After World War I in Mu Ye, Shang Zhou set himself on fire, and a new dynasty appeared, which was the Zhou Dynasty with the longest ruling period of 8 years in China's history! However, in history, it is customary to divide the Zhou Dynasty into two parts, which was called the Western Zhou before moving eastward and then the Eastern Zhou. 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, from King Wen to King You, experienced only thirteen kings. Although the period was short, it still created a splendid civilization.
The golden age of Zhou Kangwang in the early Zhou Dynasty
During the reign of Zhou Kangwang, the country was prosperous, which was called the golden age in the history of the Zhou Dynasty. However, the arrival of this golden age was not the work of Kang Wang alone, but was finally achieved through the unremitting efforts of several generations. Zhou Kangwang naturally understood this more, and only then did he have such a great ceremony of offering sacrifices to the Lord. There was a busy scene in the Zhou Palace, and the sacrificial ceremony was about to begin. Everyone was very nervous, for fear that something would go wrong and spoil Kang Wang's good mood.
Two slaves carrying sacrifices were talking in a low voice as they walked quickly.
"Well, you said, this ceremony is held every year. Why is it so grand this year?"
"I don't know exactly why, but I guess it may have something to do with this trip of the King. You see, the King has been smiling on his face since he returned to the palace!"
"After your reminding, I remember that when I was drinking with the groom of the King the other day, I heard him say that the King's casual travel behavior was extremely strange, and he would be flushed with excitement when he saw the farmers sweating and working, and he was inexplicably happy when he saw the buyers and sellers negotiating the price in the market."
"Aren't these all quite normal sights? "We're used to it. Why is your Majesty so happy?"
"I don't understand, shh, don't say it, my wife is coming ..."
The ceremony of offering sacrifices to the Lord has finally begun. Zhou Kangwang took the incense lit in the servant's hand, knelt down, looked at a row of ancestors' graves on the stage, and felt overwhelmed with emotion. He closed his eyes and didn't speak, but his heart began to express his feelings.
"The ancestors lived in the world, and Ji Zhao, the fourth generation descendant of my week, was not responsible. Nowadays, the farming system has been popularized, and bronze is no longer just the decoration of princes and nobles, but even farming has used bronze farm tools. The slave market and the cattle and horses market are also prosperous. I am very happy to watch them bargain, which just shows that our people are living a peaceful life! Not only that, our national strength is getting stronger and stronger. In recent years, we have won many wars with foreign countries, and those barbarians will never bother us again! Of course, I know that this situation is not my own credit, and it is inseparable from the hard work of your ancestors. I will definitely redouble my efforts and never ruin such a magnificent foundation! The ancestors lived in heaven, so please be sure to give them protection and bless me to prosper forever from generation to generation! "
if you knock your head and burn incense, then you should burn incense to each ancestor separately. Take a deep breath. Before Kang Wang stood up and came to the memorial tablet in Zhou Wenwang, he took three incense sticks from the servant and closed his eyes again.
"Great-grandfather, thank you for paving the way for me to win the world. If it weren't for your diligence and love for the people, the Zhou clan would not have developed to compete with the Shang Dynasty! Future generations will always remember what you have done. Please continue to bless my prosperity for generations! "
... followed by Zhou Wuwang, "
Grandpa, thank you for your courage and determination to lead your people to overthrow the violent Zhou. If it weren't for you, I'm afraid the whole world would still be tortured under the rule of the heartless Shang Dynasty. How could there be such a scene of living and working in peace and contentment? Future generations will always be grateful to you! "
... Before Zhou Chengwang memorial tablet, Kang Wang couldn't help it any longer, and his eyes were wet. After all, his great-grandfather and grandfather didn't have direct contact, but his father watched him grow up!
"Father, I didn't lose your face. I always take you as the standard, and I think I have loved my country and people as much as you. The laws and regulations you formulated are still highly praised by me today. Although the penalty has never been used, it is also a disproof of its role. If you didn't dare to formulate rules to manage the country, punish the evil people and play a deterrent role, it would never be so peaceful today. Father's adult, I will always remember your teachings, and also educate my future generations to make me stronger from generation to generation! "
After the ceremony of offering sacrifices to the Lord, the fate of the Western Zhou Dynasty did not stop, but it did not prosper forever as Zhou Chengwang expected. After all, wise kings do not come out every generation!
there are ups and downs, and there are ups and downs.
