Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No.2, 2015

The Transition of Supreme Power in Pre-Qin Society and Its Determinants

(Abstract)

Chao Fulin

The supreme power in pre-Qin society was presumably bestowed upon by the “Mandate of Heaven.” Xia and Shang “kings” held supreme power, but were restrained by the spirit world. The Zhou rulers could give orders to the feudal lords on the basis of the “Mandate of Heaven,” but although they had strong powers, they were still restrained by the patriarchal clan system and the system of enfeoffment. As both gave way, the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods saw a great increase in the rulers’ power, as well the rise of the influence of the common people as a social force. The idea of “putting people first” became a consensus among advanced thinkers and discerning scholars, and the rulers of the various states had their eyes opened to “putting people first.” Autocratic monarchical power first took shape in the late Warring States period. The evolution of supreme power in pre-Qin society, from a weak to a strong force, was a process of successively breaking away from religious authority, institutional restraints, and the fetters of public opinion.