On the Development of Role and Status of 'Minor Servitors' during the Western Zhou Period as Seen through the Bronze Inscriptions
Abstract
The role and status of Minor Servitors (Xiaochen 小臣) during the Shang dynasty have been discussed by great number of scholars; however, the nature of this post during the Western Zhou dynasty has not been comprehensively studied yet. After clarifying some methodological issues, the present article first reconstructs the basic scope and character of duties of Minor Servitors during the Western Zhou dynasty, using the inscriptions on bronzes which mention Minor Servitors but which were not commissioned by them.
Having set the basic framework, the article then employs the inscriptions on vessels commissioned by Minor Servitors themselves to supplement further information about the nature of this post, especially about its professional affiliation. The basic service of Minor Servitors was connected to royal court's quotidian agenda, however, it was not restricted to menial tasks but also included participation in ritual activities; the basic distinctive feature of their service seems to had been the knowledge of court etiquette combined with the mastery of archery and possibly other martial arts.
Since the Minor Servitors served also as mediators between the king and aristocracy, they were in frequent contact with high court officials and aristocrats, and it appears that they could also be dispatched to assist or accompany them. In the process of bureaucratization of the administrative apparatus of Western Zhou government, the post of Minor Servitors was included under the Royal House administration; although this shift did not bring about a substantial change for the official duties of the Minor Servitors, it contributed to a certain alienation between the king and the Servitors, and the prestigious tasks (which were usually rewarded by king) were hereafter overtaken and "monopolized" by the members of newly rising Royal House administration.
Simultaneously, at latest during the Late Western Zhou, the post of Minor Servitors witnessed certain degree of division and specialization, as the emergence of Minor Servitors of the Great Hall (Taishi Xiaochen 太室小臣) or Minor Servitors of the Inner Chambers (Nei Xiaochen 内小臣) in bronze inscriptions suggests.