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封建
By “key concepts in Chinese thought and culture” we mean concepts and keywords or phrases the Chinese people have created or come to use that are fundamentally pertinent to Chinese philosophy, humanistic spirit, way of thinking, and values.
fēngjiàn 封建
Feudal System
即封邦建国。古代帝王将爵位、土地和人口分封给亲戚或功臣，让他们在封地内建国。各封国的规模小于王室的直辖领地，军、政自成体系，封国之间相互制衡，拱卫王室。作为一种政治制度，封建制相传始于黄帝时期，至西周时期达于完备。秦至清，中央集权制或专制帝制居于主导地位，而封建制则成为一种辅助性制度。
Under this system, ancient monarchs granted titles of nobility, land, and people to their relatives and officials of merit, allowing them to establish dukedoms. Each territory was smaller than that under the direct control of the monarch, and had its own military and administrative systems. All dukedoms checked each other while protecting the monarch together. As a political scheme, the feudal system is believed to have started in the era of the legendary Yellow Emperor, and became established in the Western Zhou Dynasty. In more than 2000 years from the Qin Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, centralized government or imperial autocracy was dominant, rendering the feudal system supplementary.
引例 Citation：
◎彼封建者，更古圣王尧、舜、禹、汤、文、武而莫能去之。（柳宗元《封建论》）
（封建制经历了上古的圣贤之王尧、舜、禹、商汤、周文王、周武王也没有能废除它。）
Feudal system survived the eras of all ancient sages, namely Yao, Shun, Yu the Great, Tang of Shang, King Wen of Zhou, and King Wu of Zhou. (Liu Zongyuan: On Feudal System)
