關於周代國家形態的蠡測──「封建城邦」說芻議

The ''Feudal City-state'' in Ancient China: An Analysis of Chou Dynasty State Formation

傳統中國人對周代政治社會形態的認識是相當簡明而肯定的，大要不外「封建」與「宗法」二端。以封建來維繫大小諸侯的秩序，以宗法來聯絡諸侯的感情。於是合天下為一大家庭，共尊周王為大家長。但到了二十世紀，這種古史觀逐漸破滅或改變。

State-level polities of the Chou Dynasty period, both numerous and diverse, were integrated within the network of the ''feudal system'' (feng-chien chih-tu) according to standards of relative rank-order. Funda mental to the nature of the state formations of this period was the ''city-state'' (ch'eng-pang), and analysis reveals that the ''city-state'' formation, along with the process of Chou ''feudalism'' (feng-chien), were essentially two, co-dependent aspects of one and the same socio-political phenomenon. The author thus refers to this phenomenon as the ''feudal city-state'' (feng-chien ch'eng-pang). The first of this essay's five sections is devoted to a review of previous discussions of the ancient chinese socio-political order, paying special attention to those advancing te concept of the ''city-state'' and to crucial differences in the definition of this concept.