Introduction to Zhou Dynasty and Western Zhou Dynasty and an overview of the history of Zhou Dynasty and Western Zhou Dynasty

name

Temple number

Number of years in office

Accession time

remarks

Jichang

King Wen of Zhou

fifty

Front 1106 &\8211; Top 1057

Wang Wen’s surname is Ji Mingchang, and his father’s name is Ji. In the 51st year of his reign, Ji Chang was once swam by the king of Shang after he ascended the throne and was later released. He was courteous to corporal, assisted by famous officials such as Jiang Ziya, and laid the foundation for the destruction of business in the future. It is said that King Wen died at the age of 97.

Ji Fa

King Wu of Zhou Dynasty

fourteen

Front 1056 &\8211; Top 1043

The second son of King Wen was slain by King Zhou of Shang Dynasty because of Bo YIKAO, the eldest son of King Wen. After his death, King Wen succeeded to the throne and reigned for 3 years. He died and was buried in Biyuan. After Ji Fa succeeded to the throne, he continued to use Jiang Ziya as the prime minister and his brothers Zhou GongDan and Zhao Gong as assistants to further rectify internal affairs, enhance military strength, and prepare to inherit the will of King Wen and attack King Zhou of Shang Dynasty. The next year, Ji Fa held a meeting of princes in Mengjin (now the south of Mengxian County, Henan Province) to review their military appearance. More than 800 princes from small countries attended the meeting and held a business cutting exercise together. As the time did not come, King Wu did not send troops to attack business. Two years later, in the spring, Ji Fa saw that the time was ripe. He personally led the main force of the headquarters, united the forces of small countries, swore on the first day of the first month, and set out from Mengjin to invade the Shang state. After the defeat of the Shang army in Muye, he invaded Chaoge, destroyed the Shang Dynasty, established the Western Zhou Dynasty, and made the capital of Haojing (now southwest of Xi’an City, Shaanxi Province), known as Zongzhou. “King Wu’s attack on Zhou” is an epoch-making event in Chinese history. A few days after Ji Fa destroyed Shang Dynasty, he climbed the hill and looked down at the Chaoge, the capital of Shang Dynasty. Seeing the magnificent architecture of Chaoge, he thought that such a powerful Shang Dynasty had lasted for hundreds of years. Just because he lost the support of the people, it should be destroyed in an instant. Zhou has just established the country, and many people oppose and are hostile to it. He is in danger and can’t help worrying. In order to consolidate and expand the power of the Zhou Dynasty, Ji Fa granted relatives and meritorious officials with the fifth rank of Duke, marquis, Bo, Zi and male, and let them establish a vassal state. Yu Jiao, the descendant of Shennong, Yu Zhu, the descendant of the Yellow Emperor, Yu Ji, the descendant of Yao, Yu Chen, the descendant of Shun, Yu Qi, and Jiang Ziya, the descendant of Dayu, were granted the state of Qi (now Zibo City, Shandong Province); Zhou GongDan was granted the state of Lu in Dianfu (now Dianfu County, Shandong Province); Zhao Gong was granted the state of Yan in Jiqiu (now Beijing)… In order to appease the residual forces of the Shang Dynasty, Ji Fa also granted Wu Geng, king of Zhou, the Marquis of Yin, stayed in Yin capital, and sent his brothers Guan Shuxian, Cai Shudu, and Huo Shuchu to monitor him, known as the third prison. In the third year after the founding of the Western Zhou Dynasty, Ji Fa died in Haojing under the situation of restlessness in the world.

Ji Dan

Zhou GongDan

Regency for 7 years

Front 1042 &\8211; Top 1036

Ji song was only 13 years old when he succeeded to the throne, and his uncle Duke Zhou was in charge of politics. Guan Shuxian, the third son of King Wen, and Cai Shudu, the fifth son, were jealous when they saw that Duke Zhou was acting as the son of heaven, so they spread rumors that Duke Zhou was trying to seize the throne. The son of King Zhou of Shang Dynasty, Yin Junwu Geng, who was granted the title of Yin, took the opportunity to win over Guan Shuxian and Cai Shudu, contacted Huaiyi and rebelled together. After three years of hard work, Duke Zhou finally killed Wu Geng and Guan Shuxian, captured and exiled Cai Shudu, thus calming the rebellion and stabilizing the overall situation. After the Duke of Zhou calmed down the rebellion of Wu Geng, Guan and CAI, he divided the Yin adherents under their jurisdiction into two, and part of them was granted to Wei Ziqi, the brother of King Zhou of Shang Dynasty. He was granted the title of song in Shangqiu. The other part was given to Kang Shu, the uncle of King Cheng, and was granted the title of National Guard in the ancient ruins of Yin Shang Dynasty.

Ji chant

King Cheng of Zhou

fifteen

Top 1035 &\8211; Top 1021

Cheng Wang, famous Ji song, whose birth and death years are unknown, Prince Wu, who succeeded to the throne after his death, is 50 years old. Buried in Biyuan. After Ji song took office, he continued to seal off princes to defend the Zhou royal family, strengthened the rule over the newly conquered areas, and established a patriarchal system with the Zhou royal family as the backbone. In the late period of his reign, the people lived and worked in peace and contentment, praising him everywhere. Later, Ji song fell ill, worried that his son Ji Zhao was not competent for state affairs, so he ordered Zhao Gong and Bi Gong to help with their efforts. From then on, this kind of order that the emperor entrusted his heir to the imperial clan or minister before his death was called taking care of his life, and the entrusted imperial clan or minister was called taking care of his life. Soon, Ji song died.

