21 Kuang-p'ing Yu family, 53 Kuang-tsung, 1 54 n. 106 K'ung Hsi, 3 8 , 41 , 1 30 n.24 K'ung Ying-ta , 1 82 Kuo Tzu-i, 1 87 Landholding, 1 6 . 1 9 , 28 , 42-6, 56, 82-3, 1 1 4, 1 l 7 , 1 2S n.7

Lang-yeh Wang family, 1 1 , 1 9, 20 , 2 1 - 2 , 1 26 n_25, 1 29 n.62, 1 59 Left Assistant to the Department of State (shang-shu tSo·ch 'eng), 5 1 . 65 Left Chief Aide to the Minister over the Masses (sm-t'u Iso chang-shih), 65 Left Chief of Secrt"taries (tso chung-lang ckwlIg), 6 5 Left Vice-president o f the Department of State (tso p 'u-yeh), 5 1 , 7 7 Lenski. Gerhard, 1 20 n.l Lesser houses (hou-men), 1 9

L i Chai-hsin, 200 Li Cheng-Ii, 1 9 3 Li Chii, 201 Li family: see Lung-hsi family Li Hsi-jen, 59 Li Hsi-tSllng, 59 Li Hsien. 59, 6 1 L i Hsien-fu, 1 27 n.39 Li Hsu-hsitn, 59 Li Hua, 99, 1 85 , 1 87 Li Huang, 1 93 Li I, 59 Li I-yen, 1 28 n.51 Li Ling, 53 Li P'an, 1 9 8 Li Pao, 14 n. 1 35 Li Ping, 201 Li Po, 1 85

Li or Chao-chtln Li

Li Shao, 1 93 Li Shen, 1 99 Li Shih, 1 93

Li Shou-hsu, 1 97 Li lung-ch'eng, 1 9 8 Li Wei. 1 95 Li Wei-chien, 1 46 n.24, 200 Liang Chi. 45, 47, 48, 1 32 n.29 Liang family, 38, 1 32 n.30 Lineages: see kinship organization

Liu Chili-chi, 1 28 n.51 Liu family, I I tiu Fang, W , 1 1 , 95 . 1 22 n . 2 9 Liu J u ng , 1 9 3 Uu Mi, 200 Liu Tsung-yUan, 1 96 Lill Tz'u, 1 54 n. l 02 Lill Yu, 2 1 Local autonomy, 24-5 Local base, ] 5, 26, 42-6, 55-6, 68 , 72, 8 1 -3. 91 Local elite : see local magnates Local gentry : see local magnates

Local magnates, 5, 6, 7, 9, 1 5, 1 6, 1 9, 24,

25. 27, 42, 43, 5 3 , 56, 87, 1 28 n.54, 1 36 n.27 Local posts. 62, 1 27 n.34

Lo-yang, 28. 40- 1 , 58, 68, 88, 9 1 , 98, 1 0 2 Lo-yang Tou family, 1 59 Lu Chan, 1 4 1 n . 1 35 Lu Chao, 197 Lu Ch'eng, 1 97 Lu Cheng-'j, 1 95 Lu Chin-yu, 1 92 Lu Chung-fu, 1 9 7 Lu Ch'ui, 201 Lu family (non-Chinese), 1 1 , 29, 59

Lu family: see Wu-chun Lu family or Fan-

yang Lu family Lu Fan, 1 99 Lti Hsia-ch'ing, 1 58 Lu HsUan, 5 3Lu Huai-shen, 1 83 LII Hung, l99 Lu Hung-chiang, 1 94 Lu Hung-tse, 1 82 Lu I-tien, ] 9 8 Lu Kuo-i, 1 94 Lu Mai, 1 8 6 LII P'u, 1 27 n.33 Lu Tan, 1 93 Lu Te-ming, 1 82 Lu T'ing-yen, 1 97 Lil Wen. 201

