29. An Observation on the State Functionaries Tian, Mu, and Wei in Oracle-Bone Inscriptions and the Origins of the Princes Hou, Dian, Nan, and Wei

Abstract

According to the historical sources of the early Zhou dynasty, the of the Shang kingdom included and . In the late oracle-bone inscriptions, and were mentioned side by side, and so were and . In the Western Zhou period, were all princes. The in oracle inscriptions was considered by most scholars as a kind of prince too. The author of this paper does not quite agree with this point of view. According to the fact that were often mentioned as , and that some of the places where were staying were located in the fiefs of or the author believes that were originally officials who were sent by the king to be stationed at places beyond the capital of the Shang kingdom to engage in cultivation. But in the late Shang period, many became princes.

The situation of and , was similar to that of . They were often referred to as and respectively in oracle-bone inscriptions. The former was sent to be stationed at some place to engage in livestock husbandry, and the latter to defend the kingdom. A number of them also became princes afterwards.