In the Shang Dynasty, there were also Gong, Hou, Bo, Zi, and Male, which were divided into three classes. The first class is Gong and Hou, they are Shang clan or kinsmen, directly belonging to Shang Dynasty. The second-class man was the leader of Shang Yuan. The Zhou clan used to be the Xibo of Shang and ruled 210 small countries. The third class are sons and males, under Hou and Bo, and they belong to each Hou and Bo respectively, and some directly belong to the Shang Dynasty. Although there were hierarchies in the Shang Dynasty, the system was not perfect. Therefore, Wang Guowei’s textual research held that: "Since Yin, the distinction between emperor princes and monarch and ministers has not been determined. Therefore, when the Xia Dynasty was born, the Yin kings Hai, Wang Heng, Lei Ye was called king, and Tang Weifang Jie was also called king; at the end of Shang Dynasty, Zhou Zhiwen and Wu were also called kings. The emperor who built the princes was the leader of the princes of later generations, and there was no distinction between monarchs and ministers.” In other words, the social organization structure of Xia and Shang still has some characteristics of the tribal alliance period, and the organization is still relatively loose. However, it has become an inherent concept at that time to divide the ranks by the distance of clan relations. The so-called "zong" refers to the descendants of the family who have a blood relationship; the so-called "kin" refers to other tribal nobles who have a marriage relationship. The clan system directly affected the formation of the nobility hierarchy in the Western Zhou Dynasty.
The system of enfeoffment was implemented in the Western Zhou Dynasty, and the hierarchy of superiority and inferiority was established. Under this system, the emperor is the first class, the princes are the second class, and the doctor Qing is the third class. Due to the size of the meritorious service and the amount of land granted, the princes were divided into five different titles: Gong, Hou, Bo, Zi, and Male. Doctor Qing is divided into the emperor's doctor, the big country's doctor, the other country's doctors, and the small country's doctor's. The princes and doctors were divided into nine classes, called "Nine Life". That is, Shanggong has nine lives as Bo, Wang Sangong has eight lives, Hou Bo has seven lives, Wang Qing has six lives, Zi Nan has five lives, Wang Dafu has four lives, Gong Boguo has three lives, Hou Boguo has two lives, and a scholar has one life. This level indicates that the relationship between the Zhou royal family and the princes, the emperor and the princes and doctors is the affiliation relationship between the central government and the local government, superiors and subordinates.
The rank of nobility is a combination of political and economic interests. The Zhou Dynasty stipulated that all people with four lives or more had "country, palace, car flag, clothes, etiquette", and the scale and the number of items should be "depending on their fate." Below three fate, there is no "country", only the "palace, car flag, clothes, etiquette" with the same fate as one's own.
From the perspective of the hierarchical system of nobility, in the Western Zhou Dynasty, a political hierarchy of "princes, ministers, ministers, and ministers" had been formed. According to this level, they enjoyed different economic rights. Therefore, different levels signify different political power and economic interests, and to a certain extent also give people the opportunity to make progress.
Jubilee rating system is combined with a certain reward and punishment system. During the time of Zhou Mu, "the princes have disharmony, and the princes speak to the king, and they will repair the punishment", and formulated "the five punishments are three thousand". However, this kind of punishment is based on the principle of open inequality. Different levels of punishment are imposed on people of different levels. Many people have different degrees of immunity; not to mention that under the monarchy, the king can rely on it. There is no fixed standard as a basis for rewards and punishments for personal likes and dislikes. Therefore, most of the progressive effect of the rank of nobility is offset in the "order of monarchs and courts", becoming "consisting of various social statuses." Multi-level ladder".
