In ancient China, the marquis of Wanhu possessed power and wealth, and their status was revered to rival that of princes and nobles. However, with the changes of the times, the Wanhu Hou system has long disappeared in the long river of history. What role would they play if they were placed in the modern world? Is their power and wealth still enviable? How will their status differ from that of South Korea's famous chaebol families?
1. The rise and development of the Wanhuhou system
The system can be traced back to the Zhou Dynasty, when Zhou Tianzi divided his territory among his cronies and ministers in order to consolidate his rule. The recipient was able to control the power of taxation and training armies in the fiefdom, acting like a petty king. Through this system, the Zhou Dynasty rationally dispersed power and avoided the turmoil caused by centralization.
However, over time, the power of the princes and kings grew, eventually challenging the dominance of Zhou Tianzi. As a precautionary measure, the princes began to limit the power granted to their subjects under the fiefdom system, allowing them only a small amount of tax benefits. This practice laid the foundation for the gradual decline of the fiefdom system.
In the Warring States Period, the fiefdom system basically existed in name only, and was replaced by the feudal system. Although the feudal system granted certain economic privileges to its subjects, the central government would send personnel to supervise it to prevent abuse of power. This largely consolidated the centralization of power and prepared the way for the Qin dynasty to unify the country.
It is worth mentioning that although Qin Shi Huang planned to completely abolish the system of fiefdoming, he ultimately failed to do so. The reason is that if the deep-rooted feudal customs were suddenly abolished, it would inevitably cause social unrest, which the Qin Dynasty did not want to see. Therefore, the fiefdom system was followed until the fall of the Qing Dynasty.
2. The privileges and powers of the Marquis of Ten Thousand Households
As the upper class aristocracy of ancient Chinese society, the Marquis of Wanhu enjoyed many privileges and powers that allowed them to far surpass ordinary people in economic, political, and social status.
Economic privilege is one of the most well-known privileges of the Marquis of Wanhu. According to the fiefdom system, they can obtain a corresponding number of hukou according to their titles, from which they can obtain various materials such as money and grain to meet their living needs. Some of the most meritorious ministers were even awarded the title of Marquis of Ten Thousand Households, which meant that they could obtain up to 10,000 households. With the rise of the feudal system, a considerable part of the marquis of ten thousand households were also given land, and they had the right to operate and tax in the fief.
In addition to economic privileges, the Marquis of Wanhu also enjoyed political privileges. According to the title system, their titles can be hereditary to their descendants, and when they inherit the title, the rights they receive are not half diminished. For the marquis of Wanhu who contributed to the imperial court, they could even be exempted from tax collection. In addition, the law also gave them the privilege of "asking for the rank of the guilty first", which meant that once the Marquis of Wanhu made a mistake, the emperor must personally determine his crime, and others could not punish him without authorization.
With various economic and political preferences, Wanhu Hou naturally became the top aristocracy in ancient society. They enjoyed a high social status and were no less than princes and nobles in the eyes of ordinary people. The Wanhu Hou family has been arrogant and profligate for generations, and has become a prominent branch in society. Some people even take advantage of their privileges to embezzle and accept bribes, which aggravates social conflicts.
It can be seen from this that the privileges and power possessed by the marquis of Wan Hu are so great that they are unique and transcendent in ancient society. It is the existence of these privileges that has made the upper class of society extremely solidified, and also laid the root of the social contradictions that the people will not have a good life in the future.
3. Collusion between officials and businessmen: the alliance between the marquis of Wanhu and the merchants
In ancient societies, power and money were often linked to each other. As a dignitary in the imperial court, the Marquis of Wanhu formed an inseparable alliance of interests with the wealthy merchants and magnates by virtue of the privileges and influence in his hands, and jointly manipulated the economic lifeline.
What Wan Huhou values most is naturally the investment that can bring wealth. They have invested in the cultivation of fertile land and the construction of water conservancy facilities, from which they have obtained land ownership and agricultural income. What's more, Wan Hu Hou also monopolized the mineral mining industry, monopolized the management privileges of the mine, and became the largest mine owner in the dynasty. At the same time, the big businessmen also devoted themselves to the trade industry of silk and ceramics under the financial support of the Marquis of Wanhu, and the two formed a community of interests.
In terms of trade, the Marquis of Wanhu became closer to the merchants. The Marquis of Wanhu could use his power to open up more trade routes for merchants, and even set up money banks in trading cities to assist merchants in going to important towns to do business. In return, the merchant was required to hand over a portion of the profits to the marquis of Wanhu. What's more, Wan Huhou directly monopolized the entire industry, completely controlled the price trend and transaction scale of the industry, and made a windfall.
