The Zhou Road- The National Highway in an Age of Limited Mobility

• Main Authors: Chin-hao Lei, 雷晉豪
• Other Authors: Chine-wen Wang
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2009
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/81505889307993581942

碩士 === 國立成功大學 === 歷史學系碩博士班 === 97 === The Western Zhou—the so-called “feudal era” of China—was a world of limited mobility, where the majority of the population was characterized by stagnation caused by a subsistence economy and clannish organization. Thus, mobility was limited to the nobility—the ruling class of an aristocratic regime—in the Western Zhou society. Furthermore, the right to travel was restricted to administrative, diplomatic and military purposes. This awareness of limitations of mobility in the Western Zhou dynasty is the precondition to fully understand the function of the Zhou Road. For the purpose of investigation, the author devised a model to investigate the Zhou Road. A road, as part of the transportation system, should not be separated from other factors, including vehicles and the social conditions of a particular period. Interwoven and correlated to each other, roads, vehicles, and social conditions should be addressed as a whole. They are inseparable from a comprehensive understanding of the road, including its architecture, geography, the way by which it was managed and operated, and the sociopolitical or socioeconomic effects of the road. Since social demarcation was institutionalized in the “feudal era”, the application of this model is particularly effective to the Zhou Road. Chariots—the only vehicles intended for efficient long-distance transport in the Western Zhou period—were monopolized by the ruling class. Furthermore, mobility was the privilege of the nobility, even though only politically motivated travels were granted. These factors resulted in the following consequences: First, the Zhou Road was built to be level, straight, and wide in order to facilitate chariot transportation, a speedy vehicle with limited maneuverability. These requirements imposed limitations on the distribution of the Zhou Road to plain and valley in northern China, where terrain and climate conditions were suitable for chariot transportation. Second, the geographical distribution of the Zhou Road was nucleated at the two capitals, Hao-jing鎬京 and Luo-yi洛邑, and other major political centers of regional states such as Lu魯, Wei衛 and Qi齊, a manifestation of its political function. Third, as the infrastructure of the Western Zhou Dynasty, the Zhou Road played an important part in government affairs, including administrative communication, resources transportation, and military activities; it contributed to the unification of the dynasty. Fourth, the central and local governments provided road services, including supplements; guides; fords; bridges; and accommodations for authorized travelers along their journey. These services were granted as part of public expenditures and were complimentary for authorized travelers. Last, the decline of the Zhou Road in the Eastern Zhou period were the consequences of a series of changes, including the change in vehicles from chariots to cavalry and infantry, the emergence of water transport as a competing mode of transportation, the separation of regional states from centralized control, and the collapse of the Western Zhou socioeconomic structure. The impact brought by the changes in vehicles, social conditions, and mode of transport led to the decline and eventual demise of the Zhou Road system, but it also anticipated the construction of a new national transportation system by the Qin秦 and Han漢 Empires. By examining the Zhou Road in the Western Zhou context, this thesis provides new perspectives on the Zhou Road. As a holistic investigation of the Zhou Road, it can not only contribute an important piece to the Western Zhou history, but also provide a basis for further investigations into roads of later Chinese dynasties. The author hopes the model can inspire cross-cultural and cross-temporal researches involving the Zhou Road.