略论汉武帝对封国的处置

On Emperor Han Wudi's Handling of His Vassals

自秦统一六国推行郡县制,便与西周以来所实行的分封制产生矛盾。分封制与郡县制之争一直绵延至汉代,刘邦实行郡国并行制加以调和。当汉政权逐步稳固、经济恢复并发展之后,分封制与郡县制之争演变为分裂与统一之争。汉武帝采用政治与法律的手段强力推行郡县制,反击以分封制为代表的地方势力对中央集权的挑战。事实上,汉武帝清除分封制并不彻底,一些负面作用逐渐显现,如他对同姓诸侯王及王子侯的严厉处置,打破了宗族势力与外戚势力的平衡,最终导致皇权易主。

The prefecture-and-county system, exercised after the Kingdom of Qin united the whole country in 221 B. C. , was in conflict with the enfeoffment system that had been prevailing since the Western Zhou dynasty （1046 B. C. -771 B. C. ）. The disputes continued until the Han dynasty （202 B. C. -220）, when Liu Bang （256 B. C. - 195 B. C. ）, founder of the new empire, started to reconcile the two administrative systems by establishing prefecture - kingdoms. With the new government gradually taking control of the whole country and the economic recovery and growth, the conflict between the two systems evolved into one between separation and union. Emperor Han Wudi （ 157 B.C. - 87 B. C. ） pushed forward the prefecture-and-county system by political and legal means, trying to fight against local agents of the enfeoffment system who dared to challenge the centralism. The emperor＇ s goal of abolishing the enfeoffment system was, as a matter of fact, not fully achieved; on the other hand, it resulted in some negative outcomes, e. g. , his severe punishment of those kings who were his paternal relatives or princes broke the power balance between agnates and cognates of the royal family, and finally resulted in the fall of the empire.