本文主要重点是讨论西周到春秋时期，汉水流域及淮水中上游各国的婚姻状况。文中根据青铜器铭文、传世文献与考古资料，说明汉淮地区各国，夹在中原大国和南方荆楚势力之间，透过婚姻关系争取生存空间的事实。

经过有效的分析与统计，发现西周时期汉淮地区各国和周王室的婚姻，主要是与王室经营王都雒邑以南的广大土地有关。春秋早期和中期，汉淮地区各国多与黄河流域国家缔结婚姻，从汉淮地区往黄河流域各国出嫁的新娘数量，是娶入的六倍，嫁娶之间数量悬殊，几乎可以视为新娘单向往北输出，双方缺乏对等基础。这是汉淮地区各国受迫于当时楚国向中原发展的局势，往北寻求盟国交好的反映。汉淮地区各国与南方楚国、吴国的婚姻关系，比较集中在春秋中期和晚期，这与吴国、楚国势力的兴起壮大有关。至于汉淮地区国家互相嫁娶，是以婚姻作为巩固双方关系的工具，这是小国联结互利的一种生存方式。

本文以实际婚姻事例为讨论依据，呈现出两周时期各国以婚姻作为政治筹码的事实。婚姻，在政局错综的年代，成为各国善加活用的一颗棋子。

关键词：青铜器铭文、婚姻、西周、春秋、汉淮地区

An Examination of the Marriage Relationships among the Various States of the Han and Huai River Regions during the Western and Eastern Zhou Periods, using Bronze Vessel Inscriptions

Chao-jung Chen

Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica

The main focus of this article is an examination of the marital relationships of the various states in the Han River (漢水) region and within the mid- and upper reaches of the Huai River (淮水) from Western Zhou period until the Spring and Autumn period. Using bronze vessel inscriptions, historical documents, and archaeological data, the author attempts to demonstrate that states in the Han and Huai River regions that were wedged between the large kingdoms in the Central Plains and the states of Chu in the south, strove to find room for survival through marriage.

After an effective analysis and statistical computation of her data, the author found that the marriages during the Western Zhou period between the Zhou royal court and states in the Han and Huai River regions were closely related to the royal court's management of the vast area south of the capital Luoyi (雒邑).

In the early and middle periods of the Spring and Autumn period, the various states of the Han and Huai River regions maintained marriage relationships mainly with the states in the Yellow River region. The number of brides that married out from the Han and Huai River regions to the states in the Yellow River region was six times greater than the number of brides that latter took from the Han/Huai regions. This difference in the number of brides given and received was so great that one can view this exchange as the one-way export of brides to the north. States in the two areas were not on equal terms. This evidence shows that the states of the Han and Huai River regions were increasingly pressed by the expansion of Chu power towards the Central Plains, and, therefore, these smaller states sought alliances in the north. Marriage relationships between the states in the Han and Huai River regions with Chu and Wu in the south are concentrated primarily in the middle and late periods of the Spring and Autumn period, and this can be explained by the increasing power of the states of Wu and Chu at this time.

As for marriages among the states within the Han and Huai River regions themselves, evidence suggests that states employed marriage as a means of strengthening or consolidating extant relationships. This was the survival tactic of the small states; it benefited them to be united by marital ties.

This article uses actual marriage cases to argue that the states during the Western and Eastern Zhou periods used marriage as a bargaining chip in  political deals. During those years when the political situation was especially intricate, marriage became a chess piece ingeniously played by all kingdoms.

Keywords: Ybronze vessel inscriptions, marriage,Western Zhou, Spring and Autumn period, Han and Huai River regions