According to Sima Qian, before the Yin Dynasty, we don't have much information. During the Zhou Dynasty, there were five ranks of nobility: Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount, and Baron. However, the Duke of Zhou's brothers, Boqin and Kangshu, were respectively enfeoffed in the states of Lu and Wei, with land reaching four hundred li, to show their family some love and reward their service; while Taigong got Qi, a territory five times the size of a marquisate, to commend his diligence and achievements. "It was all about rewarding family and virtue, and respecting hard work." During the reigns of Kings Wu, Cheng, and Kang, hundreds of vassals were enfeoffed, among them fifty-five with the same surname, ranging from over 100 to as little as 30 li, with the purpose of supporting and defending the royal family. The size of their fiefs varied for Guanshu, Caishu, Kangshu, Caoshu, and Zhengshu. When Kings Li and You ruled, the royal family weakened, the vassal states grew stronger, the emperor's power waned, and he was unable to correct this situation. It wasn't just a matter of morality; it was a matter of power.
After the rise of the Han Dynasty, only two ranks of nobility were granted. In his later years, if Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang did not have relatives from the Liu clan or those who achieved great feats and were granted marquis titles, the whole empire would have risen up against him. Emperor Gaozu had nine sons who were princes of the same surname, with only the King of Changsha being of a different surname, and over a hundred meritorious officials were granted marquis titles. From Yanmen and Taiyuan to the east to Liaoyang were the Yan and Dai states; south of Changshan, encompassing the area west of the Yellow River and Ji River, extending east to the coast from A and Zhen, lay the states of Qi and Zhao; from Chen to the west, south to Jiuyi Mountain, east to the Yangtze River and encompassing the Huai, Gu, and Si river valleys, near Kuaiji, were the Liang, Chu, Huainan, and Changsha states. These vassal states all bordered the Xiongnu and Yue people. In the interior, north of the mountains in the east were all vassal territories, with large vassal states governing five or six commanderies, dozens of cities in a row, and setting up officials and palaces, their extravagance comparable to that of the emperor. The Han central government only controlled Sanhe Commandery, Dong Commandery, Yingchuan Commandery, and Nanyang Commandery, from Jiangling to the west to Shu, north from Yunzhong Commandery to Longxi Commandery, plus the Intendant, a total of fifteen commanderies, while princesses and marquises, however, held extensive fiefs within these commanderies. Why is that? Because the empire was newly unified, there were few relatives and those of the same surname as the Liu clan, so those meritorious officials and collateral branches were widely promoted to maintain control over the empire, assist, and defend the emperor. During the Han Dynasty's first century, the relationship between the imperial family and relatives became increasingly distant; some vassals became spoiled and decadent, and corrupt officials plotted against the throne, plunging the country into chaos. Some even rebelled, ultimately leading to their downfall and the empire's ruin.
The emperor studied the ways of governance passed down by ancient sages and then implemented the system of enfeoffment, allowing the feudal lords to divide their land among their descendants and establish new kingdoms. As a result, the Qi state was divided into seven principalities, the Zhao state into six, the Liang state into five, and the Huainan state into three. Even the emperor's male relatives could become kings, and the brothers and nephews of kings could become marquises, totaling more than one hundred feudal states. Unlike the constant warfare between kingdoms during the Wu and Chu periods, the previous feudal lords often attacked each other and fought for territory. Consequently, the Yan state and the Dai state lacked northern border regions, while the Wu state, Huainan state, and Changsha state had no southern border regions. The branch regions of the Qi, Zhao, Liang, and Chu states, along with famous mountains, rivers, lakes, and seas, all belonged to the Han dynasty. As a result, the power of the feudal states diminished significantly, with large kingdoms having only about a dozen cities, and small principalities covering only a few dozen miles. In this way, the feudal states could pay tribute to the central government, maintain sacrifices and offerings, and assist the capital. Meanwhile, the Han dynasty had around eighty or ninety counties, intricately distributed among the feudal states like a dog's teeth, occupying strategic geographical positions and forming a situation of a strong central government and weak vassal states. As a result, there was a clear hierarchy, and everything was well-ordered. I, Sima Qian, carefully examined the information on the feudal states from Emperor Gaozu of Han to the Tai Chu period, recording the processes of their enfeoffment and weakening for future reference. Even with a powerful state, true strength lay in benevolence and righteousness.
The tables in Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji) are not translated. If you are interested in these tables, you can click on the Republic of China flag above to view the Traditional Chinese page.
