Chapter 57 Appendix: The Rise and Fall of the Western Zhou Dynasty

In order to thoroughly understand the history of the Spring and Autumn Period, we must first have a certain understanding of the history of the Zhou Dynasty, because the background of the entire Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period is the Zhou Dynasty. The Western Zhou Dynasty began around the eleventh century BC when King Wu of Zhou conquered Zhou and destroyed the Shang Dynasty, and finally King You of Zhou fell in 771 BC. During this period, the Zhou Dynasty was a unified dynasty in Chinese history. Obligation, the Zhou Dynasty maintained a unified situation.Because the king of Zhou lived in the western capital of Zongzhou (Haojing), it was called the Western Zhou Dynasty.

【Rise of the Zhou People】 The Zhou people are an ancient agricultural tribe that arose in today's Shaanxi and Gansu.It is said that his ancestor was named Qi, who was born to Jiang Yuan, a daughter of the Tai family with the surname Jiang. She was a farmer during the Yao and Shun times, and was granted the title of Houji by Tai <now Wugongxi, Shaanxi>.After Abandon died, his descendants became agricultural officials of the Xia Dynasty for generations.It was passed down to Buyu, because of the decline of the Xia government, he lost his official position and ran between Rong and Di.His grandson, Liu, led his people to settle in Bin (now west of Xunyi, Shaanxi Province), developed farming, and gradually became powerful.Later, it was passed down to the ninth generation, when Gu Gong and Danfu were attacked, they migrated from Bin to Zhouyuan under Qishan Mountain (between Shaanxi and Qishan today) due to the attacks of Xunfu and Rongdi.The land in Zhouyuan is fertile and suitable for farming.In the late Shang Dynasty, Gu Gong built city walls and houses there, divided towns and villages, established bureaucratic institutions, and named the country Zhou.After Gu Gong, he was posthumously called Taiwang by Zhou people.

The ancient Duke died, and the youngest son Ji Li succeeded to the throne as Gong Ji, and later Zhou people called him Wang Ji.With the development of the state of Zhou, Ji Li intermarried with the Ren Zhi family under the Shang Dynasty, which strengthened the relationship with the Shang Dynasty.In the last years of Shang Wang Wuyi, Jili entered the dynasty, and Wuyi bestowed land, jade, horses and other items.Then Ji Li conquered Xiluo Guirong and captured the twelve Di (Di) kings.During the reign of King Wending of the Shang Dynasty, Ji Li further fought against the army. Except for the defeat of Yanjing's army, the army of Yuwu, Shihu, and Yitu all won victories, making Zhou's power penetrate into the territory of Shanxi today.Wen Ding (one said Emperor B) made Ji Li a pastor (that is, Fang Bo).It may be that Zhou's strength caused conflicts with the Shang Dynasty, and Ji Li was finally killed by the Shang King.

Chang, the son of Ji Li, succeeded to the throne, that is, King Wen of Zhou after the Zhou people called him.King Wen once served as courtiers of Shang King Zhou together with Jiuhou (one said Guihou) and Ehou (one said Binghou). Jiuhou and Ehou were killed by King Zhou long ago, and King Wen was also imprisoned.After he was released, he offered the land to the west of the Luohe River to King Zhou, and asked him to get rid of the torture of cannon fire. As Zhou promised, he was named Xibo.Many princes rebelled against the merchants and returned to the Zhou Dynasty. King Wen successively conquered Quanrong, Mixu (in the west of Lingtai, Gansu), Li (in the southwest of Changzhi, Shanxi), Han (in the northwest of Qinyang, Henan), and finally defeated Chongguo (in the west of Lingtai, Gansu). In the northwest of Chang'an, Shaanxi today), Fengyi was built on the west bank of Fengshui, and the capital was moved there.During the period of King Wen, Zhou was quite powerful, but Zhou was still a vassal state under the Shang Dynasty in name.

【King Wu defeated Zhou】 Since Bo Yikao, the eldest son of King Wen, was killed by King Zhou, after the death of King Wen, the next prince succeeded him, that is, King Wu of Zhou.In the second year of King Wu's accession to the throne, he sent his troops east to Mengjin to attack the merchants, but because the timing was not mature enough, he had to temporarily withdraw his troops and return to the army.Later, King Zhou of the Shang Dynasty became more tyrannical, killing Bigan and imprisoning Jizi, and the internal conflicts in the Shang Dynasty sharply intensified.King Zhou Wu led his army to march east again, crossed Mengjin, met with the princes, and swore to denounce King Zhou's crimes.In the early morning of Jiazi Day, the Zhou army marched to the suburbs of Shang and fought a decisive battle with the Zhou army in Muye.In the Battle of Muye, the Zhou army won a complete victory, King Zhou was forced to burn himself to death, and the Shang Dynasty fell.