A dynasty not only has virtuous princes, but also has bad princes. This Zhou Chengwang is naive, thinking that future generations will make great efforts as he and his previous generations, and continue the prosperous times they created forever. However, he didn't expect that his descendants would be the black sheep like Zhou Liwang and Zhou Youwang, which made the family business miserable! In fact, before Zhou Liwang ascended the throne, the Western Zhou Dynasty was already in a state of weakness. Compared with the vassals, foreign troubles and foreign invasion had seriously threatened the fate of Da Zhou. This Zhou Liwang is unreasonable, thinking that the voices of the nobles dissatisfied with the people's complaints can be quelled by violence.
There are two fatuous things he did in his life: First, he appointed treacherous officials as ministers, adopted a patent policy, and levied taxes on princes and people for various reasons, which made people's lives miserable; The second is to adopt a high-handed policy, restrict people's freedom of speech, send special personnel to monitor, and kill anyone who expresses dissatisfaction immediately.
All these have aggravated various domestic contradictions and laid the groundwork for the tragedy after the Western Zhou Dynasty. There are two famous sayings left by Zhou Liwang. One is that the people complain about the hard folk song "Shuo Shuo Shuo, I have no food.". At the age of three, I am willing to take care of you. "If you die, you will be in a happy place." The second is Zhao Gong's advice to King Li: "It's better to guard against the mouth of the people than against Sichuan". There is only one result in this way, that is, the people broke out in a "Chinese uprising", and Zhou Liwang was ousted from office and exiled to Bi, where he was finally allowed to die tragically.
Zhou Chengwang, like
Zhou Liwang, is very fatuous, but he still missed his grandson Zhou Youwang by a big margin, so that even the title of the king of national subjugation, the extreme of fatuous monarch, was taken away by his grandson. Not many people know Zhou Liwang, but Zhou Youwang is well known. Just look at this fame and you will know who is more confused between the two generations. Zhou Youwang is the famous stupid man who lost the world by laughing for Bomei people in history! From the Xia Dynasty to the Shang Dynasty to the Western Zhou Dynasty, from my sister's happiness to da ji's praise, it seems that every monarch who perished in the country was a lecherous.
In fact, it's not their own fault. It's really wrong to blame women alone. It is natural to think that this compliment doesn't like to laugh. It was the Youwang who came up with a trick to make her laugh by lighting the beacon tower. Zhou Youwang, who regarded the country as a child's play, didn't order him to do so. It was really wrong for her to put the crime of national subjugation on the compliment.
compared with Shang Zhou in Xia Jie, Zhou Youwang is really the worst. Although they are both fatuous kings of national subjugation, Xia Jie and Shang Zhou are at least very talented themselves, and at best they are arrogant. After experiencing glory, they become proud, indulge, covet enjoyment and beauty, neglect state affairs and lose their country. Only this King You, who has no talent, is born a black sheep, and is greedy for pleasure. If he doesn't have enough money, he will increase taxes, and he will desperately exploit the princes and the people, causing dissatisfaction from all over the world.
Even though Xia Jie Shang Zhou dotes on concubines, he only satisfies their material needs, and uses the money from exploitation to build palaces and wine pools for them. He will never make fun of princes like a fool, and exchange all the people who are eager for the savior for a beautiful smile! In the end, it was also besieged. No matter how much, there were always people around Xia Jie Shang Zhou who sincerely protected them and tried their best to protect them. Only this King You lost the trust of all the governors, and no one came to rescue them. You Wang suffered a crushing defeat, even without the cunning to escape like Xia Jie, not to mention the courage to commit suicide like Shang Zhou. He was killed alive by the invading dog Rong, and his favorite concubine was taken away. What a loser, a stupid man who is rare in a thousand years. If the Western Zhou Dynasty didn't worship in his hand, it was impossible to find the second man!
