The
Fubing system (府兵制), also romanized as
Fu-ping, was a local militia system existing in
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
between 6th century and 8th century. It originated in the
Western WeiThe Western Wèi Dynasty followed the disintegration of the Northern Wei, and ruled northern China from 535 to 556.After the Northern Wei emperor Yuan Xiu was killed by the Xianbei general Yuwen Tai, Yuan Baoju was installed as emperor of Western Wei while Yuwen Tai would remain as the virtual ruler...
dynasty, and was subsequently used in the
SuiThe Sui Dynasty followed by the Tang Dynasty and preceded by the Southern and Northern Dynasties in China. It ended nearly four centuries of division between rival regimes....
and
TangThe Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
dynasties.
The basis of the Sui and early Tang militaries was the fubing militia system, first employed by Western Wei, under
Yuwen TaiYuwen Tai , nickname Heita , formally Duke Wen of Anding , later further posthumously honored by Northern Zhou initially as Prince Wen then as Emperor Wen with the temple name Taizu , was the paramount general of the Chinese/Xianbei state Western Wei, a branch successor state of Northern Wei...
's administration. These
militiaThe term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
units also served as reserves, and could be mobilized quickly in times of war.
The system involved a system of militia who were assigned tracts of land.
The
Fubing system (府兵制), also romanized as
Fu-ping, was a local militia system existing in
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
between 6th century and 8th century. It originated in the
Western WeiThe Western Wèi Dynasty followed the disintegration of the Northern Wei, and ruled northern China from 535 to 556.After the Northern Wei emperor Yuan Xiu was killed by the Xianbei general Yuwen Tai, Yuan Baoju was installed as emperor of Western Wei while Yuwen Tai would remain as the virtual ruler...
dynasty, and was subsequently used in the
SuiThe Sui Dynasty followed by the Tang Dynasty and preceded by the Southern and Northern Dynasties in China. It ended nearly four centuries of division between rival regimes....
and
TangThe Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
dynasties.
Characteristics
The basis of the Sui and early Tang militaries was the fubing militia system, first employed by Western Wei, under
Yuwen TaiYuwen Tai , nickname Heita , formally Duke Wen of Anding , later further posthumously honored by Northern Zhou initially as Prince Wen then as Emperor Wen with the temple name Taizu , was the paramount general of the Chinese/Xianbei state Western Wei, a branch successor state of Northern Wei...
's administration. These
militiaThe term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
units also served as reserves, and could be mobilized quickly in times of war.
The system involved a system of militia who were assigned tracts of land. Men between 21 and 60 years of age were eligible. Officers received permanent commissions, but regular troops reported for duty, at the province capital on a rotation system that varied upon living distance. Those who lived 500
liThe li is a traditional Chinese unit of distance, which has varied considerably over time but now has a standardized length of 500 meters or half a kilometer...
from the capital served one month every five months, and those over 2000
li away served for two months every 18 months. When off-duty, they would farm their land, but when they were or a war occurred, they would be re-mobilized. This supplemented the
equal-field systemThe Equal-field system land system was a historical system of land ownership and distribution in China used from the Six Dynasties to Mid-Tang dynasty....
, which assigned all households a share of land to farm. These units subsequently became hereditary military families, and ushered forth vast militarized settlements and communities.
Sui placed these units under local civil administration, and later Tang incorporated them under metropolitan control, more specifically the Ministry of the Army. Tang fielded 634 militia units, later called Zhechongfu. Each unit consisted of 800 to 1200 men, and in turn were subdivided into
tuan of 300,
dui of 50, and
huo of 10. Many were concentrated in the northern region, especially in
GuanzhongGuanzhong , or Guanzhong Plain, historically refers to an area that was closed by:* Xiao Pass to the north,* Hangu Pass to the east,* Wu Pass to the south, and* Dasan Pass to the west,...
, which alone fielded 261 militia units, the rests include 164 in
Shanxi' is a province in the northern part of the People's Republic of China. Its one-character abbreviation is Jin , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
, and 74 in
HenanHenan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the eastern central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is 豫 , named after Yuzhou Province , a Han Dynasty province that included parts of Henan...
and
ShandongFor the people of Shandong, see Shandong people' is a coastal province of eastern People's Republic of China. Its abbreviation is Lǔ, after the state of Lu that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
, all constituting about 80 percent of Fubing conscripts. Fubing required little government expenditure, since militiamen could support themselves by farming.
The Fubing system only had provisions for brief military campaigns and peacetime. Prolonged warfare would prevent the cultivation of agriculture for the economy. Fubing was gradually abandoned in favor of full time army units, known as Jian Er (健儿).