In Xi, Shaanxi, artists made a large bronze sculpture with the legendary Zhou Muwang as the main character. Zhou Muwang was the fifth emperor of the Western Zhou Dynasty. Mu Zhuan, unearthed in the Taikang period of the Western Jin Dynasty, is still a very important ancient document, although it is mixed with a lot of grotesque legends, and has been copied by later generations to this day. The legendary story of Zhou Muwang's visit to the Queen Mother of the West and Zhou Muwang's voyage to the West described in the book has become a hot topic for artists of all ages.
After several generations' management, the Western Zhou Dynasty reached its peak during the Zhou Muwang period, under the control of the Western Zhou Dynasty, reaching the sea in the east, Liaoning in the north, Gansu in the west and Jianghan Basin in the south. The etiquette system of the country has been finalized, the whole social order is stable and the national strength is strong. As the monarch who ruled for the longest time in the Western Zhou Dynasty, Zhou Muwang conquered and marched around, showing the martial arts and strength of the dynasty. However, it was under this prosperity that the crisis of the dynasty gradually emerged, and its root was obviously related to Zhou Muwang's conquest of the northwest tribe Rongdi.
Helan Mountain is located at the junction of Ningxia and Inner Mongolia. Helan Mountain area is rich in aquatic plants, and it has been a paradise for nomadic people who live on aquatic plants since ancient times. As early as 3000 years ago, the Rong people lived their own lives here. During the Western Zhou Dynasty, the Rong nationality in the west, like the Di nationality in the north, was regarded as the most backward nationality in the Western Zhou Dynasty. According to some records in ancient documents, the Rongdi tribe lived in remote areas outside Kyushu for generations in the Zhou Dynasty. In fact, from the current archaeological discoveries, we can know that they live in a remote place. In northern Shaanxi, Shanxi, Hebei and other places, a large number of Rongdi cultural remains have been discovered.
According to scholars' research, there were dozens of nationalities such as Manchu, Yi, Rong and Di in the Western Zhou Dynasty, which were recorded in historical records. The relationship between the ethnic groups around the Central Plains and the Chinese nation is referred to as the relationship between Yi and Xia. The Western Zhou Dynasty is a powerful country, and many ethnic groups around it submit to the Zhou Dynasty. According to the regulations of the Zhou dynasty, they need to pay tribute to the Zhou royal family regularly. However, when I was in Zhou Muwang, this relationship faced great destruction. Zhou Muwang was overjoyed and planned to further control Dijon. He conquered Dijon and showed off his force in the name that the leader of Dijon failed to appear in front of Shanggong on time. This incident not only aroused the general resistance of the Rongdi tribe, but also attracted the attention of people of insight in the Zhou Dynasty. When Zhou Muwang went out to fight the dog, he tried to dissuade it by offering sacrifices and looking for his father. He thinks that the dog leader has done his duty, and according to the regulations of the Zhou Dynasty, he once appeared in front of the King of Zhou for life. Zhou Muwang's expedition is not only unreasonable, but also may directly lead to the danger of the Zhou Dynasty. Zhou Muwang didn't listen to advice, led the army to war, and embarked on a thankless road. If it fails, the Zhou Dynasty will suffer great humiliation, and even if it wins, it will only fall into an immoral reputation. The fact is that after spending a lot of military and material resources, Zhou Muwang only brought back four white wolves and four white deer, and the Rongdi tribe never offered sacrifices to the Zhou Dynasty, and cut off normal contacts with the Zhou Dynasty. The original friend became an enemy, and since then, Emperor Rong has been waiting for an opportunity to retaliate against the Zhou Dynasty.
Zhou Muwang ruled for 55 years, and he liked to hunt and conquer everywhere. Behind the apparent prosperity, all kinds of hidden dangers were buried for the Zhou royal family. After Zhou Muwang's death, Wang * *, Wang Yi, Wang Yi succeeded to the throne in turn, and they were called the four kings in the middle period. In the mid-term, the four kings can only fight by themselves. But Zhou Wang * * * once destroyed the secret country of Ji surname, and in the early years, he called the domestic governors to execute Qi Aigong. From these things, it can be seen that the Zhou royal family still has the highest authority within the Bangji, and its biggest disaster is the Rongdi in the northwest.
