西周时期官员的职位流动

The Mobility of Officials' Positions in Western Zhou Dynasty

官员的职位流动是保证一个国家和政府政治顺利运转的重要机制,这种机制早在西周时期已经形成。当时的官员可以分为四类:周王国的官员、诸侯国的官员、周天子和诸侯的内廷官员以及贵族的家臣。这些官员的级别在各自种类内部有高低之分,他们不仅可以由下而上流动,而且也可以相互流动。这种流动包括以下几种情况:从诸侯国官员向上流动为周王国官员;从贵族家臣成为诸侯国官员;从诸侯国官员向下流动为贵族家臣。西周时期还有更复杂的官员流动模式,从贵族家臣成为周王国官员,再从较低级别的周王国官员升迁为较高级别官员;还有人本是周王国官员,后被天子任命,担任诸侯国的大正,再后来又从诸侯国回到了周王国。

The mobility of officials＇ positions is an important policy, which can ensure governments workingsmoothly. This mechanism has been formed in the Western Zhou Dynasty.At that time there were four kinds ofofficials, officials in Zhou Kingdom, officials in other states, officials in the inner courts of Zhou King and otherdukes, and retainers in the home of aristrocracts. According to bronze inscriptions, they could move to higher or lowerpositions in their own systems. They could also move to the positions in other systems. This flow included the followingsituations： from state officials flowing up to be the officials of Kingdom Zhou; from the aristocratic retainers becomingthe state officials; from state officials moving down to be the aristocratic retainers. In the Western Zhou Dynasty, therewere more complex flow patterns： from the aristocratic retainers to be the Zhou Kingdom officials, then from the lowerlevel officials to be the higher ones; and there were some Zhou Kingdom officials, after being appointed by the Kingsto be the high officials in a state,then moving back to the Zhou Kingdom.