Lu Yao-tung, 1 37 n.45 Lu Yin, 1 96 Lung-hsl Li family, l l , 25, 26. 28. 30. 88, 95, 96, 1 27 n.39. 1 28 n . S l . 1 36 n.21 . 1 60, 1 83, 1 85

Index

Ma familY, 38 Ma J u ng, 38, 1 31 n.29 Ma Yiian, 1 3 1 n.29 Magistrate (ling or chong), 79, 106, 108, 1 09, 1 53 n.94, 1 82, 1 83, 1 85, 1 81, 1 88 Major (ssu-ma), 64, 7 1 , 79, 1 82, 1 83, 1 86 Mailg mo unta"ins, 91 , 9 3 Mao Han-kuang, 1 22 n.23, n.25, 1 29 n.62 Marquis (hou), 69, 74 Marriages, 25, 30, 31, 55 , 58-6 1 , 74, 88, 94-6, 1 1 3, 1 29 n.60, 1 71 Mell-fa, 1 0 Mjlitary activities or power, 20, 2 1 , 28, 64, 66, 19, 1 06 , 1 28 n.50, 1 38 n_61 Militia (fu-ping) system, 6 ming-ching examination, 105, 1 07, 1 5 3 n.94, 1 79, l iB, 1 89 Minister (ch 'ing); 31, 6 5 Minister Over the Masses (ssu-t'u), 37, 4 3 Miyakawa Hisayukl, 6 Miyazaki lchisada, 6, 9 Monthly Instructions for the Four Classes ofPeopie, 36. 39, 40, 4 1 , 43, 44, 45 Mar/ya Mitsuo, 1 22 n.23, 1 25 n. 1 8, 1 26 n.25, 1 6 1 Mu Ning, 99 Naba Toshisada, 1 55 n. 1 08 Naito Torajiro, 4 Nan-tsu Ts'ui family, 174 n_7 Nepotism, 80 'New me n' , 23, 3 2 Nine-rank system, 4, 5 , 6 , 7, 1 7- 1 9, 22, 25, 28, 29, . 3 1 , 50, 53, 55, 62, 67, 80, 117 Nobility, 1 0, 29 Non-Chinese, 24, 28 Northeastern families, 1 1 , 95 , 96 Niida Noboru, 7 Office-holding, 6, 9, 1 6 , 1 8 , 46 -8 , 6 1 -7,

7 3- 81 , 1 04 - 1 2, 1 1 7 Officer of the Secretariat (chung-shu shejell), 109, 1 86 Okazaki Fumio, 4, 1 25 n .l l Old elites, 87 'Old prose', 1 87 'Old styIe' {of genealogies), 1 74 n . 1 0, 1 76 n.28 'Old text', 41 On Government, 36, 4 1 , 42, 43, 48, 1 34 n.57 Ossowski, Stanislaw, 1 20 n . 1 Ou-yang Hsiu, 1 58 , 1 74 n.lO

Pan Ku, 1 30 n.25, 131 n.28, 1 32·n.29· Pan Piao, 1 30 n.25 Patronage, 29, 32, 46, 47, 83, 105, I I I

236 Pavilion of Me n of .Letter, 1 28 nA9 Peasants, 43, 44, SO Pedigree: see birth, attitudes towards P'ei ChUn, 1 27 n.33 P'ei family : see Ho-tung P'ei family P'ei Fang, 1 9 2 P'ei Fu, 200 P'ei Huai-chien, 1 92 P'ei Hui, 1 99, 200 Pej·hai Hsia family, 1 24 n.3 Pei-hai Kung-sun family, 1 24 n.3 P'ing-cb'eng, 24, 58 P'ing-yuan Tu family, 1 28 n.41 Po Chu-i, 1 62 , 1 69 Po-hai Feng family, 1 36 n . 21 Po·hal Kao family, 25, 28, 5 3 , 59, 6 1 , 70, 1 36 n.21, 1 31 n.37 Po-ling (see aiI/O local base), 35 Po-ling Ts'uis, reasons for choosing, 1 1 -1 2 Powerful families: see local magnates