After Zhou Muwang's Western Expedition, the Rongdi tribe became stronger and invaded the Zhou Dynasty. The situation that Emperor Rong invaded China appeared, which made Zhou people feel bitter. What's more, with the passage of time, the hidden dangers that are more lethal than external disasters are constantly strengthening, and there is a crisis within the Zhou Dynasty. Through the feudal system and patriarchal clan system, the Western Zhou established the pattern of feudal relatives supporting Zhou, and with the assistance of local governors, the Zhou royal family realized control over a vast dynasty. However, the enfeoffment system in the Western Zhou Dynasty is a double-edged sword, which gives governors a high degree of autonomy. Governors have their own independent administrative and military powers in vassal States, and it is easy to develop their own strength. On the one hand, the strengthening of vassal power can provide more powerful protection for the royal family in the Western Zhou Dynasty; On the other hand, due to the lack of strong supervision measures, with the strengthening of the vassal power, their centrifugal force is getting bigger and bigger. Although Zhou people said that their dynasty was the land of kings, under the system of enfeoffment, the area that the royal family could directly control next week was only concentrated in Haojing, Zhou Zong, and Luoyi, Chengdu, which was called the small area of Wang Ji. However, in this small area, the control of the Zhou royal family is also weakening.
During the period of 1975, four bronzes were unearthed in dongjiacun, Qishan County, Shaanxi Province. Their owner was a nobleman named Qiu Wei in the middle of the Western Zhou Dynasty. Among them, the bronze ware named Wu Siweiding is a treasure of Shaanxi History Museum, and its inscription describes the equivalent land exchange between Qiu Wei and Jun Li, a noble country. The other three bronzes are now in Baoji Bronze Museum, and their inscriptions also describe Qiu Wei's land transactions with noble giants and generals. The land transaction between nobles meant that the Zhou royal family weakened its control over the land. During the Zhou Dynasty, the land directly controlled by the royal family was distributed to royal ministers according to the principle of enfeoffment. When a piece of land is given to a minister, it is out of the control of the royal family and controlled by that minister.
From the inscriptions of the Western Zhou Dynasty, it can be found that in the early Western Zhou Dynasty, the king of Zhou often gave a complete piece of land to his deputies, who often had separate place names, while in the middle and late Western Zhou Dynasty, only piecemeal land was given. This phenomenon shows that with the sharing of land, there is less and less land that the royal family can directly control. After the mid-Western Zhou Dynasty, the royal land has become very scattered, so we can only continue to give land in a piecemeal manner. The land belonging to the king of Zhou continued to be granted, and the scale of royal property continued to decrease, and the phenomenon of poverty and weakness gradually appeared, which affected the strength and status of the dynasty.
In the Western Zhou Dynasty, while implementing the enfeoffment system, the patriarchal clan system was implemented, and the political cohesion of Zhou Wang was enhanced by using the blood clan system. However, with the increase of generations, the blood relationship between local governors and the royal family has been weakening, and the relationship between monarch and minister linked by patriarchal clan system has also been weakening. Fortunately, the etiquette system formulated by Duke Zhou has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. If the Zhou royal family can continue to maintain its courtesy and loyalty, then in any case, the monarchs of various vassal States dare not disobey the orders of the Zhou royal family. However, can the Zhou royal family maintain its supreme status and etiquette?
After more than 200 years of rule, the Western Zhou regime began to enter a chaotic situation, and its ninth-generation son of heaven only relied on the support of governors to seize power from his late uncle Zhou. Because of this, Zhou Yiwang can't afford to put on airs in front of governors. According to the etiquette of the Zhou Dynasty, the king of Zhou was not allowed to meet the princes who made pilgrimages, but when he arrived in Zhou Yiwang, he began to meet the princes in the lower hall, which was regarded by later generations as the beginning of disrespect for the King of Zhou. After Zhou Yiwang's death, his son Zhou Liwang succeeded to the throne. The new monarch rebelled against his father's weak image. He is strong-willed and determined to change his father's political predicament at all costs and re-establish the authority of the Zhou royal family. So can this harsh king do it?
For 3,000 years, various stories about Zhou Liwang have been circulated in Xi, Shaanxi Province, and have evolved into drama forms and entered the stage. In the eyes of ordinary people, Zhou Liwang has always appeared as a negative image. He is a famous tyrant in history because of his perverse behavior, cruel means, rampant cronies and exploitation of the people. Rong was appointed to implement the patent policy, and the advantage of patent is that the forest land dedicated to the royal family is spread, and it is reiterated that the forest land of Chuanze belongs to the royal family. This policy simply and rudely monopolized the hegemony of the former people of China for the royal family, directly infringed on the interests of the people of China at that time, and caused their complaints. With the increasing contradictions, Zhou Liwang has implemented the most dictatorial and powerful control, and implemented the ubiquitous terror monitoring policy throughout the country. Anyone who gossips and complains will be executed immediately. From then on, China people were afraid to speak again, and everyone was afraid. When Zhou Liwang saw that no one raised any objections, he felt very proud and thought that he had made the Zhou regime the most powerful. However, in the abnormal silence, the most terrible resistance is brewing.
