從「中央—四方」看西周政治體系的形成與演變

西周是第一個政治區域遍及中原地區的華夏政體，探究西周政治體系的形成，即是探究古代「中國之所以為中國」、「中國是如何逐步形成為一個整合的大體系」的過程。本文根據傳統文獻、青銅器銘文及考古成果，論證緊跟出土文字與歷史地理空間，重構西周政體從「中央」到「四方」的發展過程，並指出其政治體系的變化。西周王朝兩百多年間，發展出財政體系的「公私」結構、君臣化、官僚化、王權集中等制度，成為後世為政者的知識養分。王畿是西周政體發展的核心，本文以「中央區」取代以往的「王畿說」，重新探討「中央區」的建立與王權行使。接著討論從「中央」到「四方」的王權拓展，以分封地圖呈現周人封建的地理分布，探究其內涵。在「中央區」內，周王對於政治組織的建立，人事權力的掌握，亦有所變化。冊命禮的內容，從西周早期到晚期，也有相當程度的改變。冊命禮儀，象徵著官員由姬姓之「私」，進入周王朝之「公」的過程。從世官繼承到周王的直接任命，自「族權」往「政權」發展，是西周政治體系演變的關鍵。而在廣土眾民的背景之下，周王集中王權、擴展政治區域的同時，分封四方之諸侯、邦君也在各自所屬的區域發展，逐漸各成其「國」。論述體系的形成之後，需要回應的是體系形成背後的推力為何？周人在周原形成集團組織，歷經武王克商，周公東征，從「中央」到「四方」，擴大政治區域。隨著分封，周王朝的組織結構，也複製到「四方」。「政治力」正是推動「中央—四方」聚合的力量。而周人制禮，「冊命」代表著從一族之「私」，走入王朝之「公」。由「私」入「公」的禮儀程序，不僅發生在「中央區」，也為「四方」邦君、諸侯相繼模仿，建立君臣化組織。原先以血緣維繫的「族權」已不具有唯一性，「中央—四方」之「分」由此展開。

關鍵字

上古史；西周；冊命；封建；金文；青銅器

並列摘要

The Western Zhou Dynasty was the first Chinese political system in the Central Plains. Exploring the formation of the Western Zhou Dynasty political system is exploring “the reason why China is China” and “how China has gradually formed into a large, integrated political system.” Based on classical literature, bronze inscriptions, and archeological evidence, correlated closely with unearthed documents and historical geography, this thesis reconstructs the development process of the Western Zhou regime from the “center” to the “four corners of the world”, and identifies the changes in that political system. During the two hundred years of the Western Zhou Dynasty, the development of the financial system with public and private aspects, monarchy, bureaucratization, and centralization of kingship, have become the intellectual nutrients of later generations. The “royal domain” was the core of the development of the Western Zhou Dynasty. This thesis replaces the previous “royal domain” theory with the “central area” and re-examines the establishment of the “central area” and the exercise of royal power. Then it discusses the expansion of the royal power from the “central area” to the “four corners of the world”. The geographical distribution of states established by the Zhou people is presented on a map, and the connotations are explored. In the “central area”, the King of Zhou established the political organizations and held the power of personnel appointments. The content of the appointment inscriptions, from early Western Zhou Dynasty to the later period has also undergone changes. The appointment inscriptions symbolized the process by which officials go from the “private” sphere of the family of Ji to the “public'' of the Zhou dynasty. The direct appointment by the king of Zhou, moving from “clan rights'' to the development of “political power”, was the key to the evolution of the Western Zhou political system. Ruling over vast lands and a large population, King Zhou concentrated political power and expanded the political area. At the same time, the state princes and the chiefs of “bang” also developed in their respective regions, gradually developing their own “states”. After discussing the formation of the system, a question that needs to be answered is: what was the power behind it? Zhou people formed a socio-political unit in the Zhou plain, expanded through subjugation of Shang by king Wu and the expedition of ZhouGong, eventually extending their area of political influence from the “center” to the “four corners of the world”. The organizational structure of the Zhou Dynasty was also copied by the state princes and the chiefs of “bang”. “Political power” was the force that promoted the convergence of the “center” and the “four corners of the world”. The Zhou people's rituals and the appointment inscriptions represented the officials moving from the “private” sphere of the Zhou family to “public” of the Zhou dynasty. This process of moving from the “private” to the “public” occurred not only in the “central area'', but was also emulated by the state princes and the chiefs of “bang”, giving rise to the split in the political system of Zhou.