'Preeminent Clans of the Chief Ministers', 1 15 n . l 3 Prefect (tz 'u-shih), 62. 63, 64, 66, 67, 69, 7 1 , 74. 15, 78, 1 02, 1 09, 1 37 n.49, 149 n.57, 1 53 n.94, 1 83 . 1 88 Prefecture (chou), 5 President of the Board of Personnel (Ji-pu $hang-shu), 5 1 President o f a Board Cpu-shang-shu), 6 5 , 71 , 75. 1 09. 1 10 Prince of Ch'in, 75 Prince S hih-hun of Hu;ti-nan, 64 Prince Ying of Chung-shan, 64 Professors in the Grand Academy (tahfUeh po-shih). 62 Professor of the Secretariat (chung·shu po­ shih), 66 Protection privilege (yin), 32, 89, 104. 1 05 . 1 06, 107, 179, 1 85, 1 89 Protege ([eng ch 'ao-ch 'ing), 6 2 Provincial elite of the T'ang, 8 8 , 89, 94, 95, 143 n.5, 1 44 n.8 'Pure' and 'impure' posts, 1 9 , 27. 65-6, 1 83

Reclamation of land, 4 3 'Record o f the Clans and Lineages o f T'ang OfficialS', 1 75 n . 1 3 'Record o f Famous Lineages o f Tun-huang', 1 74 n.10 Recruitment system (see a/I/O nine-rarik system. examination system), 28, 32, 46, 58, 88, 89, 1 04 Regional Commander (chieh-tu shih), 1 09, l i D, 1 1 1 , 1 69, 1 88 Registrar (chu-pu), 108, 1 83, 1 88 Registrar of the Minister over the Masses (sm-t'u pu-chu), 66 Retainers (see also 'guest-retainers'), 16, 4 4

Index

237

Revolt of the Six Garrisons, 5 5 , 64, 6772, 79 Right Vice-president of the Department of State (yu p 'u-yeh), 77 Ritual Attendant {clwi-lang), 1 05, 1 50 n.7 1 , 1 5 1 n.8I , 1 85, 1 88 Roman patricians, 7 R�s, 1 0 , 24, 25, 28, 30. 65, 74, 89, 1 1 7 , 1 27 n.35, 1 28 n.54 Russian service nobilit y, 7

Salaries, 48, 1 35 n.85

Secondary houses (tz ·u·men), 1 9 SeCretary (lang-chung), 67, 1 09, 1 40 n.1 26, 1 89 Secretary of the Board of Personnel (Ii-pu tang-chung), 67, 1 36 n.1 9, 1 86 Secretary of the Chancellery (chi-shih­ chung), 1 88 Selection test (hnJan), 32, 106, 1 07, 1 44 n.6 Self-defense, 24, 27, 1 25 n.7, 1 27 n.33 'Settling the lineages' (ting-tsu), 25, 29, 66 Shang-ku Chang family , 1 28 n.41 Shen Ping-chen, 1 57, 1 58 Shih (gentleman), 1 26 n.26, 1 43 n.t 5 1 Shih Lo. 52 Shih-shuo hsin-yU. 2 1 , 41 Shih-ta-!u, 88, 96. 1 19 SjfJlberg. Gideon, 1 20 n.1 'Small clan' (haiao-tsung), 93, 98 So fa m ily , 1 74 n. I O Sociid stratification, 1 - 2, 1 8 . 25-6, 302, 1 1 6 - 1 7 . 1 30 n. 1 2 , 1 33 n.34, 1 35 n. l 7 Ssu-ma fa mily , 1 1 Ssu-ma Shih, 5 1 Status group of old families, 93-103

Style of life (see also education, cultural activities, Confucian familism), 1 5 - 1 6 , 27, 3 1 -2, 39-42, 58, 83, 96-103, . 1 1 3, 1 3 3 n.34 Su HsOn, 174 n.l0 Sun Ch'eng, 47 Sung Hun, 1 54 n . l 0 3 Ta T'ang hsing·tsu h-si lu, 1 6 1 , 1 62, 1 68,

