After the Battle of Muye and the self-immolation of Shang Zhou, a new dynasty emerged. It was the Zhou Dynasty, which ruled for the longest period of 800 years in Chinese history! However, in history, it is customary to divide the Zhou Dynasty into two parts based on the eastward movement of King Ping. Before the eastward movement, it was called the Western Zhou Dynasty, and after that, it was called the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. During the Western Zhou Dynasty, the social situation was relatively stable, the territory gradually expanded, and the economy and culture also developed. The Western Zhou Dynasty only had thirteen kings from King Wen to King You. Although the period was short, it still created a splendid civilization.

The situation in the early Zhou Dynasty and the golden age of King Kang of Zhou

During the reign of King Kang of Zhou, the country was peaceful and the people were peaceful, and the whole country was prosperous. It can be called the golden age in the history of the Zhou Dynasty. However, the arrival of this golden age was not the result of King Kang alone, but was finally achieved through the unremitting efforts of several generations. King Zhou Kang naturally understood this, which is why he had such an important ceremony to worship the Lord. There was a busy scene in Zhou Palace. The sacrificial ceremony was about to begin. Everyone was very nervous, for fear that something would go wrong and ruin King Kang's good mood.

The two slaves carrying the sacrifices walked quickly and discussed in a low voice

"Hey, tell me, this sacrificial ceremony happens every year, why is it so grand this year? "

"I don't know the specific reason. I and others can understand the master's thoughts, but I guess it may have something to do with the king's trip. You see, the king has been smiling since he returned to the palace. It's on my face!"

"After you reminded me, I remembered that when I was drinking with the king's groom a few days ago, I heard him say that the king's behavior was extremely strange when he was traveling in plain clothes, and he saw farmers. The sight of sweating and hard work will make your face flush with excitement, and you will feel inexplicably happy when you see the cattle buyers and cattle sellers discussing the price in the market, and they will mutter something to each other. "

"Isn't this normal? Is this a strange sight? We are already used to it. Why is the king so happy? The worship ceremony finally began. King Zhou Kang took the lit incense from the servant's hand, knelt down, and looked at the row of ancestors' memorial tablets on the stage. His heart was surging. He closed his eyes and said nothing, but he had already begun to express his feelings in his heart

"My ancestors, I, Ji Zhao, the fourth generation descendant of the Great Zhou Dynasty, lived up to the high expectations of my ancestors and tried my best to govern our country without letting it decline in the slightest. Nowadays, the farming system has become popular, and bronze is no longer just for the princes and nobles. The furnishings, even the bronze farm tools are used for farming. The slave trading market and the cattle and horse trading market are also prosperous. I am very happy to watch them bargaining. This shows that our people are living a peaceful life! Not only that, our national strength in the Great Zhou Dynasty has also become stronger and stronger. In the past few years, we have won many battles with foreign nations, and those barbarians no longer dare to invade our Great Zhou Dynasty! Of course, I know that this situation is not due to me alone. I cannot do without the hard work of my ancestors and ancestors. I will definitely work harder and never ruin such a magnificent foundation! My ancestors and ancestors have spirits in heaven. Please give them your blessing and protect me from generation to generation. ! "

After kowtowing on the head and offering incense, the next step is to offer incense to each ancestor. Taking a deep breath, King Kang stood up and came to the memorial tablet of King Zhou Wen. He took three incense sticks from the servant's hand and closed his eyes again.

"Great-grandfather, thank you for winning the great Zhou Dynasty for me." Thanks to the work you have done for the world, if it weren’t for your diligence and love for the people, our Zhou clan would never have developed enough to compete with the Shang Dynasty! Future generations will always remember what you have done, and please continue to bless our Zhou Dynasty for generations to come! p>

......Then came King Wu of Zhou, "

Grandfather, thank you for your bravery and decisiveness, and for leading your people to overthrow the tyrant Zhou. If it weren't for you, the people of the world would still be in this unjust state. After suffering so much under the rule of the Shang Dynasty, how could I live and work in peace and contentment? Future generations will always be grateful to you! "... Before the throne of King Zhou Cheng, King Kang could no longer endure it. I couldn't help but get wet in my eyes. After all, my great-grandfather and grandfather had no direct contact, but my father watched me grow up!

"Father, I have never disgraced you. I always follow you. I think I am as patriotic and loving as you are. The laws and regulations you formulated are still respected by me to this day. Although Punishment has never been used, but it is counter-evidence that it works. If you had not dared to formulate rules to manage the country, punish the criminals, and act as a deterrent, there would never be such peace today.