Ji Zhao

King Kang of Zhou

twenty-five

Top 1020 &\8211; Front 996

King Kang, whose name is Ji Zhao, has an unknown year of birth and death. Prince Cheng, who succeeded to the throne after his death, died and was buried in Biyuan for 26 years. When Ji Zhao succeeded to the throne, Duke Zhao and Duke Bi held a grand ceremony for him to ascend the throne. Duke Zhao and Duke Bi also led the princes. Accompanying Ji Zhao to the ancestral temple, he told King Kang about the hardships of King Wen and King Wu’s entrepreneurship, and wrote another article, warning Ji Zhao to be frugal and ascetic, manage state affairs diligently, and keep the foundation of his ancestors. When Ji Zhao was in power, he constantly attacked the ghost side (now the northwest of Shaanxi Province) and all parts of the southeast, plundered slaves and land, and gave rewards to princes and doctors. In the first World War, Zhou Jun captured 13000 soldiers of the military. In order to celebrate the victory, Ji Zhao rewarded the noble Meng who participated in the war with 1700 prisoners as slaves, and cast the matter in words on the tripod. This tripod weighing more than 500 kilograms was excavated in the middle of the Qing Dynasty and is still listed in the Chinese History Museum in Beijing. During the reign of Ji Zhao, the country was strong, the world was unified, the economy and culture were prosperous, and the society was stable. According to historical books, “at the time of Chengkang, the world was peaceful, and the punishment was not used for more than 40 years”. Later generations praised this period and the rule of King Cheng in his last years as “the rule of Cheng Kang”.

Ji Xia

King Zhao of Zhou

twenty-three

Front 995 &\8211; Top 977

King Zhao, known as Ji Xia, has an unknown year of birth and death. Prince Kang, he succeeded to the throne after his death. He was drowned by the boat people because he disturbed the people. Buried in Shaoshi mountain (now Shaoshi mountain in Songshan Mountain, Dengfeng County, Henan Province). Ji Xu has been treated with dignity since childhood. After assuming the throne, there was no wise minister to advise and assist, so life soon became extravagant and absurd. He loves exotic flowers and plants, birds and animals. Many sycophants are willing to give gifts to rare birds today and animals tomorrow to win rewards and promotions. Sometimes, as soon as Ji Xia heard that there were rare birds and animals somewhere, she immediately threw aside the court and rushed to hunt. It made politics dim and national strength declined. Some princes didn’t listen to his orders at first and interrupted their tribute service. King Zhao was still undisciplined and blindly sent troops to attack them, wasting people and money. In the 19th year after Ji Xia ascended the throne, his subordinates reported that there was a tribe called Yue Shang in the south, which produced a rare bird with white feathers and delicious meat, called white pheasant. When he became king, Yue Shang often brought tribute. Now the state of Chu in the south is strong and no longer obedient to the emperor, and the traffic is blocked, so Yue Shang also stopped paying tribute. Ji Xia was so angry that he immediately led the army to the south of the Chu state. Along the way, he forced the people to transport grain and grass, prop up boats to pull fibers, supply exquisite food and alcohol, commandeer fishermen’s boats, and scuttle them when they ran out. The people were full of complaints. Ji Xia crossed the Han River and attacked Danyang, the capital of Chu state (now Zhijiang County, Hubei Province), but failed repeatedly. It happened that the king of Chu was worried that he could not defeat the emperor of Zhou and sent someone to apologize. King Zhao pushed the boat with the current, scolded the king of Chu, and then robbed a large number of properties of the people in the territory of the state of Chu, claiming victory and returning to the dynasty. Ji Xia hunted all the way back to the Han River and ordered his subordinates to commandeer civilian ships again. The boat people angrily picked out some ships, broke them up, glued them together with glue, and covered them up with colorful hydrogen traces. Let Ji Xia’s men take these ships away. Ji Xia and the soldiers boarded the boat, filled with cars, horses and belongings, and sailed across the river. The boat went to the middle of the river. The glue was soaked and dissolved in the river, and the boat broke one after another. The boat sank. Ji Xia and his accompanying ministers also fell into the river. Ji Xia didn’t know water, and he was very bulky. After falling into the water, he made a few stabs and went straight down. Ji Xia’s coachman swam all the time, knew water, and was strong. He swam desperately to save the boat, but the river was full of people, horses goods. When he lined up one by one, it was easy for him to swim to hold Ji Xia, who was unconscious. When he was pulled ashore, Ji Xia had a bulging stomach and died of exhaustion. The ministers felt that Ji Xia died disgracefully and could not disclose the truth, so they buried him hastily and lied that he died of an emergency.