King Wu entered the capital of Shang, and divided the business into three kingdoms: Bei, Wei, and Wei. Bei was named Zhou's son Lufu (that is, Wu Geng), and Wei and Wei were managed by Wu Wang's younger brothers Guan Shuxian and Cai Shudu respectively, collectively known as the three supervisors. (One talk about Uncle Guan Jianwei, Uncle Cai Jianwei, Uncle Huo Jianbei).Subsequently, troops were sent to conquer the princes of the Shang Dynasty who had not yet surrendered. According to records, there were as many as ninety-nine kingdoms who were conquered. After the destruction of the Shang Dynasty, King Wu returned to the west and held a grand ceremony in his newly moved capital, Haojing (Zongzhou, in the east of Fengshui, northwest of Chang'an, Shaanxi Province), officially announcing the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty.

【Duke Zhou's Eastern Expedition】 After the death of King Wu, Prince Chan took the throne as King Cheng.When King Cheng was young, the Duke of Zhou, the younger brother of King Wu who had assisted the merchants, was regent. Uncle Guan and Uncle Cai suspected that Duke Zhou wanted to usurp power and spread rumors. Wu Geng also planned to restore the country. Xu (in today's Sihong, Jiangsu), Yan (in today's Qufu, Shandong), Bogu (in the southeast of Boxing in today's Shandong), Xiong, Ying and other Fangguo tribes rebelled.Duke Zhou was ordered by King Cheng to march eastward. After three years of war, the rebellion was finally put down.Wu Geng and Guan Shu were executed, and Cai Shu was exiled.

In order to eliminate the hidden danger of rebellion against the Zhou Dynasty by the remnants of the Yin and Shang Dynasties, the Zhou Dynasty first ordered the princes to work together in the Yiluo area to build a new city, which was the eastern capital of the Zhou Dynasty, Luoyi (Cheng Zhou).The eastern capital was established, so the recalcitrant Yin people who had opposed the Zhou Dynasty were moved here to control it.At the same time, Wei Zi, a Shang nobleman who descended to the Zhou Dynasty, was entrusted to Song (now Shangqiu, Henan), the former capital of the Shang Dynasty, to replace the Shang Dynasty; Duke Zhou's eldest son, Boqin, established the State of Lu with the old land of the State of Yan, and gave it to the six tribes of the Yin people.In this way, the survivors of the Yin and Shang Dynasties were divided and gradually submitted to the rule of the Zhou Dynasty.

【The Reign of Chengkang】 The eastern capital was built in Cheng Zhou, the Duke of Zhou returned to power and became king, and the Zhou Dynasty entered a period of consolidation.It is said that Zhougong system of rites and music refers to the establishment and implementation of various systems of the dynasty, among which enfeoffment at the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty has the most far-reaching influence. Zhou's enfeoffment of princes had already begun during the time of King Wu, but the large-scale enfeoffment was during the period of King Cheng and his son King Kang (named Zhao).It is said that there were as many as seventy-one vassal states in the early Zhou Dynasty, among which those with the same surname as the king of Zhou accounted for forty states.The descendants of Taibo and Zhongyong, the elder brothers of Wang Ji, were enfeoffed in Wu (now Suzhou, Jiangsu); Guozhong and Uncle Guo, the younger brothers of King Wen, were enfeoffed in Dongguo (northeast of Xingyang, Henan today) and Xiguo (east of Baoji, Shaanxi); His sons were named Guan (now Zhengzhou, Henan, died early), Cai (southwest of Shangcai, Henan), Tan (northwest of Wenshang, Shandong), Huo (southwest of Huo County, Shanxi), Wei (now Qixian, Henan), Mao (today’s location is unknown), Dan (southeast of Jingmen in present-day Hubei), Gao (southeast of Chengwu in present-day Shandong), Yong (west of Xiuwu in present-day Henan), Cao (west of Dingtao in present-day Shandong), Teng (southwest of Teng County in present-day Shandong), Bi (northwest of today's Xianyang, Shaanxi), Yuan (northwest of today's Jiyuan, Henan), Feng (northwest of today's Chang'an, Shaanxi), and Xun (southwest of today's Linyi, Shanxi); the sons of King Wu were enfeoffed in Bing and Jin respectively (the first enfeoffment was in the west of Yicheng, Shanxi) respectively. , Ying (now Pingdingshan, Henan), and Han (northeast of Hejin, Shanxi); the sons of Duke Zhou were named Lu (now Qufu, Shandong), Fan (now southwest of Hui County, Henan), Jiang (now northwest of Gushi, Henan), and Xing (now Hebei, Hebei) Xingtai), Mao (now northwest of Jinxiang, Shandong), Xun (now north of Yanjin, Henan), Ji (now northeast of Zhengzhou, Henan); the son of Duke Zhao was enshrined in Yan (now Beijing).In addition, there are many vassal states with different surnames, such as Qi with the surname of Jiang (now north of Linzi, Shandong), Song with the surname of Zi, and so on.

