文明起源研究中的“国家”与“社会”

“State” and “Society” in the Study of Origins of Civilization

"古代国家"与"早期国家"在内涵上形成某些交集,其实体在"古代"可以并存,但它们是不同的两个概念,不可以混淆起来使用。"古代国家"之"古代",主要是社会史分期上的一个概念。"早期国家"之"早期",则是"国家"本身的一个发展阶段,它讨论的是人们之间一种特殊政治关系存续的时期。"古代国家"包括"早期国家"与"成熟国家",它们只存在于"古代"。"早期国家"却不仅存在于社会史分期上的"古代",而且也出现在这种分期上的"中世纪"与"近代"或"现代"。"酋邦"与"分层社会"也是两个不同的概念,在都是等级制社会这点上,它们有相似之处。但是,酋邦的等级是以血缘、辈分、年齿等为基础来划分的,它与经济关系并无必然联系;分层社会的等级或者说分层则是一种基于经济关系的划分,它以生产资料的占有不平等为基础。

The terms 'ancient state' and 'early state' partially overlap in meaning,and in 'ancient times' it was possible for the entities they refer to coexist.But they are two different concepts and cannot be used indiscriminately.The 'ancient' in 'ancient state' is a concept that comes mainly from the periodization of social history,while the 'early' in 'early state' refers to a stage in the development of the state itself;what is under discussion here is a period characterized by distinctive political relations between people.Ancient states include both 'early states' and 'mature states',both of which existed only in ancient times;however,'early states' existed not only in the 'ancient times' of social history periodization but also in the 'medieval' period and 'early modern' or 'modern' times.Likewise,the 'chieftain state' and 'stratified society' are two different concepts with a point in common,the fact that both are hierarchical societies.In the chieftain state,however,stratification is based on kinship,seniority,age,etc.,and has no necessary connection with economic relations,whereas gradations in a stratified society,i.e.stratification,are founded on economic relations based on the unequal ownership of the means of production.