Ji man

King Mu of Zhou

fifty-five

Front 976 &\8211; Top 922

King Mu, named Ji man, whose birth and death years are unknown, is Prince Zhao. King Zhao succeeded to the throne after his death. Died of illness and was buried 25 miles southwest of Xi’an City, Shaanxi Province. During Ji man’s reign, he ordered Marquis Fu to formulate Fu Xing, and sent troops to invade the state of Chu, directly reaching Jiujiang. Later, he allied Chu to destroy Xu, marched on Canrong in the west, captured the five kings of Canrong, moved some tribes of Canrong to Taiyuan (now the southwest of Shanxi Province), and opened a road to the northwest. Soon, Ji man began to patrol the West. It is said that Ji man once took his father as his country’s husband, drove eight thousand mile horses, took seven teams of warriors selected, and carried a large number of treasures for reward along the way. He first swam north to today’s Inner Mongolia, and then turned west to patrol. After passing many famous mountains and rivers in today’s Xinjiang, he arrived at the mother country of the West King and was ceremoniously received by the West Queen Mother. The queen mother of the West held a banquet for Ji man in yaochi, drank wine, sang poems, praised friendship, and climbed the mountain to overlook the future. Ji man also engraved the five characters “the country of the queen mother of the west” on the boulder on the top of the mountain, and planted a locust tree with the queen mother of the West as a souvenir. Then, Ji man continued to go west to the great Kuangyuan (today’s Kyrgyz grassland in Central Asia), collected many birds and beasts, and returned to the east to return to Ho Kyong. Ji man’s West tour lasted more than two years and covered more than 35000 miles, which was a great feat in history. Along the way, it passed through many states and was warmly received by people everywhere. This shows that China’s territory was quite vast at that time. The Huaxia nationality in the Central Plains and all ethnic groups in the West had been friendly and close to each other for a long time, and jointly created Chinese civilization. Ji man died of illness in Nanzheng (now Weinan County, Shaanxi Province) only palace. Lu Xing, written by King Mu, is the earliest code handed down in China. King Mu was the longest reigning king of the Western Zhou Dynasty.

Ji Mihu

Zhou Gongwang

twenty-three

Front 922 &\8211; Top 900

The total king, named Ji Fuhu, has an unknown birth and death year. Prince Mu succeeded to the throne after his death. After death, he was buried in Biyuan. When Ji Yuhu succeeded to the throne, the country spent a huge amount of wealth due to King Mu’s travel, which made the national finance very empty and gradually difficult to support economically. However, on many occasions, he had to maintain the airs of the emperor. For example, in order to show a clear distinction between reward and punishment, the Communist king had to enfegate Lu Ji, the land near the capital, to princes and doctors, so that the area under his direct control became smaller and smaller, and his income became smaller and smaller. The Zhou Dynasty began to decline.

Ji Ji

King Yi of Zhou

eight

Front 899 &\8211; Top 892

King Yi, named Ji Jian, was born and died at an unknown age. He was a prince and succeeded to the throne after death. Died of illness, and the burial place is unknown. Ji Jian was cowardly by nature. After he succeeded to the throne, politics became increasingly corrupt and the national power became more declining. Due to the repeated attacks of Xirong, he was forced to move the capital to Huaili (now the southeast of juping County, Shaanxi Province).

Ji Pifang

King Xiao of Zhou

six

Front 891 &\8211; Top 886

King Xiao, named Ji Pifang, whose birth and death years are unknown, is a younger brother of the king and uncle Yi. King Yi seized the throne after dying. King Yi died of illness and should be succeeded by crown prince Ji Xie, but the crown prince was weak and incompetent, and the capable Ji Pifang took the opportunity to seize the throne. After Ji Pifang ascended the throne, he wholeheartedly tried to recall the Zhou Dynasty. He first revitalized the military, opened up a ranch on the grassland between sheshui and Weishui, and used heavy money to recruit experts to raise horses. There was a recruit named Feizi, whose horses were fat and strong. After a year, the number of horses more than doubled. Ji Pifang was very satisfied, so he granted him dozens of miles of land in the land of Qin and became a vassal of a small country adjacent to the big princes. This is the birthplace of the Qin Dynasty, which will unify China in the future. However, Ji Pifang died of illness before he could realize his ideal of revitalizing Zhou Shi.

Ji Xie

Zhou Yi King

eight

Top 885 &\8211; Top 878

The Yi king, named Ji Xie, has an unknown birth and death year. Prince Yi, filial nephew and grandson. King Xiao succeeded to the throne after his death. Ji Xie, formerly the prince of King Yi, succeeded to the throne when King Yi died, but he was weak and incompetent, and was seized the throne by King Yi’s uncle Xiao. After King Xiao died of illness, the princes established him as emperor according to the rules of his father and son. Ji Xie was very grateful to the princes. As soon as he changed the previous practice of the emperor standing in the hall and being worshipped by the princes, he stepped down to meet the princes at the court meeting, and the majesty of the emperor was greatly reduced. During his reign, the dog soldiers who were moved by King Mu to Taiyuan continuously rebelled, and Ji sent troops to levy several times, but they failed to eradicate it. Thirty years after Ji Xie succeeded to the throne, he fell ill and made his son Ji Hu crown prince. He died the next year and was buried in an unknown place.

