The Feudal System in the Yuan Period Focusing on the Case of An-hsi Wang

Abstract

All the territories and households of the Mongol empire were distributed out to ChingizKhan and his Kinsmen and ruled over as a hereditary fashion. Such feudal system (分封制) was put into practice during the Yuan period after the base of Qubilai-Qa'an's political power was transferred to sedentary China. Much research has been done on the feudal system of Chingis-Qan's empire. Nevertheless, that system enforced in the Yuan period has hardly been researched at all. The purpose of this study is to examine it, focusing on the An-hsi Wang 安西王 which was the title of the third son of Qubilai Manggala and his son Ananda. This study may be summarized as follows. In the first chapter the structure of the enfeoffments of An-hsi Wang and their political and military functions were investigated. The enfeoffments were consisted of three points. The first is three residencial areas which were for summer and winter camps and a military station against Qaidu's invasion. The second was eight provinces and twelve prefectures in Ching-chao fu 京兆府. A portion of the tax collected from these regions was given to An-hsi Wang. Furthermore, Manggala was given the authority to rule over Hehsi 河西, Ssu-chuan 四川, T'u-fan 吐番. The administrative machine of An-hsi Wang called An-hsi wang hsiang fu 安西王相府 established in place of Qa'an's iocal administrative machine Hsing-hsing 行省. This was the third. The power of An-hsi Wang was endowed by Qubilai. So naturally the succession of the title from Manggala to Ananda had to be approved by Qubilai and the misgovernment of Ananda resulted in abolition of his administrative machine. Ananda obeyed the authority of Qubilai. But as soon as Temur succeeded to the position of Qa'an after Qubilai's death, He demanded that new Qa'an re-established his administrative machine. It was re-established coexisting Hsing-hsing. Ananda gained the power to dominate Hehsi, Tangut region according to Rashid. As the bonds of family relationship between An-hsi Wang and Qa'an were relaxed, Ananda became independent. After the death of Temur Ananda was killed in the struggle for the position of Qa'an and his ruling rights were absorbed into the Hsing-hsing administration and his various fiefs and households were given to other princes. The struggle for the position of Qa'an was an expression of the institutional contradictions in the feudal system. In the second chapter the structure of economic base of An-hsi Wang is made clear. The kind and number of the households dependent on An-hsi wang and tax incomes are classified, along with studies of salt monopoly and other taxes. It is hoped that the significance of the feudal system in the Yuan dynasty can be integratively clarified by an accumulation of such case studies.