Zhou Liwang's policies not only violated the interests of ordinary people, but also deeply violated the interests of the nobility. In 84 1 BC, the unbearable Zhou people launched a riot, rushed into the palace and killed them. King Li fled at the news. No one took him in all the way, so he had to cross the Yellow River eastward and escape to Kuidi, which is located in Huozhou, Shanxi. In this way, Zhou Liwang, who had been in power for 37 years, withdrew from the historical stage. He originally wanted to revitalize the declining Zhou royal family with the iron-blooded policy, but unexpectedly he pushed himself into a corner and lived in seclusion for fourteen years, unknown. He watched the royal family of Zhou weaken until he died of depression.
According to Records of Historical Records, the rioters expelled Zhou Liwang and executed the Prince of Zhou Liwang. In an emergency, Zhao Gong replaced the Prince with his own son, so that the Prince could survive. In the violent turmoil, the Zhou Dynasty once lost its supreme sovereignty. Who filled the power vacuum of Zhou royal family? There are two theories in history. One is minister Zhao Gong and Zhou Gongzhi, that is, * * * and administration. 84 BC1year, the year when the exact year in history began is called * * * and the first year. For * * * and administration, the bamboo book unearthed together with Mu Zhuan provides another statement, that is, after fleeing, a vassal named * * * Bohe went to the central government to take photos. There are similar statements in the documents of the Warring States Period, Zhuangzi, Lu Chunqiu and the newly discovered bamboo slips in Tsinghua. Unfortunately, these statements are not supported by enough evidence. There is no * * * and date in the existing bronze inscriptions. Bronze inscriptions in the Western Zhou Dynasty have always been marked by the Year of the King, and the truth about * * * and administration is still a mystery. But no matter what the truth of * * * and administration is, it is an indisputable fact that * * * and kingship were in a vacuum during the fourteen years. The kingship of the Western Zhou Dynasty suffered a heavy blow until Zhou Liwang died of Quidditch. King Jing ascended the throne for Zhou Xuanwang. According to legend, Zhou Xuanwang loved cockfighting all his life. However, due to the rough childhood, Zhou Xuanwang didn't play with things, but made great efforts to revive his platform. He used to effectively mobilize all kinds of forces, first relying on Qin people attached to the Zhou Dynasty to resist Rong Di, then accumulating strength, and Zhou Xuanwang went to war himself, which finally forced Rong Di to go away.
In Zhou Xuanwang's later foreign wars, he was defeated by Chiang Kai-shek's army and the split of South China. After repeated failures, Zhou Xuanwang had to register the population in Taiyuan. During the Western Zhou Dynasty, military and agriculture were integrated. Zhou people cultivated and trained on time at ordinary times, became soldiers in wartime, and were incorporated into the army to fight. However, under the feudal system of the Western Zhou Dynasty, the troops belonging to the King of Zhou could only be released by the people on the land directly controlled by the royal family. In the past, the royal family controlled a lot of land and the people had rich military resources. The kings of the Zhou Dynasty did not count the total number of households, but in the late Western Zhou Dynasty, there were too few people controlled by the royal family. After the death of Nanshi, Zhou Jun was short of troops, so Wang Xuan broke the ancestral law and registered the total number of people he controlled to supplement his troops. In the eyes of the ministers of the dynasty, this move is a sign of weakness and weakness to the princes, and they will lose their relatives. Zhou Xuanwang finally didn't listen to the ministers' advice, because the weak army had made it impossible for him to continue to show up.
The Lord of ZTE was unable to stop the decline of the royal family in his later years. In Wang Xuan's later years, a terrible rumor spread in Wang Ji. It is said that Sang Mu's bow and quiver with a basket of wood disappeared in the Zhou Dynasty. The rumor reached the ears of Wang Xuan, who ordered the killing of a couple who sold these two things. The image of the decline of the royal family is increasingly exposed, and the anxiety in the dynasty has surged. A few nursery rhymes scared the shit out of Zhou Zhi Zun Wang.