Ji Hu

King li of Zhou

thirty-seven

Front 877 &\8211; Top 841

King Li, named Ji Hu (? – 828 BC), was a prince of Yi. The Yi King succeeded to the throne after death. After Ji Hu succeeded to the throne, he believed that his father was too lenient to the princes and doctors when he was in power, and he was determined to intimidate his subjects with harsh means. Soon, he used an excuse to cook and kill Qi aigong. Ji Hu was greedy for money and profits, and tried every means to plunder the people. There was a minister named Rong Yigong, who instigated King Li to implement “patent” on the properties of Shanlin Chuanze, which was directly controlled by the emperor, and civilians were not allowed to enter Shanlin Chuanze to make a living. Ji Hu listened very favorably, ignoring the advice of the minister and the opposition of the civilians, and implemented the “patent”. Civilians were cut off, and there were complaints and curses. Ji Hu also sent a sycophant guard Wu to monitor the people and killed many civilians who were dissatisfied with the “patent”. Later, many civilians who did not complain were killed. So that relatives, friends and acquaintances did not dare to greet each other on the road, but only took a glance, making the capital become lifeless. Ji Hu thought he had a good plan and said triumphantly, “I have my own way to make the people dare not slander me.” The minister Zhaogong admonished, “blocking the people’s mouths in this way is like blocking a river. Once the river bursts, it will cause disaster; if the people’s mouths are blocked, it will bring far more harm than the river. The method of dredging should be used to control the water, and the people should let the people all over the world speak freely, and then adopt the good suggestions. In this way, the son of heaven will make fewer mistakes in dealing with national politics.” Ji Hu said disapprovingly, “I’m the son of heaven. Those ignorant fools can only obey my orders. How can they talk casually!” Still cling to tyranny. One day in 841 BC, the Chinese people in the suburbs of the capital spontaneously gathered, holding sticks and farm tools as weapons, and rushed from all directions to the palace of the capital to ask Ji Hu for blood. Ji Hu heard the angry cries from far and near, and hurriedly ordered the deployment of troops to suppress. The minister replied, “in the Zhou Dynasty, the peasants were soldiers and the soldiers were peasants. Now that the peasants are in a riot, who else can we mobilize?” Ji Hu then knew that a catastrophe was imminent. He hurried to escape from the capital on foot with his family members, fled northeast along the Wei river day and night to swine, far away from the capital, and built a house to live. The civilians in the capital finally calmed down some resentment and left one after another under the strong persuasion of the Minister Zhou Gong and Zhao Gong. Duke Zhou and Duke Zhao reigned here for 14 years. Fanbo returned to swine to show his reason. Ji Hu had no choice but to settle in swine. Swine was on the Bank of Fen water, so the people of Zhou Dynasty also called Ji Hu the king of Fen. When Ji Hu arrived at this field, all the enjoyment of the son of heaven was lost. Every year, only Duke Zhou and Duke Zhao sent some clothes and daily necessities to him to make a living. He thought of his former glory, depressed and puzzled, and died after 14 years of desolation.

Ji He

Gonghe Bo

Regency for 14 years

Front 841 &\8211; Top 828

According to the recommendation of the aristocrats, Duke Zhou and Duke Zhao temporarily acted as political agents, and important government affairs were discussed by the six secretaries. This kind of regime is called the Republic (first, Gongbo and acting as the son of heaven). This uprising, with civilians in the suburbs of the capital as the main body, was historically known as the “National Uprising”. This year is called “the first year of the Republic” in history. Since the book “historical records” began to be a chronological record from the first year of the Republic (841 BC), the year when the Chinese people rioted, King Li was expelled, and the “Republic administration” was established was regarded as the beginning of the exact chronological record of Chinese history. The “Chinese uprising” effectively attacked the slavery Dynasty of the Western Zhou Dynasty, shook the rule of the slave owners of the Western Zhou Dynasty, and the Western Zhou Dynasty declined faster. The situation of disintegration gradually appeared. After Ji Hu fled to swine, he sent his courtier Fanbo back to the capital city to inquire about the news. Seeing that the riot had subsided, Fanbo discussed with Duke Zhou and Duke Zhao and prepared to take Ji Hu back to reset. However, the people hated Ji Hu very much and resolutely did not allow him to return. Duke Zhou and Duke Zhao were afraid of offending the people again and provoking riots, so they were forced to give up this idea.