174 n.l0, 1 75 n. 1 3

To rang shih tsu chih, 1 6 1 Tai Shu-lun, 200 T'ai Kung, 34 T'ai"yilan Chang family, 53 rai-yilan Kuo fam ily, 1 28 nAI

I

r --

Tai-yuan Wang family, I I , 1 9, 20, 22, 30, 95, 1 23 n.33, 1 27 n.3 1 , 1 29 n.60, 1 60, 1 6 1 , 1 82, 1 83 Takeda Ryliji, 7, 1 4 8 n.45 T'an Kang's Lei·Ii, 1 3-4 n.l54 rang Chang-ju, 5 , 9. 1 22 n.21

r

r

-

-

r ---

r

T'ang Chien, 1 54 n.1 0 3 , 192 1"ao Hsi-shel!S, 4 Tenants, 1 6, 24, 44 Teng famly, 1 39 n.30 Teng HsUn, 47 Teng Kang, 1 32 n.30 Ting prefecture, 55. 59, 69 Tolstoy, Leo, 1 52 n.90 Top-ranking families (chitl-tsu) , 1 8-1 9 To-p.a 24, 53, 59, 64, 65, 68 Tau Chang, 38, 1 32 n.3O Tau fa mil y, I I , 38, 1 31 n.26, 1 32 n.29 Tau Hsien, 46, 47, 1 31 n.25, 26, 1 32 n.30 Tou Jung, 1 3 1 n.26 Tou KII, 1 3 1 n.26 Tou Mu, 1 3 1 n.26

Transmitting Officer of the Heir Apparent (t 'tli-tzu t 'ung-shih she-len), 1 88 Ts'ao Ts'ao, 19, 50 Ts'en Chung-mien, 1 71 n.29 Ts'uj ARg, 7 1 , 76, 77, 8 1 , 1 4 2 n . 1 44, 1 4 3 n.l 54, 1 44 n . 1 1 , 1 69-70, 1 7 7 n.34 Chan-yen, 1 89 Ch'ao, 35, 1 49 n.S9

Che, 18

Chen (Tang), 1 6 7 Chen (N. Wei). 56, 5 7 , 84 , 1 39 n.70 Chen-ku, 1 87 Cheng, 1 82 Ch'eng (Ch'ing-ho), 1 21 n . 34 Ch'eng (son of Leng), 1 89 Ch'eng-fu (son of Mien), 97, 1 85 Ch'eng-fu (married Wang), 201 Chi (son of Shou), 1 6 5 Chi (sonar Shih-fu), 1 80, 1 8 8 Ch'i (Han), 36, 38 , 40, 4 1 , 45, 46, 47 Ch'i (Tang), 1 5 3 n.91, 1 54 n . 1 03 Chi-ellang, 1 89 Ch'j-cb'en, 1 80, 1 87 Chi-liang, 1 3 8 n.64, 70 Chi-shu, 76, 77, 85, 1 43 n. 1 54 Chi-tse, 1 89 Chieh (N. Wei), 1 37 n.34 Chieh (T'ang), 1 I 0, 1 5 3 n.97, 1 79 Chien (c. 430), 54 Chien (c. 470), 63 Chiin (T'ang), 1 96 , 1 99 Chih (of Kuang-ch'ien), 9 2 Chih (son of Yu-fu), 93, 96, I l l , 1 1 2, I 47 n.32, 1 49 n.57, 1 5 3 n.97, 1 54 n. 1 05, 1 66, 1 88 Chib (son of Yen, brother of K'aO, 1 82 Chih (son of Yen, brother of Shan), 1 90 Chih-te, l 40 n . 1 (14, 1 65 Ching-yun, 1 6 5 Ching-yung, 64, 66, 67, 70, 1 36 n. 1 9, 23. 1 39 n.59