Father, my children will always remember your teachings, and you will also educate my descendants, so that each generation will be stronger than the previous generation! "

The ceremony of worshiping the master is over, but the fate of the Western Zhou Dynasty has not stopped. However, it has not prospered forever as King Zhou Cheng expected. After all, good kings are not always born in every generation!

In addition to virtuous kings, a dynasty also has mischievous kings. This week, King Cheng was a little naive, thinking that future generations would be like him. The previous generations worked hard to perpetuate the prosperous age they created forever. However, he did not expect that his descendants would have prodigal sons like King Zhou Li and King Zhou You, who would ruin the family's business so miserably! Before King Li of Zhou ascended the throne, the Western Zhou Dynasty was already in a state of weakness. Foreign invasions, rivalries between princes, and internal and external troubles had seriously threatened the fate of the Zhou Dynasty. However, King Li of Zhou was ignorant of the situation and thought that the nobles could use violence if they were dissatisfied with the complaints of the people. Calm down.

There are two stupid things he did in his life: first, he appointed treacherous ministers as prime minister, adopted a patent policy, and taxed the princes and the people for various reasons, making the people's lives miserable; The second is to adopt high-pressure policies, restrict people's freedom of speech, and send special personnel to monitor people. Once someone is found to express dissatisfaction, he will be killed immediately.

These have intensified various domestic conflicts and contributed to the tragedy after Sunday. There are two famous sayings left by King Li of Zhou Dynasty. One is a folk song about people complaining about the hard life, "The big rat has no food for me." I'll take care of you when I'm three years old. When you pass away, you will be suitable for that paradise. "The second is Duke Zhao's advice to King Li, "It is better to guard against the people's mouths than against the rivers." There is only one outcome in exchange for this, and that is that the people broke out in a "citizen riot" and ousted King Zhou Li from power. He was exiled to Zhi, and was eventually allowed to die tragically there.

Statue of King Zhou Cheng

Although King Zhou Li was extremely mediocre, he was still far behind his grandson, King You of Zhou. Even the title of King of Subjugation, the ultimate term for a faint king, was taken away by Sun Tzu. Not many people may know King Zhou Li, but King Zhou You must be known to everyone. Just by looking at this reputation, you can tell who is more powerful. Faint. King You of Zhou is the famous silly man in history who lost the world just for a smile from Beauties! From the Xia Dynasty to the Shang Dynasty to the Western Zhou Dynasty, from Meixi to Daji to Baosi, it seems that every king who has subjugated his country is a lustful person. Disciple, the ruin of the country is caused by beauty.

In fact, it is not their own fault. It is really unfair to blame all the beauties. I think it is because of nature that Bao Si does not like to smile. King You himself came up with the idea of ??lighting the beacon fire to make her laugh. It was the ignorant King You of Zhou who regarded the country as a child's play. It was not Bao Si who ordered him to do this. It is really true that Bao Si should be blamed for the country's subjugation. She has been wronged.

Compared with Xia Jie and Shang Zhou, King You of Zhou is really the worst one. He is very talented, but at most he is arrogant because of his talent. After experiencing glory, he becomes arrogant and indulgent. He is greedy for enjoyment and beauty, neglects the affairs of the country and loses the country. Only this King You has no talent, he is born a prodigal, and he is greedy for pleasure. When the money was not enough, they increased taxes and tried their best to exploit the princes and the people, which caused dissatisfaction among the people in the world.

Even though Xia Jie and Shang Zhou doted on their concubines, they only met their material needs and took nothing from them. The money obtained from the exploitation was used to build palaces and wine pools for them. They would never take advantage of the princes like the fool King You and use the savior's eager people to exchange for a beautiful smile! In the end, they were also besieged. No matter how many, Xia Jie Shang Zhou always had people who wholeheartedly protected him and fought hard to protect him. King You alone lost the trust of all the princes. Even though the smoke was rising into the sky, no princes came to save him. King You was defeated miserably and even fled like Xia Jie. He didn't have the cunningness, let alone the courage to commit suicide like Shang Zhou. He was killed alive by the invading Quan Rong, and his beloved concubine was also taken away. He was really a useless, stupid man who was rare to see in a thousand years. The Western Zhou Dynasty was not. I really can't find anyone else who worshiped him!

After such a disaster, the Zhou Dynasty never recovered. When King You's son Ping Wang succeeded to the throne, the princes no longer paid attention to the Zhou Dynasty. Here, the Emperor of Zhou was still honored as king only on the surface; the frequency of foreign invasions has greatly increased, the important cities of the Zhou Dynasty were constantly being invaded and looted, and the people's lives were miserable, and they had long complained about it.