Ji Jing

Xuanwang Zhou

forty-six

Front 828 &\8211; Top 782

Prince Li was made Prince when he was in power. When the countrymen rioted, he heard the sound and fled to the house of Zhao Gongfu to hide. The Chinese found that they rushed to surround the mansion and asked the Duke to hand it over. Zhao Gong tried his best to persuade the Chinese people to forgive the prince, but the Chinese people refused and rushed into the house to search for him. Zhao Gong rushed into the inner room, ordered his own son to exchange clothes with the crown prince, and reluctantly pushed his son out to the Chinese. Chinese people don’t distinguish between true and false, and leave when the fake prince is about to be beaten to death. Ji Jing disguised herself as the son of Zhao Gong and hid. After King Li died of illness, Duke Zhou and Duke Zhao used superstition to subdue the people’s anger and help Ji Jing succeed to the throne. Ji Jing, in the midst of adversity, took the fate of her father as a warning. At the early stage of her succession, she was modest and cautious, and managed the country’s politics diligently. In politics, he is not dictatorial and has something to discuss with his subjects. At that time, a bronze vessel, “Mao GONGDING”, recorded his words, saying that any decree issued by him must be signed by Mao GONGDING; He also rectified the administration of officials and ordered officials at all levels to be disadvantageous, greedy for money, drunk and oppressed the people. Economically, he canceled the patent policy of King Li’s period and relaxed the control over mountains, forests and rivers; As soon as he came to power, he announced the abolition of the slavery homestead system, allowing the public land to be distributed to slaves for cultivation and the collection of material objects. Militarily, in order to remove the military threat of continuous internal aggression by the surrounding ethnic minorities since the middle of the Western Zhou Dynasty, and to divert domestic attention, he revitalized the military, ordered Yin Jifu, Nan Zhong and other ministers to unite their troops to repel the attacks of some ethnic minorities in the northwest, and subdued Xu Rong in the East, Chu in the South and Rong in the West. He also followed the example of King Wu of Zhou and King Cheng of Zhou to enfegate princes to defend the royal family. He sealed his brother’s friend in Zheng (now the east of Huaxian County, Shaanxi Province), which will be the future state of Zheng; His uncle Shen Bo was granted to Xie (now in Nanyang County, Henan Province), known as Shen Hou. These measures temporarily eased the internal and external contradictions, and the rule of the Zhou Dynasty showed a temporary consolidation, which was called “King Xuan Zhongxing” by historians. In fact, under the surface phenomenon of ZTE, various social contradictions of the Zhou royal family are still developing. At this time, some princes were unwilling to help defend the royal family, and some even rebelled. At that time, the bronze ware “Yu Ding” recorded that the original minister belonged to the Hou of the Zhou Dynasty. He united the Dongyi and the nanhuayi to attack the Zhou royal family, and fought until near Chengzhou (now Luoyang City, Henan Province). Ji Jing dumped the troops of the whole country – the sixth West Division and the eighth Yin division to resist, but the king division was afraid of the enemy, and was afraid to shrink forward. Finally, he reluctantly won without the help of the strength of some princes. This shows that the fighting capacity of the Zhou Dynasty army has declined. In the late period of Ji Jing’s reign, foreign wars were repeatedly defeated. In 789 BC, Wang Shi attacked Jiang Rong and fought for thousands of mu (now the south of Jiexiu County, Shanxi Province). Wang Shi was lost and Ji Jing was almost captured. In her later years, Ji Jing gradually became stubborn and did not accept loyal advice. In order to show his authority, he forced the state of Lu to abolish the elders and establish the children. When the people of Lu refused to accept it, he set up troops to fight, which led to chaos in the state of Lu for several generations, and destroyed the patriarchal system of the eldest son of the Zhou Dynasty, causing discord among the princes with the same surname, and the princes were even more dissatisfied with Ji Jing. Between monarchs and ministers, he became arbitrary and unreasonable. Once, doctor Du Bo angered Ji Jing for a small matter. Ji Jing ordered to kill him, and Du Bo’s old friend Zuo Ru hurried forward to remonstrate. Ji Jing became more angry and scolded, “you only know that you have friends, but you don’t know that you have a king. What’s the reason?”. Zuo Ru replied, “the monarch is reasonable, and the minister should obey the monarch; the friend is reasonable, and the minister should support the friend. Now Du Bo is not guilty, and should not be beheaded. Therefore, the minister advised the king not to kill Du Bo.” Ji Jing said angrily, “I’m going to kill him. What can you do?” Zuo Ru said, “I would like to die with Du Bo.” Ji Jing said, “I just won’t let you die. It depends on how you die with him.”. After that, he shouted around and pushed dueber out and beheaded him. Zuo Ru, angry and ashamed, returned to the mansion and committed suicide, causing panic and confusion among his officials. Afterwards, Ji Jing calmed down and felt that she had gone too far. She secretly regretted, and it was not easy to say so. As a result, she had trouble sleeping and eating, and got a kind of palpitation. Soon, Ji Jing’s condition improved a little. He took his subordinates out for hunting to relax. During the hunting, he suddenly shouted in the car, fell back, and passed out in a coma. Left and right hurriedly sent him back to the palace. After several treatments, he failed and died a few days later. He may have died of a stroke, but others say he died of depression due to defeat in the war.

Genet

King you of Zhou

eleven

Front 782 &\8211; Top 771

Birth: unknown &\8211; Death: in 771 BC (reign 10), Youwang Ji Gongsheng, the son of King Xuan. Greedy and unscrupulous, she smiled for Bo Chong Ji Baosi, and unexpectedly “the war flames play with the princes”, thus subjugating the country and being killed. This is the origin of “laughing at the country”.

????????1046?~???771???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

In addition, the land of King Nan of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty was also divided into the eastern and Western weeks.

At present, there are still controversies in academia about whether Zhou belonged to feudalism or slavery.

A summary of the Western Zhou Dynasty

The Western Zhou Dynasty experienced 11 generations and 12 kings, about 275 years, from the time when King Wu of Zhou destroyed the Shang Dynasty in 1046 BC to the time when king you of Zhou was killed by Shen Hou and gourong in 771 BC. In 770 BC, Duke Shen and some other princes made king Ping of Zhou (Yijiu) king. King Ping moved Kyoto from Zongzhou to Luoyi (now Luoyang City, Henan Province). In history, the Zhou Dynasty after the eastward move was called the Eastern Zhou Dynasty.

The Zhou nationality has a long history and has been active in Shaanxi and Gansu for a long time. Later, Zhou Yuan, south of Qishan, was the main base. By the beginning of the 11th century BC, the power of the Zhou nationality had become increasingly powerful. On the one hand, it conquered the small countries nearby to expand its strength; On the one hand, it moved its capital from Zhouyuan to today’s Fengshui West Bank of Chang’an County and built Fengjing. It continued to push eastward, intensifying the contradiction with the Shang Dynasty. Emperor Xin of Shang once imprisoned xibochang (King Wen). Zhou Chen offered the king of Shang with beautiful women and treasures, and Emperor Xin released xibochang. After xibochang returned to China, he further stepped up the preparation of cutting merchants. At this time, the Shang Dynasty was politically corrupt and the internal and external contradictions were unprecedented acute. King Wen believed that the conditions for cutting merchants were ripe, and asked the crown prince fa (King Wu) to actively prepare for cutting merchants before his death. After King Wu ascended the throne, taking advantage of the main battle of the Shang Dynasty, he sent 300 troops, 45000 soldiers and 3000 Huben (stormtroopers) to the East. Yong, Shu, Qiang, mane, Wei, Lu, Peng, PU and many other small countries also led troops to cooperate. King Wu of Zhou swore in Makino and counted the sins of Shang and Zhou. King Zhou of the Shang Dynasty temporarily organized 170000 slaves to fight against the Zhou army, but the soldiers did not want to fight and defected before the battle, leading the Zhou army to attack Zhou. King Zhou of the Shang Dynasty fled in a panic and burned himself to death in Lutai, and the Shang Dynasty perished. Since then, Chinese history has entered the Zhou Dynasty era.

