FU-PING

Pinyin Fubing, peasant militia system established in China around the 6th century AD. The fu-ping was first begun by the short-lived Western Wei (535556/557) and Northern Chou (557581) dynasties in North China in an effort to prevent incursions by the nomadic tribes of Central Asia. Groups of peasants were given military training and organized into armed companies in which they were required to participate in times of emergency. The T'ang dynasty (618907) took over this system and made it part of the tax services required of all able-bodied peasants. The system began to collapse toward the middle of the T'ang dynasty. Although it was never formally reinstated, the peasant militia system was frequently attempted by local gentry and officials as a way of pacifying the countryside in times of unrest. This was especially true in the latter part of the Ch'ing dynasty (16441911/12), when the deterioration of the regular Imperial forces left the militia system as the only method for the government to control the increasing number of local rebellions.