中古世族之兴衰的个案硏究 -- 论汉、魏、晋时期的弘农杨氏 = RISE AND FALL OF CHINESE MEDIEVAL ARISTOCRACY -- A CASE STUDY ON THE HONGNONG YANG FAMILY IN HAN, WEI, AND JIN

Abstract

Most academe concluded that there are three quantifiable elements determined each clan's status: the number of bureaucratic posts held, their marriage between gentries, and their Economic strength. Underlying these conditions, will there be other possibility? Are there any differences on the conditions to remain their status between the Han period and the other period of time throughout the medieval China? The whole historical process of Chinese medieval aristocracy from rise to collapse lasted nearly a thousand years, therefore the properties of aristocratic families is impossible to remain unchanged. In such a context, a case study on an aristocratic family will be important to review the questions mentioned above. The Yang family which lived in the Hongnong prefecture belonged to Chinese Medieval aristocracy in the Han-Jin period. At the same time, it was one of the two most prominent families in the late Han period. Accordingly, we can regard the Hongnong Yangs as an indicative representation of Chinese medieval aristocracy during the early Medieval China. To explore the three historic periods of Yangs' rising, flourishing and declining, this paper elaborates and remarks the thoughts and personality of the members of Yang family, looking forward to excogitate the evolvement with its distinctive family traits and academics which influenced the political actions of Hongnong Yangs in the numerous and complicated political situation and social trend of thought. The whole structure and contents are as following: The first chapter of this thesis is the introduction. Following is the second chapter, tracing the Hongnong Yangs' origins by analyzing the annals including the Chinese official historiography, historical literature, and the records on tablets. Meanwhile, the third and fourth chapters explore the Hongnong Yangs of the Eastern Han, Wei and Western Jin Dynasties in depth. The part of the conclusion sums up the main views of the whole text. Through the accurately dissecting toward the background, official experience and interpersonal relations, we can realize that the most important factor of the Yangs' rising is the maintenance of family traits and academics. During the chaos between the Wei and Eastern Jin, the Hongnong Yangs encountered severe buffets, causing the lost of their family traits and academics, which resulted in their lost of social status. After all, the Yangs could not retrieve the spectacular glory and nobility their ancestors of Han possessed. Through the case of Hongnong Yangs, we could realize that family traits and academics was the key factor for some aristocratic families to keep their existence and development, instead of wealth and political power.