28. Some Problems Concerning the So-Called Survivors of the Yin Dynasty

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe basic error in Hu Shi's “An Exposition on Confucians” lay in discussing the basic nature of the Confucian school on the basis of the “tragic fate and miserable status of the survivors of the Shang”; for half a century this mistaken premise has been accepted by most historians as proven. On the basis of an analysis of pre-Qin literary sources, this paper first proves that there was no “tragedy of the defeated state”; on the contrary, the Yin survivors continued to possess considerable political power and quite high social status. Second, on the basis of newly un earthed Shang and Zhou inscriptions, the fate and status of the Shang survivors is set forth from three sides: (1) The history of the Wei Shi clan and Lu Sheng clan of the Guanzhong region, for which genealogies of seven-eight or six-seven generations exist, is reconstructed on the basis of, for the former, the Ding bronze horde newly unearthed from Fufeng Zhuangbai, and, for the latter, the inscriptions on already known as well as recently unearthed bronze vessels from the same area. Both clans were survivors from the Shang and close relatives of the Shang king; they possessed cities, subjects, and official positions, as well as holding offices in charge of troops. (2) The same conclusion may be reached in individual cases in various other kingdoms, such as for Mo Situ Sung of the state of Wei , and Dong Hefu of the state of Yan . As for the Ling Shi , Chen Chen and Deng of Cheng Zhou , Cheng Zhou is the ancient home of the Shang survivors, yet they seem not to have been the object of any special restriction or suppression. This section is based solely on inscriptions; the conclusions reached, however, are completely in agreement with those derived from literary evidence in the previous section. Finally an attempt is made to explain why the survivors of the Shang had land, subjects, offices, and power. We believe that it was due to a political and social structure with the clan as the primary unit. A complete explication of this question awaits a detailed study of oracle-bone and archaeological source material.