In 78 1 BC, Zhou Xuanwang's son Zhou Youwang ascended the throne, and many people had high hopes for the new monarch. However, the continuous outbreak of major natural disasters made the Zhou Dynasty worse. In the second year of West Zhou Youwang, a major earthquake occurred in Guanzhong area, Qishan collapsed, qi zhou and Haojing were shaken, and the water mirror, Weishui and Luoshui were cut off. Zhou people described this serious natural disaster as follows:' The electric shock of foliage makes you restless, John Wan boils, landslides and ground fissures, and the high shore is a valley and the deep valley is a mausoleum'. In the eyes of people like Zhou, if there is no progress, there is no such consciousness at all. On the contrary, he has all kinds of bad habits of the monarch. He trusted sycophants, abandoned saints and neglected state affairs. He put aside the minister's advice and focused on how to make his beloved concubine happy. Praise is to praise the beauty of the country. When Zhou Youwang attacked and praised the United States, he praised the United States to beg for surrender. Wang You fell in love at first sight and immediately became the princess of Zhougong. In Zhou Youwang for four years, Zaphod gave birth to a son for Zhou Youwang, and Zhou Youwang loved her even more, satisfying all Zaphod's preferences at all costs. According to legend, Bao Si has a special hobby, and likes to listen to the sound of tears, so Zhou Youwang ordered people to bring silk to Bao Si's bedroom and told powerful maids to tear it to Bao Si every day. Praise has never laughed since he entered the palace. In order to win a smile, Zhou Youwang took great pains and was willing to do the most ridiculous thing at all costs. Thus, the most classic story of national subjugation in history-the bonfire drama princes, is about to be staged.
The beacon tower site of the Western Zhou Dynasty is located at the highest peak of Xixiuling, Lishan Mountain, Lintong District, Xi City, Shaanxi Province, with an altitude of nearly 1,000 meters. Its north and south were important traffic arteries leading to the capital in the Western Zhou Dynasty. Beacon tower is an important military defense facility in ancient China, which was built to prevent the invasion of powerful enemies. In order to ensure the safety of the kingdom, the army has the strictest regulations, which can only be ignited when foreign enemies invade. In case of enemy situation, smoke during the day, light up at night and pick up the station to transmit information. If the number of invading enemy soldiers is small, generally less than 1000, signal; If it exceeds 1000 people, it is necessary to raise two beacons; If there are too many visitors, it is necessary to raise three beacons, indicating that the situation is urgent; If the enemy is already in danger from home, these three fires will be closed and dispersed again after being lit at the same time, indicating the most urgent moment. Today's beacon towers have lost their original military functions. In 1980s, local people rebuilt a hollow beacon tower on the basis of the site for tourists to visit. Just three thousand years ago, Zhou Youwang regarded the beacon tower as a place to play, which made it lose its original function. In order to win a smile, Zhou Youwang ordered people to light the beacon tower, which could only be lit when foreign enemies invaded. There is a stove mouth at the bottom of the beacon tower, where lighting firewood and wolf dung will form fireworks at the top of the platform. Burning smoke with wolf dung has the characteristics of solitary smoke going straight into the sky and the wind blowing obliquely. If there is an emergency in Kyoto, as long as one beacon tower burns and smokes, the other beacon towers can't delay for a moment, and the alarm can be quickly spread to the distance. According to the law of the Zhou Dynasty, when the princes saw the fireworks, they must immediately lead their troops to the capital. When the guests arrived at the foot of Lishan Mountain, they saw the drums and music, and Qi Weiwang was having fun on it. They asked the king how his border was and where the enemy was. Zhou Youwang said, no feelings, we are just having fun. The princes looked at each other angrily and returned in confusion. I was so happy to see this scene that I suddenly burst out laughing. Zhou Youwang was very happy when he saw the princess smile, and then he lit several bonfires. The warlord knew that he had been cheated and slowly stopped coming.
Even more absurd things have been staged, and an important escape has taken place in the Zhou Palace, which will completely shake the foundation of the country and directly determine the ultimate fate of the Zhou Dynasty. In order to make Bao Si happy, Zhou Youwang deposed the queen and the prince. After the queen and the prince fled from the palace, Zhou Youwang still stuck to his guns. In order to make Bao Si's son have no future trouble, Zhou Youwang completely forgot that the prince was his own son and decided to destroy the prince who fled to Shen Guo. Shen Hou is the daughter of Shen Guo's monarch Shen Hou, and the prince is Shen Hou's grandson. Zhou Youwang forced Shen Hou to hand over the prince. This incident finally made Shen Hou, who was loyal to the Zhou royal family, the biggest enemy. In 77 1 year BC, Shen Hou not only joined Zeng Guo, but also joined the northwest dog Rong tribe to attack the Western Zhou Dynasty on a large scale. The remnant Rong tribe has been waiting for such an opportunity. They launched the most powerful attack, and soon Enemy at the Gates and Zhou Youwang were in danger. He quickly ordered people to light bonfires. However, Zhou Youwang, who completely violated his promise to the vassal, did not wait for any rescue, and the dog was rampant. They killed Zhou Youwang at the foot of Mount Li, destroyed the ancestral temple palace in Haojiang, and left with beautiful praise and a lot of trophies. The panicked aristocrats of the Western Zhou Dynasty hastily buried their etiquette and fled their homes, and the prosperous Western Zhou Dynasty perished.