After such a robbery, the Zhou Dynasty never recovered. When the son of King Youwang succeeded to the throne Ping Wang, the governors no longer paid attention to the Zhou Dynasty, but on the surface, they still regarded Zhou Tianzi as the king. The frequency of foreign invasions has greatly increased, and the heavy cities of the Zhou Dynasty have been harassed and looted, and the people's lives have been miserable, and they have already wailed. Zhou Pingwang had no choice but to move the capital away and move to Luoyi in the east. From then on, the Western Zhou Dynasty ended and the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, in which the governors competed for hegemony, began!
Zhou Liwang is like a virtuous minister and a notorious treacherous court official.
Besides kings, history will never forget those virtuous ministers and notorious treacherous court officials. For the Western Zhou Dynasty, we talked about kings, and we should also count the good ministers. Here, only the three most representative heroes of the Western Zhou Dynasty are listed.
In the early Western Zhou Dynasty, the most famous sage should be Jiang Xiang, that is, Jiang Taigong mentioned in "Jiang Taigong fishing, whoever wishes to take the bait"! Jiang Shang is a typical success in his later years. It was not until he was seventy or eighty years old that he was recognized by Zhou Wenwang, who made him a Buddhist and showed his talents. From King Wen to King Wu, Jiang Shang sincerely assisted two generations of kings and taught them how to govern and how to hold power. It can be said that Jiang Shang was the perfect combination of the behind-the-scenes manipulator and the front-curtain implementer in the Zhou Dynasty, and he was definitely the most important founding father of the Zhou Dynasty. Their status is similar to that of Yi Yin, the founding father of Shang Dynasty, so people are used to calling them "Yi Lu". In addition, Jiang Taigong has made great achievements in many fields, such as military affairs. He is regarded as a family figure by Confucianism, Taoism, France, and the military, and is known as a "hundred masters".
Jiang Taigong fished
However, in the history of the Western Zhou Dynasty, there was someone else who was regarded as the most loyal sage, and he was Zhou Gongdan. Zhou Gongdan is the son of Zhou Wenwang and the younger brother of Zhou Wuwang. Regardless of whether he devoted himself to assisting his brother in cutting Zhou during the period of King Wu, just seeing his sincerity in becoming a king is enough to make him spread through the ages.
When Cheng Wang succeeded to the throne, he was still young, and the old headquarters of Shang Dynasty actively planned the restoration. The young Zhou Dynasty encountered the first crisis, and the Duke of Zhou personally took power to manage the political affairs for Cheng Wang for the sake of the country. Unexpectedly, Guan Shu and others misunderstood that he was trying to seek power and usurp the throne. Guan Shu and others joined forces with Wu Geng, the son of Shang Zhou, to rebel against the Duke of Zhou. It took the Duke of Zhou several years to finally put down the rebellion and keep the Zhou family in the world. When the king grew up, the Duke of Zhou returned the political power to the king and still assisted him. Who knows that Cheng Wang listened to rumors, doubted the sincerity of the Duke of Zhou, wanted to kill him, and forced him to flee to other places. However, instead of hating the king, Zhou Gongdan always missed his body, and heard that he was in good health. He also cut off his nails and threw them into the river, praying to the river god to transfer all the pain of becoming a king to himself. This kind of heartfelt recognition really touched the world. Finally, the misunderstanding was cleared up, and King Cheng personally took Duke Zhou back, treated him with courtesy, and even buried him next to King Wen's grave after his death. Duke Zhou's sincerity finally got the greatest affirmation!
Zhou Gongdan
Similar to Duke Zhou, there is Zhao Gongxuan, who is also the younger brother of King Wu. Zhao Gong also contributed to King Wu's attack on Zhou. After the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty, Zhao Gong didn't stay in the capital of the Zhou Dynasty to assist the king like the Duke of Zhou, but he was in the center of Yan's earth in Zhou, supported the Duke of Zhou's regency, and helped the Duke of Zhou to quell the chaos of Wuyi's uncle. In fact, he was also doing his best to keep the Zhou room in the world. On the other hand, he made great efforts in his fief and won the love of the local nobles. In fact, he also contributed to social stability!