. -- - - -

Index Ts'ui Chiu. 1 94

Cho (N. Wei ), 5 3, 63 Cho (Tallg), 1 14 , 1 1 5. 153 n.97 Chou-p'ing, 1 30 n.22 Chil-chien, 1 1 4, l I S, 153 n.97 Chu-Iun, 59, 70, 7 1 Chuan, 35, 36, 39, 1 30 n.24 Ch'uang, 201 Chiln (Han), 37, 50, 5 1 ChUn (Tang), 1 97, 201 Ch'ung, 1 96 Chung-che, 59, 6 1 , 69, 7 1 Chung-fang, 74, 75, 140 n . l 02, 1 44 n. l l Chung-fu, 97, 98, 1 49 n.59, 1 80, 1 84, 1 9 3, 1 9 7 Cltung-jung, 200 Chung-mou, 1 48 n.54 Cltung-te, 1 8 8 Fa, 35, 36, 42 Fan, 1 5 3 n.96, 1 9 7 , 1 99 Fan-hui, 1 80, 1 89 FU, 1 9 3 Fu-ch'ing, 1 89 Han, } 96 Han-beng, 1 5 3 n.97

Hang, 1 5 3 n.97 Hao (Ch'ing-ho), 149 n.55 Hsiao-cheng. 57, 58 Hsiao-chih. 70, 7 1 Hsiao-fen. 57, 66, 69, 70, 7 1 , 1 37 n.35,

1 38 n.64, 66, 1 39 n.69, 70

Hsiao-wei, 57, 1 36 n.24 Hsiao-yen, 56, 57, 69, 70, 1 36 n.24 Hsien (N. Wei), 1 36 n.22 Hsien (N. Ch'i), 56, 57, 76, 77. 85. 1 40

n.l l i . 1 4 1 n. 1 42

238 Hung (Chin), 51 H ung (Ch'ing-ho ), 1 27 n . 34 Hung-chUn, 98 H ung-li, 1 49 n.56, 1 5 3 n.57, 1 6 9 , 1 7 7 n.34, 1 94, 1 98 Hung-sheng, 74, 75 Hung-tu, 74, 75, 140 n . 1 0 2 I (Han), 3 6 , 1 35 n. l 8 I (Former Yen), 53, 5 5 , 62, 63, 98, 1 36 n.22, 1 48 n.54 I (N. Wei), 61 , 1 37 n.35 I ( Su i). 1 40 n.1 26, 1 7 7 11.34 I (Tang, politically important), 1 14, 1 1 5, 1 5 3 n.97 I (T'ang, married P'ei), 1 92 I (Tang married Cheng), 1 94 I (married Tang ), 1 9 5 I-fu (son of Hun), 97, 1 0 1 , l OS, 149 n.65, 1 87, 193 I-fu (son of T'ao), 1 80 , 1 85 I-ju, 1 49 n.S4 I-pin. 165, 200 I-sun, 92, 1 1 4 , 1 5 3 n.97 Jen·i, 1 99 Jen-shih, 9 2 , 1 1 2 , 1 S3 n.97 Jih-chih, 153 n.96, 97 Jih-yung, 92, 1 1 2 , 1 4 9 n.S6, 5 7 , 1 5 3 n.97, 1 62 Jou, 1 89 Jung (N. Wei), 1 36 n.24 Jung (son o f Tao-pin). 1 65 , 1 67 , 1 95 Jung (politicaJly important), 1 53 n.97 Kai, 69, 70 K'ai, 97, 1 5 3 n.94, 1 76 n.26, 1 79, 1 80 ,