The enfeoffment of the Western Zhou Dynasty established a local administrative system under the rule of the emperor of Zhou with the patriarchal blood relationship as the link, thus playing a role in strengthening the rule of the Zhou Dynasty for a certain period of time.The enfeoffment system also provided an important prerequisite for the emergence of the etiquette system that maintained the hierarchy of the emperor, princes, ministers, officials, and scholars. At the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty, the feudal princes were all controlled by the central government. When they became kings, Zhou Gong and Zhao Gong were the most important ministers in the court. died during the reign of King Cheng, while Duke Zhao lived to the time of King Kang).In the reign of King Kang, Zhou once ordered the princes to launch wars against remote countries, such as the conquest against Guifang recorded in the inscription of Xiao Yu Ding.There are many gains, and the number of prisoners alone is tens of thousands.The Zhou Dynasty was the strongest during the Chengkang period.

【King Zhao's Southern Expedition and King Mu's Parade】 After Kang Wang died, Zi Zhao Wang Xia succeeded to the throne.In the sixteenth year of King Zhao, he wanted to inherit the cause of Cheng and Kang, and went through Tang (northwest of Suixian, Hubei today), Li (north of Suixian, Hubei today), Zeng (Suixian of present Hubei), Kui (east of Zigui, Hubei today), until Jianghan area.After a total of three years of the Southern Expedition, when King Zhao returned to his army to cross the Han River, it is said that the local people carried King Zhao on a boat glued together. Unprecedented setbacks. Following King Zhao was his son Mu Wangman, who reigned for fifty-five years.He is so overjoyed, and still wants to develop in all directions.Because the nomadic Rong and Di did not pay tribute to the Zhou Dynasty, he conquered Quanrong in the west, won its five kings, and moved the Rong people to Taiyuan (now Zhenyuan, Gansu).King Mu liked to parade, which caused the government to relax.Xu Guo in the east led nine barbarians to invade Zhou, and even reached the river in the west.King Mu's southern expedition was pacified by uniting the forces of Chu State.The story of King Mu's westward expedition passed down to later generations, such as the bamboo slips of the Warring States period "Mu Tianzi Biography" unearthed at Jizhong in the Jin Dynasty. 【Kings of the Middle Western Zhou Dynasty】 After the death of King Mu of Zhou, Hu, King Yi, Jian, Pifang, King Xiao, and Bian, King Yi, came to the throne successively.After the Zhaomu era, the strength of the Zhou Dynasty weakened, and the king of death in the middle period could only be defended.However, the king of Gong once destroyed the Mi country (in today's Lingtai, Gansu Province) with the surname of Ji. In the early years of the king of Yi, he attracted princes and put Duke Ai of Qi in a cauldron to cook to death. This shows that the dynasty still had greater authority at that time. During this period, Rong and Di in the Northwest region gradually prospered. During the reign of King Yi, Rong and Di invaded and tyrannized China, and the people of Zhou suffered greatly.King Yi ordered Duke Guo to lead an army to conquer Taiyuan's Rong and won thousands of horses. However, this victory did not restore the royal family's decline. Rong and Di were still serious threats to the Zhou royal family. [Chinese uprising and republican administration] Yi Wang died, and Zi Li Wang Hu Li.During the reign of King Li, various social conflicts in the Western Zhou Dynasty tended to intensify, and finally reached the point of outbreak.The Rong and Di in the northwest, especially the Xuan, further strengthened the pressure on the Zhou Dynasty and invaded from time to time. The Huaiyi in the southeast who had surrendered to Zhou could not bear the heavy oppression and rose up to resist.King Li ordered Guo Zhong to conquer, but failed.Years of wars have brought great suffering to the people. At the same time, King Li appointed Rong Yigong as a minister, implemented patents, and monopolized social wealth and resources.In order to suppress the dissatisfaction of the people of the country, Li Wang ordered Wei Wu to monitor and kill anyone who slandered the king.As a result, everyone was in danger, which finally triggered a national uprising. In 841 BC, the people of the country rioted on a large scale, and King Li was forced to flee to Zhi (now Huo County, Shanxi).In the middle of the court, the two ministers Zhaogong (Mu Gonghu) and Zhou Gong (Zhou Dinggong) were in power, and they were named Gonghe (in other words, they were administered by the princes Gongbo and the regent). 