Duke Zhou and Zhao Gong not only sincerely loved their country, but their descendants also adhered to the teachings of their ancestors and loved their country and people. After Zhou Liwang, the bad king, was exiled, the rebellious people even spared the son of King Li. It was Zhao Gong at that time who replaced Zhou Xuanwang with his own son. The country can't have no owner for a day. At this time, after consulting with Zhao Gong, the Duke of Zhou decided to be in power with * * *, which is known as "Zhou Zhao * * * and". * * * and the first year, namely 841 BC, it was from this year that the history of China began to have a clear and continuous chronology. When Xuanwang grew up, Duke Zhou and Zhao Gong returned the political power to Xuanwang and assisted him to revitalize Zhoushi. The Western Zhou Dynasty is inseparable from these loyal ministers, and history will never forget them!
the combination of horizontal and vertical
the political system of the western Zhou dynasty is mainly manifested in two complementary systems, namely the enfeoffment system and the patriarchal clan system. This political system was originally created by the Zhou Dynasty and ran through the whole development process of the Zhou Dynasty. It was this system that promoted the development and prosperity of the Western Zhou Dynasty, and it also led to the decline of the Western Zhou Dynasty. Even later, it was the inevitable result of the implementation of this system.
The founder of the enfeoffment system was Zhou Wuwang, the founding monarch of the Zhou Dynasty. After the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty, in order to consolidate the royal power, treat the brothers with the same surname, appease the ancient emperors, avoid their rebellion, reward the founding heroes and other reasons, it was decided to divide the territory into various vassal States, which were awarded to the people with the same surname, the former emperors and the founding heroes respectively. All these vassal States should obey the rule of the Zhou Dynasty and respect the Zhou Emperor as king, but they can enjoy privileges in their own vassal countries and govern independently. The enfeoffment system was not only used in the period of King Wu, but also ran through the whole Western Zhou Dynasty, and the number of vassal states was also increasing in the later generations. Especially in the period of Duke Zhou's regency and Chengkang, in order to concentrate the kingship, the emperor raised the people with the same surname in order to support the Duke Zhou and resist foreign aggression.
The enfeoffment system was an important measure to consolidate the rule of the Western Zhou Dynasty. It not only ensured the dominant position of the Zhou Emperor, but also satisfied the desire and pursuit of rights of the slave owners and nobles, and stabilized the social situation to some extent. At the same time, the princes devoted themselves to the development of their vassal States, and the prosperity of small countries also promoted the prosperity of big countries. It can be said that the prosperity in the early Zhou Dynasty was the credit of this feudal system.
this system is based on the consanguinity of clans, and combined with the national system, which not only maintains the hereditary rule of the royal family, but also solves the distribution of rights among the same clan. Its basic principle is "to establish a position based on seniority rather than virtue, and to establish a position based on nobility rather than seniority."
enfeoffment mapping
Under the patriarchal clan system, from the big country to the small family, the rights and status are distributed by "large" and "small". Specifically, for the whole country, the emperor of the Zhou Dynasty was a "big one", and his eldest son succeeded him as a "son", while the common sons and brothers were divided into princes and regarded as a "small one". In a single vassal country, the vassal himself is a "big", and the eldest son who inherits his position is regarded as a "son", while the illegitimate son and the ordinary brother are divided into Qing or doctor, which is regarded as a "small".
In the family of Qing or doctor, it is also distributed according to this, forming a political affiliation. The aristocrats with different surnames were brought into the patriarchal clan system through marriage. In this way, a strict hierarchical system was formed throughout the country, with the monarch of the Zhou Dynasty as the core and the vassal States with different blood relations as the periphery. If the enfeoffment system determines the hierarchical order between the nobles of the central country and the vassal countries horizontally, then the patriarchal clan system is to distribute the rights layer by layer based on the traditional concept of the clan from a vertical perspective, thus making the hierarchical system among the nobles stable.
patriarchal clan system
Conclusion:
As the ruling foundation of the Zhou Dynasty, enfeoffment system and patriarchal clan system have their advantages, such as ensuring the unity and rule of the Zhou Dynasty in the early stage and making the Zhou Dynasty prosperous and developing. However, with the continuous reproduction of human beings, contradictions have gradually emerged. With the passing down from generation to generation, the blood relationship between the Zhou royal family and the vassal States became more and more.