192 K'ang (son o f Shih-Ii), 1 9 3 Kao-ch'iu, 1 99

Hsin, 6 1 , 70, 1 39 n.80

K'o-kuan, 1 46 n.24, 200

Hsing-kung, 92. 1 10, 1 5 3 n.97, 1 5 4 n. l 03, 1 92 Hsing-tsung, 200 Hsiu-ho, 1 36 n.24 Hsu. 136 n.24 Hstian (Chief Minister). 1 1 2 , 1 5 3 n.97 Hstlan (son of Yen), 1 79 Hstian (son of Y u) , 1 6 7 Hsuan-Iiang, 92. 93, 1 50 n.70, 1 5 3 n.97, 1 94 Hstian-po, 1 37 n.48, 57 Hsuan-wei, 1 1 0, 11 2, 1 5 3 n.97, 192 Hstian-yin, 1 96 Hstian-yu, 7 1 , 73, 74 Hsun (rnarr�d Yang), 1 95, 201 HsUn (son of Leng), 1 89 Huan (politically important), 1 1 2, 1 5 3 n.97, 1 9 3 Huan (married Tso), 1 96. 1 99 Huan (married Wei), 1 97 Hun, 1 82, 1 92, 1 9 8 .

Kuan, 1 1 0, 1 53 n.97, 1 54 n. l 02

Kuang-ssu, 1 65, 194 Kuang-yuan, 92, 1 5 3 n.97, 154 n.l03,

162 Kung (politically important), 1 1 2, 1 5 3 n.97 Kung (married Fu), 201 Kung-Ii, 197 Kung-tu, 1 89 K'uo, 78

Leng, 93, 95, 96, 1 47 n.32, 1 48 n.42, 1 5 3 n.97, 166, 180, 1 88; 194, 198 Li (politically important), 1 S3 n.97 Li (married Tung) , 196 Lieh, 37, 4 1 , 43, 47, 48. SO, 5 1 , 1 30 n.2 1 , 1 35 n.87 Lin (married Li), 193. 1 96 Lin (Ch'ing-ho), 1 49 n.S3 Ling (Ching-ho), 1 28 n.48 Lun, 1 46 n . 1 9, 1 96, 200 Lung-tzu, 1 40 n . 1 26

Index Ts'ui Man-ying, 1 87 Meng-sun, 1 84, 1 97 Mien (N. Wei), 56, 70, 7 1 Mien (rang), 92, 9 6 , 98, 1 02 - 3, 1 48 n.46 , 1 49 n.58, 1 52 n.92, 1 5 3 n.9 7 , 154 n . 1 06 , 1 65, 1 6 6, 1 80, 1 82, 1 8� 1 8 5 , 1 86 , 1 87 , 1 9 2, 1 97 Mo, 1 38 n.6 1 . 64, 6 9 Mu. 1 36 n.24 Nai. l 89 Ning, 92, 1 46 n . 1 9 , 1 5 3 n.97 0, 1 96 P'ang, 1 84 Pae-te, 1 64, 1 65 Pei, 1 99 Pen, 1 9 8 p'eng. 7 4 , 7 5 , 1 64, 1 65 Ping, 69, 7 1 , 79, 1 36 n.24, 1 31 n.34, 1 38 n.64, 1 39 n.70 P'ing, 1 9 9 Po-chien, 7 8 , 8 1 , 1 44 n. 1 1 Po-liang, 1 88 P'u, 201 Shan (son of Yen), 1 80, 1 89 Shan (of Wei-chou), 9 2 Shao-chien, 1 65 Shen, 1 87, 1 94 Shen·yen, 200 Sheng, 1 92 Sheng-chih, 1 92 Shih (Han), 1 2, 36, 38, 39, 40, 41 , 42, 43, 45, 46, 47, 48, 1 0 1 , 1 24 n.5 Shih (T'ang), 1 02-3, 1 1 2, 1 5 3 n.91, 1 98 Shih-chien, 70, 13, 74 Shih-fu. 1 87 Shih-shun, 1 40 n.l 26 Shih-yuan. 7 1 Shih-yueh, 10. 7 3. 74, 98, 144 n.I I Shou, 1 65 , 1 67, 1 94, 1 99 Shu (Han), 35 Shu (Ch'i), 34 Shu (married Wei), 1 9 3 Shu (son of Jo u), 1 80, 1 89 Shu (l8th century), 1 5 5 n . l 06 Shu-chin, 196 Shu-hsien, 1 88 Shu-ts'an, 59, 140 n.1 26 Shui-ssu. 200 Ssu-ku, 92, 1 0 9 Sun, 96, I l l , 1 1 2, 1 5 3 n.97, 1 94 Sung, 1 95 Ta-fang, 1 95 Ta-na, 1 4O n . 1 1 6 rai-chih, 1 83 ran, 1 95 , 1 9 9 1"ao, 1 66, 1 84 Tao-pin, 1 65 Te-li, 1 40 n. 1 26