A broken object can be reassembled and repaired, but it is completely impossible to repair a broken Western Zhou Dynasty. In 770 BC, Zhou Pingwang, who ascended the throne, moved to Luoyi under the escort of Zheng Wugong, Jin Wengong and Qin Xianggong, and established the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. Zhou Zong's nobles went with him. Before he left, Zhou Pingwang made the active escort a vassal, and the land granted was the ancestral home of Zhou Dynasty occupied by Dog Rong. Zhou Pingwang promised that if Qin could get rid of the dog, it would get its land. The wandering Zhou royal family could not come up with real land to seal the princes. At this time, the ancestral temple palace in Zhou Zong was destroyed and devastated. It was not until twenty-one years later that the ancestral temple was recovered from the dog Rong.
Another successful escort has always maintained a close relationship with the Zhou royal family. My father is my younger brother and was sent to Zheng. Zheng borders on Wang Ji of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. When the dog Rong invaded the Western Zhou Dynasty, he died in battle, and the Zhou royal family regarded Zheng as the most important subordinate. However, as the strength of both sides changes, the relationship between them is also changing quietly. He and his son, also known as the three princes of Zheng, were the princes who relied most on the Zhou royal family in the early Eastern Zhou Dynasty.
Chemakeng Museum of Zheng State in Henan Province is the graveyard of Zheng and his family in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, and xinzheng city is the seat of Zheng State in the Spring and Autumn Period. Over the past half century, more than 3,000 tombs of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty have been discovered in xinzheng city, including 8 large and medium-sized chariots and horses pits/kloc-0. Among them, Jiuding Baquan, the most important cultural relic unearthed from Gong Zheng's tomb, is a symbol of the kingship of the Zhou Dynasty. In addition, a large number of weapons have been unearthed in the tomb, which means that with the strengthening of strength, the relationship between Zheng and Zhou royal family has undergone tremendous changes, from close obedience to competition for power and status. After Zhou Pingwang's death, Zheng Zhuanggong's power expanded rapidly, but the strength of Zhou Wang was still weakening. After becoming powerful, Zheng Zhuanggong tried to challenge the authority of the King of Zhou, and the friction between the two sides continued. After Zhou Wang, his grandson, ascended the throne, he was deprived of his power, so he no longer appeared before the emperor. The angry Zhou Wang led troops to crusade against Zheng. In 707 BC, two armies fought in a city of Zheng. In the war, the allied forces led by King Zhou were defeated, and King Huan of Zhou was wounded in the shoulder by Zhu Kun, Minister of Zheng. From then on, Zhou Wang never dared to wage war again. Since then, Zhou Wang's control is limited to the surrounding areas of Luoyi, and vassal states no longer pay tribute to Zhou Wang regularly. The income of the Zhou royal family is decreasing day by day, and they have to ask the princes for cars and food frequently, losing their previous dignity. From the number and grade of standard boxes of funerary objects in Gong Zheng's tomb, it can be seen that the strength of many vassal states at that time was superior to that of Zhou Wang, and the transgression of etiquette also generally appeared in funeral customs.
As the sun sets, Zhou Wang's era is coming to an end, and the mountains in the setting sun show majestic posture, and the era of heroes coming forth in large numbers and competing with each other is coming to the fore. During this period, the Zhou Dynasty experienced nearly 300 years, and finally moved from its peak to fragmentation. In the next era still called Zhou, the glory of the past has become an eternal memory. In the reluctant maintenance, Zhou Wang's figure has actually drifted away, gradually becoming the dependence of wolves, and finally becoming the vague background of the hegemony of princes. However, the splendor of the royal family of the Zhou Dynasty, especially the etiquette system of the Zhou Dynasty, had a far-reaching influence in the history of China. When Confucius praised me strongly and said that I followed Zhou, the spirit of advocating etiquette and justice in Zhou Dynasty was revived. In the process of inheritance and development, it illuminates a broad road with distinctive national characteristics for the ancient history of China.