The historical King Zhou of Shang was not only a handsome and macho man with a handsome appearance and immense strength, but also a wise emperor with great talents, great strategies, and martial arts. "Historical Records of the Yin Dynasty" records: "(Emperor Xin) was quick at distinguishing diseases, was very sensitive in hearing and seeing, had extraordinary physical strength, and was capable of fierce beasts." Other historical materials also have "described as handsome" and "Emperor Xin was virtuous. "The power of nine oxen has the power to caress beams and move pillars." As the king of the world's superpower at that time, King Zhou of Shang Dynasty, like the emperors of all dynasties, admittedly had a cruel side of lewdness and extravagance, arrogance and refusal of advice, and excessive taxation, but these so-called "problems" could not cover up the mainstream of his great talents, broad strategies, and wise martial arts. aspect.
After King Zhou of Shang came to the throne, it can be said that he worked hard to govern and revitalize the Shang Dynasty. In view of the current situation that Dongyi tribes often invaded the country and harassed and robbed the people, King Zhou of Shang personally conquered them and completely eliminated them, solving the "old problem" that the previous kings were helpless in one fell swoop; he led his troops to conquer the east and west, and attacked all directions. The territory of the Shang Dynasty continued to expand; while conquering, he also lost no time in spreading the Central Plains culture to the four seas, further consolidating the rule of the dynasty. There is still a folk proverb circulating in Qixian County in northern Henan (i.e. Chaoge, the capital of Shang Dynasty): "The empire of Emperor Xin is as solid as an iron barrel."
So, why did the empire of the Shang Dynasty, which was as solid as an iron barrel, become as strong as an iron barrel? "Suddenly, like a building collapsing", how could it be destroyed in an instant? Why did the wise and powerful King Zhou of Shang suffer the misfortune of being ruined? This is related to King Wen of Zhou's hard work and opportunistic usurpation of power, and King Wu of Zhou's deliberate efforts to create "public opinion" "Offensive attacks and slander are inseparable.
If the Battle of Muye was the decisive battle for King Wu of Zhou to overthrow the Shang Dynasty, then the oath of loyalty before the war was the clarion call for the disgrace of King Zhou of Shang. In order to solve the problem of usurping the king by attacking his ministers and violating the laws and regulations, King Wu of Zhou tried his best to make false claims out of thin air and slandered King Zhou of Shang many times, thus discrediting King Zhou of Shang.
After joining forces with various princes, King Wu of Zhou solemnly swore an oath and issued a battle cry "Tai Oath" to attack King Zhou. All kinds of "misdeeds" and "crimes" such as "indulging in lust, daring to commit cruelty, treating sinners as clansmen, and officials as the world" and "exterminating themselves from heaven". King Zhou Wu's move was undoubtedly vicious, but it did work. His angry and indignant inciting speech suddenly turned the war of rebellion against the following criminals into an act of justice in which "the right people will get more help, and the unjust people will get less help."
In order to make King Zhou of Shang the target of public criticism, King Wu of Zhou took advantage of the last gap before the Battle of Muye to conduct pre-war mobilization again, read out the "Oath of Shepherd", and reiterated King Zhou of Shang's sins: "Only women speak It is used to...faint and abandon the king, his parents and his younger brother." After two solemn oaths before the war, not only did the image of King Zhou of Shang Dynasty as a corrupt, cruel and evil ruler take root in people's minds, but it also made the entire team share the same hatred of the enemy, and the crowd was excited and high-spirited. A "People's Liberation War" in which "the virtuous defeated the immoral" in theory began, and the 600-year-old foundation of the Shang Dynasty collapsed. However, King Zhou of Shang did not choose to live an ignoble existence, but chose to die for his country. After being burned by fire, he was still strong and strong.
“Building palaces, building wine pools, pampering women, imprisoning virtuous people, inflicting torture, and harming loyal people” were the main misdeeds of King Wu of Zhou for Luo Zhi, King of Shang Zhou. important crimes. But, is this really the case?
As early as the Spring and Autumn Period, Confucius's favorite disciple Zigong once said: "Zhou's evil is not as good as this. It is because the gentleman is evil and lives in the lower class, the world is evil." "All return to Yan." ("The Analects of Confucius: Zi Zhang Pian") means: "Although King Zhou of Shang is bad, he is by no means as powerful as the legend says. The reason why he has a bad reputation is because people think of all the evil things in the world. It’s his fault.” King Zhou was framed, and not only Zigong was indignant, Song Dynasty scholar Luo Mi also had something to say about it.
Luo Mi pointed out in "The Theory of Jie and Zhou's Many Inaccuracies": "Emperor Xin built palaces, built wine pools and meat forests, favored women, imprisoned sages, killed loyal people and other crimes, which are exactly the same as Xia Jie's crimes. The sins of Zhou are the sins of Zhou, and Jie and Zhou are not distinguished. These are all based on imitation." Luo Mi said this is well-founded. For example: the heinous torture of "cannon burning" was originally the invention "patent" of King Jie of Xia, but it was placed on the head of King Zhou with great pride. "Mountain of meat, sea of ??wine, royal palace, and Yaotai" were originally "necessities" for Xia Jie's luxurious life, but King Wu of Zhou mercilessly placed these "shit basins" on King Zhou's head.
It’s true that “if you want to incriminate someone, why bother!”
With the demise of the Shang Dynasty and the martyrdom of King Zhou, his great contribution to the development of the Chinese nation was almost forgotten by historians since the Zhou Dynasty. They are all "blocked". Even Sima Qian, who was revered by later generations as the "Historical Sage", did not record the great achievements of King Zhou of Shang in the "Historical Records". However, misdeeds such as "surging millet on a huge bridge", "slower than ghosts and gods", "using wine as a pond and meat as a forest", "severe punishments and punishments, and making artillery frames" abound. If King Wu of Zhou is the "culprit" who caused King Zhou of Shang to be ruined, then Sima Qian is one of his "loyal accomplices".
However, what really pushed King Zhou of the Shang Dynasty into the abyss of sin and eternal destruction was the fictional character plot that was popular in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It slandered and vilified the emperor, the content was absurd and dross, and it echoed feudal superstition. "The Romance of the Gods" that fooled the working people. In this mythical novel, the author did not hesitate to distort history and human nature. While beautifying King Wu of Zhou, he also vilified King Zhou of Shang. The image of his cruelty, cruelty, and heinous crimes is deeply rooted in people's minds.
After the death of King Zhou of Shang Dynasty, he was nicknamed "Zhou" by the Zhou Dynasty (note: the leather belt behind the horse's butt has the meaning of derogation). The history books of the past dynasties are not indiscriminate and follow what others say. He has suffered injustice for thousands of years. King Zhou of Shang is worthy of being a tragic hero in Chinese history. His great contributions and immortal achievements to the Chinese nation in expanding its territory and spreading civilization will forever be remembered in history. This is something that no dynasty or person can do at will. rewritten and obliterated. Comrade Mao Zedong and Comrade Guo Moruo, the famous archaeologist, both overturned the verdict of King Zhou of Shang and said: "King Zhou of Shang was both civil and military, and he was a very capable person." As the saying goes: Real gold is not afraid of fire! Why should a hero be afraid of infamy?!