The most odious thing is that the marquis of Wan Hu and the merchants joined forces to manipulate prices and market order. They colluded with each other to artificially raise prices, and even hoarded grain and reloaded pearls, resulting in people's misery. According to historical records, the price of rice in Beijing was as high as 2,000 yuan a stone at that time, and ordinary people only had an income of more than a dozen stone rice a year, and their lives fell into an unprecedented predicament.
It can be seen that Wanhu Hou used his power to form an unbreakable alliance of interests with businessmen. They used each other to manipulate the economic lifeline of the entire country and make huge profits, but they also exacerbated social contradictions, which was an important bane that led to the peasant uprisings in later generations.
Fourth, the root cause of the decline of the Marquis of Wanhu
Although the Marquis of Wanhu once occupied a very high position in ancient society, their privileged position began to gradually decline as the times changed. There are three main reasons for this situation.
First of all, there is the strengthening of centralized power. After the Qin Dynasty dominated the world, the central government began to vigorously implement the county system, which weakened the power of the princes and kings, and also limited the privileges of the marquis of Wanhu. By the Han Dynasty, the centralization of power was further strengthened, and local power was completely hollowed out. Every time there was a change of dynasty, the new dynasty would try to reclaim the power and wealth of the old aristocracy in an attempt to eliminate potential threats.
Secondly, there is the rise of the imperial examination system. Although the imperial examination system was not established suddenly, it began to be institutionalized in the Tang and Song dynasties, and since then it has almost become the only way for scholars to become eunuchs. The imperial examination system implements meritocracy, selecting talents based on personal knowledge and ability, rather than hereditary ranks. This is undoubtedly an impact on the traditional aristocratic privilege system, which makes the old nobles such as Wanhu Marquis lose their advantage in talent selection.
Finally, there is a shift in social attitudes. Ancient society has always pursued the ideas of "giving surnames and giving land", "princes and generals, and the patriarch is more important than the community", which led to the long-term monopoly of power by the aristocratic class. However, with the progress of the times, the common people began to awaken, and gradually gave rise to a new concept of "Zuo Tianzi is rewarded with unai and Kuangren", believing that a fair system of rewards and punishments should be implemented for meritorious deeds, rather than obtaining privileges based on birth alone. This invisibly shook the foundation of the power of the nobles such as the Marquis of Wanhu.
The strengthening of centralized power, the rise of the imperial examination system, and the change of social concepts were the three main reasons for the decline of the aristocratic class such as the Marquis of Wanhu. They went from the pinnacle of power and privilege to decline, and also cleared the way for the realization of social egalitarianism in later generations.
5. The comparison between Wanhu Hou and the modern chaebol
Comparing the ancient Wanhu Marquis with the chaebol of modern society, although both have huge wealth, there are still obvious differences in terms of political influence, sources of wealth and social status.
In terms of political influence, as dignitaries of the imperial court, the marquis of Wanhu not only directly held certain political powers, such as the right to collect taxes and judge, but also could influence the country's major policies by virtue of their close relationship with the emperor. For example, Geng Gong, a cool official during the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, once relied on the identity of the marquis of ten thousand households, and was self-respecting, rampant in the countryside, and became a new upstart in the world. However, the modern chaebol only relies on money to manipulate the political arena behind the scenes, and cannot directly hold the power, and its political influence is naturally far less than that of Wanhu Hou.
In terms of the source of wealth, the marquis of Wanhu mainly relied on the fiefdom and feudal system to obtain land and labor. They possessed large territories and could levy taxes and servants on the peasants. On the other hand, chaebol families mostly accumulate assets through business activities and investment operations, or engage in real estate, finance and other industries, and make profits through legal operations. The difference in the source of wealth also creates a difference in social status between the two.
By virtue of his hereditary status as an aristocracy, the Marquis of Wanhu could directly obtain the social status of the upper class and become the dominant force in society. However, although the chaebol family has wealth, its social prestige is not the same as that of the true aristocracy. They rely more on money to buy vanity and status, and it is difficult to gain the sincere support of ordinary people. On the other hand, the marquis of Wanhu were of noble birth and prominent status, and were highly respected by scholars and scholars.
It can be seen that whether it is political influence, source of wealth or social status, there is a clear difference between Wanhu Hou and modern chaebol. The former relied on privilege and feudal hierarchy to obtain everything, while the latter relied more on personal strength and social wealth to obtain status.