239 T'ing (N. Wei), 66, 67, 84, 1 35 n.1 9, 1 37 n.35. 1 38 n.56, 1 6 7 T'ing IT'ang}, 200 Tsai, 1 95 Ts'an, S I Tsao, 1 1 2 , 1 5 3 n.97, 1 78 n.36, 1 93. 1 98 Ts'ao, 1 9 9 Ts'e, 1 5 3 n.96 Tsuan, 1 36 n.20, 1 39 n.69, 1 62 , 1 6 3 Tsung. l 1 0 Ts'ung. 1 5 3 n.97 Ts'ung-li, 201 Tun-Ii. 92, 1 1 2, 1 5 3 n.97 T'ung (married Cheng), 1 9 5 T'ung (married Yuan). 200 Tzu-fa. 140 n . 1 26 Tzu-lang, 57. 70. 7 1 Tzu-po, 1 40 n. 1 26 Tzu-shu, 1 40 n.1 26 Tzu-tuan, 140 n.126 Tzu-wu, 1 40 n. 1 26 Wan. 201 Wei, 1 9 9 Wen-hsiu, 9 2 , 1 95 Wen-yeh. 1 36 n.24 Wu-po, 92, 1 95 Yang-ylian, 1 97, 200 Yen (Ch'ing-ho), 1 49 n.SS Yen (son of J ung), 1 32 n.29 Yen (politically important). 1 5 3 n.97 Yen (son of Leng, of Lo-yang), 92. 1 89 Yen (son of Hung-chUn. grandfather of Mien), 9 3 , 97, 98, 99, 1 5 4 n . 1 0 1 , 1 79, 201 Yen-lang, 1 99 Yen-po, 1 38 n.60, 6 9 Yin (Han), 1 2, 36, 3 8 , 3 9 , 40, 4 1 , 43, 46, 47. 49, 67, 85, 1 01 Yin (T'ang). 200 Ying-fu. 1 66 , 1 87 Yu, 1 36 n.20, 1 38 n.61 , 1 39 n.63, 64, 69 YU, I 67 Yu-chih. 201 Yu-chih. 1 36 n.20 Yu-fu, 96. 97, 98, 99, 1 0 1 , lOS, 1 07, 1 1 2, 147 n.32, 1 48 n.49, 149 n.59, 1 54 n.l03, 1 65. 1 66, 1 80, 1 86, 1 87, 1 92 Yuan (Han), 1 2. 36, 38, 39, 40, 41 , 42, 43, 45 , 46 , 47 . 49 , 67, 1 01 , 1 31 n.28 YUan IT'ang), 1 1 1 , 1 1 2, 1 53 n.97 Yiian-chen, 1 36 n.20, 69 Ylian-hsien, 1 37 n.48 YUan-Weh, 93, 1 5 3 n.97 Yuan-p'ing, 1 95 yuan-shih, 1 1 2, 1 5 3 n.97

240

Index

.