King Ping of Zhou had no choice but to move the capital away and move east to Luoyi. From then on, the Western Zhou Dynasty ended and the Eastern Zhou Dynasty began where the princes competed for hegemony!

King Zhou Li is like a virtuous minister with outstanding merits and a notorious treacherous minister

In addition to kings, history will also not forget those virtuous ministers with outstanding merits and notorious treacherous ministers. For the Western Zhou Dynasty, we have talked about the kings, but we should also talk about the virtuous ministers. Here, only the three most representative heroes of the Western Zhou Dynasty are listed.

In the early Western Zhou Dynasty, the most famous virtuous minister should be Jiang Xiang, the Jiang Taigong mentioned in "Jiang Taigong fishes, and those who wish to take the bait"! Jiang Shang can be regarded as a typical example of success in his later years. It was not until he was 70 or 80 years old that he was recognized by King Wen of Zhou Dynasty and was named a national teacher, where he showed his talents. From King Wen to King Wu, Jiang Shang wholeheartedly assisted the two generations of kings, teaching them how to govern and how to consolidate power. It can be said that in the Zhou Tishang incident, Jiang Shang was the perfect combination of the manipulator behind the scenes and the implementer in front of the scenes. He was definitely the most important founding father of the Zhou Dynasty. The status is similar to that of Yi Yin, the founding father of the Shang Dynasty, so people are accustomed to calling them "Yi Lu" together. In addition, Jiang Taigong has made achievements in many fields such as military affairs. He is regarded as a figure in his family by Confucianism, Taoism, Legalism, Military and other schools, and he is known as the "Grandmaster of Hundreds of Schools".

Jiang Taigong Fishing

However, there was another person who was revered as the most loyal and virtuous minister in the history of the Western Zhou Dynasty, and he was Zhou Gongdan. Zhou Gongdan was the son of King Wen of Zhou and the younger brother of King Wu of Zhou. Regardless of the fact that he devoted himself to assisting his brother in defeating Zhou during the period of King Wu, his sincerity towards King Cheng alone is enough for him to be passed down through the ages.

When King Cheng succeeded to the throne, he was still young, and the old Shang Dynasty actively planned restoration. The young Zhou Dynasty encountered its first crisis. For the sake of the country, Duke Zhou personally took power to manage political affairs for King Cheng. Unexpectedly, Guan Shu and others misunderstood him, thinking that he was seeking power and usurping the throne. Guan Shu and others joined forces with Wu Geng, the son of Shang Zhou, to rebel and attack Duke Zhou. It took Duke Zhou several years to finally put down the rebellion and save the Zhou Dynasty. When King Cheng grew up, Duke Zhou returned the political power to King Cheng and continued to assist him. Unexpectedly, King Cheng believed the rumors, doubted the sincerity of Duke Zhou, and wanted to harm Duke Zhou, forcing Duke Zhou to flee elsewhere. However, instead of holding a grudge against Cheng Wang, Zhou Gongdan always cared about Cheng Wang's body. When he heard that Cheng Wang was in good health, he cut off his own nails and threw them into the river, praying to the river god to transfer all of Cheng Wang's pain to the river. Come on yourself. Such sincerity truly moved the world. In the end, the misunderstanding was resolved, and King Cheng personally took Duke Zhou back, treated him with courtesy, and even buried him next to King Wen's tomb after his death. Duke Zhou's sincerity finally received the greatest recognition!

Zhou Gongdan

Similar to Zhou Gong, there is Zhao Gongxi, who is also the younger brother of King Wu. King Wu defeated Zhou, and Zhao Gong also played an important role. After the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty, although Duke Zhao did not stay in the capital of the Zhou Dynasty to assist the king like the Duke of Zhou, he was in the heart of Yan and in Zhou. He supported the Duke of Zhou as regent and helped Zhou Gong rectify the rebellion of the three uncles in Wuyi. In fact, he was doing his best. Protect the Zhou Dynasty and the world. On the other hand, he worked hard in his fiefdom and won the love of the local nobles and people. In fact, he also contributed to social stability!