After conquering the Shang Dynasty, King Wu basically controlled the original ruling areas of the Shang Dynasty and conquered many small countries around him. However, how to firmly control a large area of eastern territory has become a serious problem facing King Wu. Therefore, he adopted the policy of “enfeoffing relatives and shielding Zhou with vassals”, enfeoffing his relatives with the same surname and meritorious counselors throughout the country, and establishing a vassal state. Each vassal state became the stronghold of ruling one side of the land, and they also played an important role in defending the Zhou royal family. King Wu granted Wu Geng (Lu Fu), the son of Shang Zhou, the capital of Shang to control merchants; His younger brothers Guan Shu, Cai Shu and Huo Shu were made hou to supervise Wu Geng; He also sealed Duke Zhou in Lu, Jiang Shang in Qi, and Duke Zhao in Yan. After the death of King Wu of Zhou, his son succeeded to the throne. Because King Cheng was young, he was governed by Duke Zhou. Uncle Guan and uncle Cai were dissatisfied with Duke Zhou and spread rumors that Duke Zhou intended to seek the throne. Soon, Wu Geng colluded with Guan and CAI, and united with Xu, Yan, Bo Gu and other countries in the east to launch a rebellion. The Duke of Zhou ordered his army to March eastward. It took three years to finally pacify the rebellion between Wu Geng, Guan and CAI, kill Wu Geng and Guan uncle, and exile Cai uncle. The comprehensive victory of the eastern expedition consolidated the rule of the Zhou Dynasty.

After destroying the business, King Wu returned to Haojing and felt that it was too far away from the newly conquered areas. He intended to establish a new capital in the ELO river area, the center of Xia people’s activities. His idea had not yet been realized, and he suddenly died of illness. According to he Zunming’s article unearthed in Baoji, after King Cheng ascended the throne, he inherited the will of King Wu and decided to build a new city near Luoyang, “residence in China”. Ruling the newly conquered areas from here can greatly shorten the distance. For this reason, King Cheng sent Zhao Gong to the “Xiangzhai” near Luoyang. Soon, Luoyi (Chengzhou) and Haojing (Zongzhou), built by King Wu, became the political, military and cultural center of the Western Zhou Dynasty. In order to completely eradicate the dream of restoring the country of Yin’s adherents, when he became king, he also moved Yin’s indomitable people to Chengzhou.

As Duke Zhou was Regent in Zongzhou, marquis Lu was granted by his eldest son, Bo Qin. The geographical outlook of the state of Lu has been found in Qufu, Shandong Province today; The state of Qi, sealed by Jiang Shang, is located in Linzi, Shandong Province today; The Yan state sealed by Duke Zhao has also found the city site and Yan Hou cemetery in Fangshan, Beijing today; After Wu Geng’s rebellion was subsided, the place was granted to Kang Shu, the younger brother of King Wu, as the Marquis of Wei, and the site of Wei state has been found in Junxian County, Henan Province; Wei Ziqi, the common brother of Zhou, did not participate in the Wugeng rebellion. As a descendant of the Shang nationality, he was granted the Marquis of Song Dynasty, and his land is in Shangqiu, Henan Province today; In the west of the Wei state, there is another Jin State. After King Cheng defeated the Tang state, he granted its land to his brother Tang Shuyu. Its ruins have been found at the junction of Yicheng and Quwo in Shanxi Province. The fiefs of these vassal states often formed horns, linked and restricted each other, so they did play a certain role in the stability of the political situation in the early stage. The document said that “at the time of Cheng Kang, the punishment was not wrong for 40 years”, which shows that after King Cheng calmed the Wu Geng rebellion, the Zhou Dynasty had a stable situation.

After a series of wars, the people of Zhou Dynasty controlled the area south to Ba, PU, Deng and Chu; North to Sushen, Yan and Bo; Arrive at the seaside in the East; The West reaches Gansu and Qinghai. Its scope is larger than that of the Shang Dynasty. The king of Zhou established a relatively complete state machine and exercised effective rule over the territory. The punishment formulated is more systematic than that of the Shang Dynasty. The number of the standing army is more than that of the Shang Dynasty. There are six divisions in Zongzhou and eight divisions in Chengzhou. The land and subjects of the whole country are nominally owned by the king of Zhou, that is, the so-called “under Pu Tian, is it the king’s land; under the leadership of the land, is it the king’s subjects?”. Therefore, when the king of Zhou granted land and subjects to princes, a ceremony of granting land and people should be held. The vassal states granted by the state should regularly appear before the king of Zhou and have the obligation to defend the royal family. They also paid tribute to the king of Zhou for service (including military service). If they did not pay tribute for service, they would insult the royal family and be punished. However, with the passage of time, the recipients often cede or exchange land without authorization, and gradually turn the land into private property. At the same time, with more and more newly reclaimed land, the number of private fields is also increasing. The emergence of private land has corroded and impacted the public ownership of land based on the well field system.