【King Xuan Zhongxing】 When the people of the country revolted, Prince Li hid quietly in Zhaomu Gong's house, Zhao Mugong replaced him with his own son, and escaped from danger.In the fourteenth year of the Republic of China (828 BC), King Li died in Yu.The following year, Prince Jing ascended the throne as King Xuan of Zhou, and he reigned for forty-six years.With the assistance of Zhao Mu Gong and other ministers, King Xuan made great efforts to rule, and the government had a significant improvement.With the support of the people of the country, King Xuan set out to defend the northwest and attack Huaiyi in the southeast. In the early days of King Xuan, due to lack of national power, he relied on the Qin people who were affiliated with the Zhou Dynasty to resist Xirong (that is, 狿狁).Later, King Xuan took Qin Zhong as his doctor and ordered him to attack Xirong.In the fourth year of King Xuan (824 BC), Qin Zhong was killed by Xi Rong.King Xuan summoned his son Qin Zhuanggong and other five people to attack Xirong with 7000 soldiers and won the victory. Qin Zhuanggong was named the doctor of Xichui.In March of the fifth year of King Xuan, King Xuan also personally led his army to fight against Yunyun in Pengya (now northwest of Chengcheng, Shanxi), and gained some gains.After that, King Xuan turned to manage the southeast.He ordered Yin Jifu (named Xijia and Xibojifu in Jin Wen) to manage the tribute property of the four parties, including the tribute of Huaiyi, and asked Huaiyi to rely on the order of the dynasty to pay the tribute cloth, grain and grass, and the people who served, and restricted Huaiyi merchants It is necessary to trade with the Zhou Dynasty in the designated market in order to prepare for a large-scale attack on Hyun in the future. After accumulating strength for a period of time, King Xuan ordered Yin Jifu, Nan Zhong and others to go out to conquer Hongyun.This expedition lasted a long time and achieved remarkable success.For example, the inscription of Guo Jizi Bai Pan written in the tenth year of King Xuan said that Guo Ji Zibai led his troops to fight against the Yin Yun on the north bank of the Luohe River. He beheaded five hundred and captured fifty enemies at a time. go. It may be due to the exploitation of the Zhou Dynasty that Huaiyi rebelled against Zhou and violated the land of Jianghan.King Xuan ordered Mugong to go to Pingding, and ordered Nanzhong, Huangfu, Cheng Boxiufu and others to lead the army along Huaidong to conquer Xu State, and finally forced Xu State to obey the Zhou Dynasty.In order to consolidate the southern land, King Xuan moved his uncle Shen Bo to Xie (now Nanyang, Henan). These victories during the reign of King Xuan did not solve the fundamental contradictions in Western Zhou society, and the so-called revival was only temporary.In the later years of King Xuan, the Zhou Dynasty showed signs of decline again.In the thirty-first year of King Xuan, King Xuan sent an army to conquer the Rong in Taiyuan, but failed to win.In the following year, King Xuan interfered in the succession of the Lu State and forced Lu Xiaogong to be established by force, which caused discord among the princes.In the thirty-sixth year, King Xuan conquered Tiaorong and Benrong again, but suffered a tragic defeat.In the thirty-ninth year, he fought against Xirong Biezhi Jiang's army in Qianmu (now south of Jiexiu, Shanxi), and suffered a serious defeat. He lost the Nanguo division who accompanied him in the battle.In order to continue to defend against Hyun, King Xuan had to count the number of people in Taiyuan and reorganize and control them.This shows that the strength of the Zhou Dynasty has tended to be empty. The Western Zhou Dynasty fell in 781 B.C., Youwang Gongyan (or Zuosheng, Nirvana) succeeded to the throne, and appointed the profitable Guo Shifu to rule. The corruption of the government aroused resentment among the people of the country; At the same time, the domestic natural disasters were frequent, and the rule of the Zhou Dynasty fell into a situation of internal and external difficulties. The fuse that caused the demise of the Western Zhou Dynasty was that King You abolished the daughter of the empress Shenhou and the prince Yijiu, and changed Baosi, a beautiful woman favored by Bi, as the empress, and his son Bofu (one as Bopan) as the prince.Yijiu fled to the State of Shen, and the Marquis of Shen joined forces with the State of Zan and the western dog army to attack King You. King You and Bofu were killed by the dog army in Yuxi (now Lintong County, Shaanxi).In 771 BC, the Western Zhou Dynasty fell. After the death of King You, Marquis Shen, Marquis Lu, and Duke Xu Wen jointly established the former prince Yijiu in Shen, and Guo Gonghan also appointed another prince Yuchen Yuxie (the current location is unknown), forming a situation where the two kings stand side by side.Yijiu moved his capital to Luoyi in order to avoid the dog army, and he became King Ping of Zhou.Yu Chen was killed by Marquis Wen of Jin in 760 BC.