Ts'ui Yiieh, 164 Yung, 64,. 1 1 4 Ts'ui city, 34 Tsukiyama Jisaburo, 1 5 2 n . 9 1 Tu family, 1 1

Tu Fu; 1 50 n . 68 Tu HsO, 201 Tu Lo-chou. 69 Tu Yuan-ying, 1 99 Tuan Ymg, 3 8 Tu-ku Chi , 1 8 7, 20 1 Tu-ku Hsin, 1 9 5 Tun-huang, 6 Twitchett, Denis, 7

Upper class: see social stratification Vice-minister (shao-ch 'jng), 65, 67, 1 83 Vice-president of the Secreta ria t (chungshu shih-lang), 1 0 2, W9 Viscount (tzu), 66, 1 09 Wang Chung-fu, 201 Wang Chang-1o, 1 26 n.26 Wang family: see T'ai-yuan Wang or Langyeh Wang family Wang Fu, 38, 1 24 n.S, 1 3 1 n. 27 Wang Han, 1 26 n.25 Wang "Hsiang, 1 94 Wang HuHu, 1 9 2 Wang 1, 1 26 n.25 Wang lung, 1 35 n.6 Wang Mang, 1 5, 3 5 Wang Pin, 1 26 n.25 Wang Shao, 1 94 Wang Shu, 1 26 n.25 Wang Ssu-chih, 1 99 Wang Tao, 1 26 n .25 Wang Teng, 1 98 Wang Tun, 1 26 n.25 Wang Wen-chih, 1 9 2 Wang YUn, 1 24 n.3 Warlords, 50 Wei Cho, 197 Wei family, 1 1 Wei HSUan-chen, 201 Wei Sho u, 6 1 , 7 1 , 1 36 n.27 Wei shu, 6 1 Wen-hsin tiao-lung, 41 Wen hSUon, 41 Wittfogel, Karl A., 1 20 n.l W\l area, 20 Wu families. 26, 27 Wu Hsien-ch'ing, 4 Wu-chun Chu family, I I Wu-chun Chang fdmily, I t , 20, 22 Wu-chUn Ku family, 1 1 , 20 Wu-chUn Lu family, 1 1 , 20, 22

Wu-hsing Shen familY, 1 26 n . 26 Yang Chen, 1 32 n.32

Yang Chien , 74, 75 Yang ChUn, 51 Yang family:. see Hua-yin Yang family Yang Hsiung. 1 31 n.28 Yang Hsila n-yen , 1 95

Yang RsUn, 1 99 Yang Hung-ch'eng, 1 98 Yang Kuo-chung, 1 54 n . I 0 3 Yang Lien-sheng, 5 Yang Ping, 1 32 n.32 Yang b'u, 38, 1 32 n.32 Yang Yin, 77 Yang YUn-ju. 4 Yane Chikara, 1 22 n.2 1 , 2 3 Yao Ch'ung, 1 83" Yen Chen-ch'ing, 9 8 , 1 82, 1 83, 1 85 Yen Chili-t 'ui, 2 3 Yen Hsien, .47 Yen lung, 1 4 3 n.1 49 Yen Keng-wang, 4 Yen Yung-chih, 200 Ying-ch'lIan Hsun family, 1 1 , 1 9, 20, 23, 1 27 n.31 Ying-ch'iian Yii family, 20 Yu family (non-Chlnese), 1 1 , 29 Yu Ya, 53 Yuan An, 1 32 n . 3 1 , Yuan Ch'a, 69 YUan Chen. 1 88 Yuan family (non-Chinese), 1 1 Yuan fa.mily (T'o-pa), I I , 29 Yuan family, 1 1 , 3 8 Yuan Feng, 38, 1 32 n.31 YUlln·ho hsing-Jsuan , 1 6 1 , 1 6 2 , 1 68, 1 75 n . 1 3. 1 77 n.29 Yuan Hsiu, 1 92 Yuan Kuang-shih, 1 96 Yuan Smo, 50 Yuan Tang, 1 31 n.31 Yuan Ts'ai, 1 87 Yuan Wei, 38, 1 3 2 n.31 Yu-chih Ch'iung, 74. 75 YU-wen family, 1 1 , 28, 74 Ya-wen T'ai, 68, 70, 73