The social economy of the Western Zhou Dynasty was more developed than that of the Shang Dynasty. A large number of bronze tools are used for production, which provides more surplus labor products for the society and promotes the development of various handicraft industries. The bronze craft further flourished. In addition to the bronze workshops controlled by the royal family, the vassal states also had their own bronze workshops. The number of bronze products is more and their uses are wider, involving almost all aspects of social life. The development of bronze industry has promoted the prosperity of other industries. The use of characters is also more extensive. In addition to inscriptions on oracle bones, inscriptions were cast on tens of thousands of bronze vessels, recording many events in social life at that time. The largest piece has 499 words, no less than a document at that time. There have also been many new developments in science and technology in agriculture, animal husbandry, textiles, metallurgy, architecture, astronomy, geography and so on. These achievements have led to changes in people’s production and life. Archaeologists found artificially smelted iron in tombs in the late Western Zhou Dynasty, indicating that at least in the late Western Zhou Dynasty, people had mastered the technology of artificially smelting iron. This discovery shows that people have another effective means in the struggle to transform the objective world.

By the time King Zhou Li arrived, domestic contradictions became increasingly acute. King Li collected money violently, abused the people, and did not let the people talk about national politics. In 841 B.C., a Chinese riot finally took place. King Li fled to swine (today’s Huo County, Shanxi Province), and the Chinese pushed Gongbo and did the son of heaven’s business. The first year of the Republic (841 BC) is the beginning of the exact chronology of Chinese history. After King Xuan of Zhou succeeded to the throne, he learned lessons and changed policies; In order to remove the threat of Rong Di, it also launched a defensive war against Rong Di and won the victory. In the war against Jingchu and Huaiyi, it also won some victories, so it is called “ZTE”. However, various contradictions still exist in society, and the whole society is still in turmoil.

The development of history is always unbalanced. During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, the Central Plains had entered the prosperous period of the bronze age, and some surrounding areas were still relatively backward. Therefore, driven by wealth and interests, the war between Zhou people and other nations has almost always been going on. Jianghan river basin is the base of barbarians. King Zhao led a large army to invade Nanman, which was strongly resisted by the barbarians. The Zhou army was almost completely destroyed, and King Zhao also died in the Han River. This was a serious failure in the early Western Zhou Dynasty, which lost its control over the southern countries. King Mu and King Xuan also marched south, and neither of them achieved significant results. The eastern barbarians also often invaded the surrounding areas, and the war continued. Unable to bear the enslavement of the Zhou Dynasty, Hou Yu Fang “led the southern Huaihe and Eastern barbarians to invade the southern and Eastern Kingdoms” and fought until near Cheng Zhou, shocking the government and the public. The king of Zhou sent the sixth West Division and the eighth East Division to fight, but they were still unable to resist. Later, the victory was won by the reinforcement of the troops of the princes with the same surname. The military in the northwest was the most important foreign invasion in the Western Zhou Dynasty. During the reign of King Mu, the power of Canrong gradually became stronger, which hindered the exchanges between the Zhou Dynasty and the northwest countries. King Mu marched on Canrong in the west to “capture its five kings”, and moved a number of Canrong tribes to Taiyuan, opening the way between Zhou and the northwest countries. Later, gunrong still repeatedly invaded the surrounding area. Youwang, the son of King Xuan, doted on Baosi and wanted to kill the crown prince Yijiu. He made Bofu, the son of Baosi, the heir to the throne. Yijiu’s mother is Shen Hou’s daughter. Shen Hou colluded with Canrong to attack the king of Zhou and kill the king of you under Lishan Mountain. Canrong took the opportunity to plunder a large amount of treasure. The Western Zhou Dynasty perished. With the help of the princes, Yijiu ascended the throne as the king of Ping and moved its capital to Luoyi the following year. From then on, history entered the Eastern Zhou Dynasty.

A brief introduction to the Western Zhou Dynasty

Starting from the Zhou Dynasty, the process of continuous integration of various ethnic groups and tribes in the territory was carried out. During this period, the Chinese nationality gradually formed and became the predecessor of the modern Han nationality. There are many other ethnic groups, such as Yi, man, Yue, Rong Di, Sushen, Donghu, etc.

Bo YIKAO, the eldest son of King Wen of Zhou (Chang), was killed by Zhou. After the death of King Wen, King Wu (FA) of Zhou ascended the throne. Later, King Zhou of Shang Dynasty became more tyrannical, and the contradictions of Shang Dynasty intensified sharply. King Wu of Zhou led his army to the East, crossed Mengjin, and met with the princes to denounce Zhou’s crimes. In the morning of Jiazi day, Zhou Jun and Zhou Bing fought a decisive battle in Muye. Zhou Jun won completely. Zhou was forced to burn himself to death, and the Shang dynasty fell. The Zhou Dynasty was established.

After the death of King Wu, King Cheng of Zhou ascended the throne. King Cheng was young, and Zhou GongDan, the younger brother of King Wu, was Regent. Uncle Guan, uncle CAI and Wu Geng rebelled against Zhou. The Duke of Zhou was ordered by King Cheng to make an eastern expedition and put down the rebellion. The eastern capital of the Zhou Dynasty was completed, and the Duke of the Zhou returned to power as king. The Zhou Dynasty entered a period of consolidation, known as the rule of Chengkang in history.

After the death of King Kang (Zhao) of Zhou, the son king Zhao (flaw) of Zhou succeeded to the throne. In the 16th year of King Zhao, he personally led a large army to invade Jingchu in the south, as far as Jianghan area. After three years of Southern expedition, King Zhao drowned when crossing the Han River, and the army was also destroyed. Following King Zhao, King Mu of Zhou (man), his son, reigned for 55 years. He likes to make great achievements and still wants to develop in all directions. King Mu liked to March, which made the imperial government relaxed. The state of Xu in the East led nine barbarians to invade Zhou. King Mu’s southern expedition was pacified by uniting the forces of Chu.