Not only were Zhou Gong and Zhao Gong sincerely patriotic, but their descendants also inherited the teachings of their ancestors and loved their country and people. After the foolish king King Li of Zhou was exiled, the rebellious people did not spare even King Li's son. It was Duke Zhao at that time who replaced the future King Xuan of Zhou with his own son. A country cannot be without a master for a day. At this time, after discussion, Duke Zhou and Duke Zhao decided to rule together, which was known in history as "Zhou and Zhao Gonghe". The first year of Emperor He's reign was 841 BC. It was from this year that Chinese history began to have a clear and continuous chronology. When King Xuan grew up, Duke Zhou and Duke Zhao returned the power to King Xuan and assisted him in revitalizing the Zhou Dynasty. The Western Zhou Dynasty could not do without these loyal ministers, and history will never forget them!

The combination of horizontal and vertical aspects

The political system of the Western Zhou Dynasty was mainly represented by two complementary systems, namely the feudal system and the patriarchal system. This political system was originally created by the Zhou Dynasty and has been used throughout the development process of the Zhou Dynasty. It was this system that promoted the development and prosperity of the Western Zhou Dynasty. It was also this system that led to the decline of the Western Zhou Dynasty, and even later the vassal states fought for hegemony in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. It is also the inevitable result of the implementation of this system.

The founder of the feudal system was King Wu of Zhou, the founding monarch of the Zhou Dynasty. King Wu defeated Zhou and established the Zhou Dynasty. In order to consolidate the royal power, he rewarded brothers with the same surname, appeased the ancient emperors, prevented them from rebellion, and rewarded the founder of the country. Due to various reasons such as meritorious officials, it was decided to divide the land into various vassal states, and reward people with the same surname, former emperors, later emperors and founding heroes.

These vassal states must obey the rule of the Zhou Dynasty and respect the Emperor of Zhou as king, but they can enjoy privileges in their own vassal states and rule and manage independently. The enfeoffment system was not only used during the period of King Wu. It ran through the entire Western Zhou Dynasty. Later generations of Zhou emperors also continued to increase the number of vassal states. Especially during the regency of Zhou Gong and the Chengkang period, in order to centralize the royal power, the emperor generously rewarded people with the same surname in order to support the Zhou emperor and help them resist foreign invasion.

The enfeoffment system was an important measure for the Western Zhou Dynasty to consolidate its rule. It not only ensured the dominance of the Emperor of Zhou, but also satisfied the desire and pursuit of rights of the slave-owning nobles. To a certain extent, it stabilized the social situation. At the same time, each prince concentrated on developing his own vassal state, and the prosperity of the small country also led to the prosperity of the big country. It can be said that the prosperity of the early Zhou Dynasty was the result of this feudal system.

This system is based on the closeness of clan blood relations and is combined with the national system. It not only maintains the hereditary rule of the royal family and nobles, but also solves the distribution of rights among the same clan. Its basic principle is "to set up a direct descendant for elders rather than virtue, to establish a son for honor rather than eldership."

The enfeoffment plan

Under the patriarchal system, everything from the country to the family is important. The rights and status are distributed according to "large sect" and "small sect". Specifically: for the entire country, the emperor of the Zhou Dynasty was the "big clan", and his eldest son who inherited the throne was regarded as the "eldest son", while the concubine and his brothers were enfeoffed into princes and regarded as the "small clan". In the country of a single prince, the prince himself is the "big clan", and the eldest son who succeeds him is regarded as the "eldest son". The concubine and his brothers are enfeoffed as ministers or officials, and are regarded as the "small clan".

In the families of ministers or officials, they are also distributed hierarchically based on this, forming a political affiliation. Nobles with different surnames were brought into patriarchal relationships through marriage. As a result, the whole country formed a strict hierarchical system with the Zhou Dynasty monarch as the core and the vassal states with different blood relationships as the periphery. If the enfeoffment system determines the hierarchical order between the nobles of the central state and the vassal states from a horizontal perspective, then the patriarchal system distributes rights downwards from a vertical perspective based on the traditional concept of clan, thereby making the nobles The hierarchy was stabilized.

Patriarchal cartography

Conclusion:

As the basis of the rule of the Zhou Dynasty, the feudal system and the patriarchal system have their advantages, such as ensuring that the Zhou Dynasty The united rule of the Zhou Dynasty made the Zhou Dynasty prosperous and developed. But as humans continue to multiply, contradictions gradually emerge. As the generations passed down, the blood relationship between the Zhou royal family and the various vassal states became weaker and weaker, and the relationship became more and more distant. Some vassal states developed rapidly, and their national power was even comparable to that of the Zhou royal family. They were not satisfied with being just a small subordinate state. Therefore, the struggle for hegemony among the vassals after the Eastern Zhou Dynasty inevitably occurred!