After the Zhaomu era, the strength of the Zhou Dynasty was weakened. During this period, Rongdi gradually flourished in Northwest China. During the reign of King Yi of Zhou Dynasty, the people of Zhou Dynasty were deeply afflicted by the situation of military invasion and tyranny in China.

In the period of King li of Zhou Dynasty, years of war and chaos brought deep suffering to the people. At the same time, King Li appointed Rong Yigong as Qing Shi, monopolizing social wealth and resources. In order to suppress the dissatisfaction of the people, King Li ordered the guards and witches to monitor, and those who slandered the king would be killed. As a result, people were in danger and finally led to the uprising of the Chinese people. In 841 BC, the National People’s Congress rioted on a large scale, and King Li was forced to flee to swine (now Huo County, Shanxi Province). In the middle of the court, two ministers, Duke Zhao (Duke Mu Gonghu) and Duke Zhou (Duke Zhou Ding), were appointed as the Republic (first, it was said that the princes were co uncle and Regent).

In the 14th year of the Republic (828 BC), King Li died and Prince Jing ascended the throne. He was king xuanwang of Zhou and reigned for a total of 46 years. King Xuan made great efforts to govern the country, and the court politics improved significantly. In the late years of King Xuan, the decline of the Zhou Dynasty reappeared. King Xuan interfered with the succession of the monarchy of the state of Lu and used military force to strengthen the filial piety of Lu, causing discord among the princes. In the past 36 years, we fought against Tiaochong and benrong and suffered a tragic defeat. In the thirty-nine years, he fought with the other branches of Xirong, the Jiang clan, in Qianmu (now Jiexiu south of Shanxi), and was defeated miserably.

In 781 BC, king you of Zhou succeeded to the throne and appointed the beneficial Guo Shifu to govern. The corruption of the imperial government aroused resentment among the Chinese people; Three years ago (779 years ago), the army of cutting six JIS failed; At the same time, natural disasters continued frequently, and the rule of the Zhou Dynasty was beset with internal and external difficulties. You king abolished the daughter of the empress Shen Hou and the crown prince Yi Jiu, and replaced her son Bo Fu (a Bo pan) as the crown prince after she spoiled the beauty Baosi. Yijiu fled to the state of Shen, and the Duke of Shen united with the state of Zheng and the Western army to attack the king of you. Both you wang and Bo Fu were killed in the opera by Gongrong (now Lintong East, Shaanxi). In 771 BC, the Western Zhou dynasty fell.

After the death of king you, marquis Shen, marquis Lu and Duke Xu Wengong jointly appointed the former crown prince Yi Jiu to Shen, and Duke Guo Han also appointed another Prince Yu Chen to carry (the place is unknown today), forming the coexistence of the two kings. Yijiu moved his capital to Luoyi in order to avoid Canrong, which was king Ping of Zhou. The Eastern Zhou Dynasty was established. In the 11th year of King Ping, Yu Chen was killed by the Marquis Wen of Jin in the 21st year (760 BC).

Western Zhou regime

King Wu of Zhou destroyed many small countries and established large vassal states, forcing the small slave states to accept the feudal system of the Zhou Dynasty. Zhou divided five titles, including Duke, marquis, uncle, son, and man. It was divided according to the relationship between the vassal states and the Zhou royal family. In order to consolidate his ruling position, the king of Zhou adopted the enfeoffment system of “building princes and splitting the earth for the people”. “Well field system” was the basis of social production relations in the Zhou Dynasty, and it was also the economic basis for the survival of aristocrats. Agriculture was still the main Department of social economy.

??

Etiquette and punishment

In the Zhou Dynasty, there was a strict system of rites and punishments, “rites cannot be inferior to ordinary people, and punishment cannot be superior to doctors”. Zhou Li, based on the patriarchal clan system formed under the patriarchal social system, was used to mediate and adjust the contradictions and relations within the ruling class. Punishment is used to control and suppress civilians and slaves, including death penalty, ink torture, exile, whipping, redemption and other penalties, as well as a set of litigation and trial system, which is extremely cruel.

??

Business and transportation

Bronze agricultural tools are more widely used than those in the Shang Dynasty, and the drainage and water diversion technologies are well mastered. Mulberry and Muggle fruits are cultivated in crops. There are many handicraft departments, and the division of labor is more detailed than that of the Shang Dynasty. It is known as “hundred workers”. Commerce has further developed, and a larger market has emerged in the “country” and “capital”.

The well field system was implemented in the Western Zhou Dynasty. Each male main labor force grants 100 mu of land (equivalent to more than 31 Mu now), and the allocated land is changed between cultivators every three years. At that time, the mature wasteland farming system was widely used, which made great progress in agricultural production.

During the Western Zhou Dynasty, commerce was developed, with merchants specializing in trade activities. Seashells, clams and tortoise shells for divination are often contributed and exchanged from afar. At that time, seashells were also used as currency, calculated in friends. Boats and carriages are important means of transportation.

??

civil life

Gathering was the main source of daily life for civilians at that time, while hunting was the entertainment of nobles.

??

War and communication

After the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty, it continued to use troops, and often fought with neighboring states such as Jingchu, Guifang, Yan Yun, Dongyi, Huaiyi and so on, winning or losing each other. On the contrary, it is more about friendly exchanges and economic and cultural exchanges with neighboring countries.