Eastern Zhou Dynasty

Eastern Zhou Dynasty

The Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770-256 BC), a dynasty in Chinese history. After the collapse of the Western Zhou Dynasty, the princes established Yijiu, the prince who had been abolished, as king of the Zhou Dynasty, and moved eastward to Luoyi (now Luoyang, Henan Province), known as the Eastern Zhou Dynasty.

In the first half of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, the princes vied for hegemony, which is called the spring and Autumn period; in 453 BC, after the three families of Han, Zhao and Wei joined hands to destroy the Zhi family, the three families divided into Jin Dynasties, and the princes fought against each other, which is called the Warring States period.

After King Ping of Zhou moved to the East, his jurisdiction was greatly reduced, just like a small country. There were more than 140 vassal states in the spring and Autumn period. The princes attacked and merged with each other. The emperor could not bear the responsibility of being a common Lord, and often had to turn to some powerful princes for help. In this case, the powerful princes regarded themselves as the overlord, and the Central Plains princes united to defend themselves against the invasion of the four barbarians with the slogan of "respecting the king and fighting against the barbarians".

In the 17th year of King Xiang of Zhou Dynasty (635 BC), there was a rebellion of giving birth to children. King Xiang of Zhou Dynasty could not be pacified. He asked for help from Duke Wen of Jin Dynasty. Duke Wen killed Uncle Dai, so he got into the river for Bo Er. In the 20th year of King Xiang of Zhou Dynasty (632 BC), King Xiang was forced by Duke Wen of Jin Dynasty to practice the local alliance in Heyang.

When the king of Zhou was examined, the power of the state became weaker and weaker, which was divided into the Eastern Zhou state and the Western Zhou state.

In the eighth year of King Nan of Zhou Dynasty (307 BC), the state of Qin attacked South Korea through the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. Both sides of the Zhou people did not dare to offend and were in a dilemma. The Eastern Zhou state and the Western Zhou state were located among the powerful countries. Instead of working together, they attacked and killed each other. In the 59th year of King Nan of Zhou Dynasty (256 BC), the state of Western Zhou was destroyed by the state of Qin. In the same year, King Nan of Zhou died and Zhou died. Seven years later, the Eastern Zhou state was also destroyed by Qin.

There were 25 kings in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, which lasted for 515 years. This period was a period of drastic changes in China's social system, marked by the widespread use of iron.

National name

In 770 B.C., King Ping of Zhou Dynasty moved his capital Luoyi (now Luoyang, Henan Province) to the East, and the name of the state was still Luoyi

week

Because the former Zhou Dynasty was all in the west of Luoyi, the Zhou Dynasty before King Zhouping was called the Western Zhou Dynasty, and the Zhou Dynasty after King Zhouping was called the Western Zhou Dynasty

Eastern Zhou Dynasty

.

history

Pingwang moved eastward

See:

Pingwang moved eastward

After the death of king you of Zhou, Prince Yi Jiu ascended the throne, which is king Ping of Zhou. In 770 BC, King Ping of Zhou Dynasty moved eastward under the protection of the states of Zheng, Qin and Jin, and established the capital of Luoyi (now Luoyang, Henan Province). After King Ping of Zhou moved eastward, the western land was occupied by the state of Qin. It annexed some of the surrounding Rong tribes or countries and became a western power. In today's Shanxi, the state of Jin in Shandong, the state of Qi and Lu in Shandong, the state of Chu in Hubei, the state of Yan in Beijing and northern Hebei, and the state of Wu and Yue in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, they all became powerful after annexing some small countries around them. Thus, the fierce competition for hegemony among big powers began.

After the death of king you of Zhou, marquis Shen, marquis Lu and Duke Wen of Xu supported the former crown prince Yijiu to ascend the throne as king Ping of Zhou. At the same time, Duke Han of Guo also supported the prince Ji Yuchen as king, which was called carrying king. There was a situation of "two kings standing side by side" in the Zhou royal family. King Ping was supported by Zheng, Jin, Qin, Wei and other vassal states, and was regarded as the orthodoxy of the Zhou royal family, while King Dai was relatively isolated. In 760 BC, marquis Wen of Jin helped King Ping of Zhou to attack and kill the king, and the Zhou royal family was unified by King Ping of Zhou Ji Yijiu.

falling of ceremony

After King Ping of Zhou moved to the East, the state of Zheng actively served the royal family of Zhou. While solving the internal contradictions of the state of Zheng, Duke Zhuang of Zheng actively expanded his army and opened up his territory, as if he were a small bully, which aroused the dissatisfaction of King Ping of Zhou. In 719 BC, King Ping of Zhou died and King Huan of Zhou ascended the throne. King Huan did not trust Zheng Zhuang Gong, so he replaced Zhuang Gong with Guo Gong Ji Fu. Dissatisfied with this, Zheng Zhuang Gong no longer made a pilgrimage to King Huan of Zhou. At that time, Wang Gang had fallen, and Zheng zhuanggong set a precedent for not following the etiquette and law. The royal family of Zhou exchanged hostages with Zheng State, that is, "Zhou Zheng Jiaozhi", and the authority of the emperor was destroyed. In autumn, King Huan of Zhou led Zhou army and the army of Chen, Cai, Guo and Wei to attack Zheng. When the Zhou army was defeated, General Zhu Xuan of the state of Zheng shot an arrow on the shoulder of King Huan of Zhou, which completely destroyed the prestige of the emperor of Zhou.

It was stipulated in the Zhou Dynasty that when the princes died, their sons, after succeeding to the throne and ruling the funeral, must rush to the capital to accept the canonization of the emperor of Zhou in order to obtain their legal status. In the eighth year of King Huan of Zhou Dynasty (712 BC), Duke Huan of Lu murdered his Brother Duke Yin of Lu, and he became king by himself. He did not ask King Huan of Zhou for canonization. From then on, the system of conferring princes by the emperor of Zhou was destroyed.

In the Western Zhou Dynasty (around 913 BC), the state of Chu was once called king. Later, because of the fear of the emperor of Zhou, the king's name was removed. In 704 BC, Chu became king for the second time. Xiong Tong, King Wu of Chu, defeated the state of Sui, and let the state of Sui intercede in front of King Huan of Zhou, making the state of Chu king. King Huan of Zhou disagreed. Xiong Tong became King Wu of Chu. King Wu of Chu was the first to break the enfeoffment system of Zhou rites. After the annexation of the state of Chu, the state of Chu was set up as a county, and a county administrative organ directly under the king of Chu was established.

Five Hegemons

See:

the Spring and Autumn period

、

Five Hegemons

The spring and Autumn period, referred to as the spring and Autumn period, from 770 BC to 453 BC (on the other hand, from 770 BC to 403 BC), is a period of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. In the spring and Autumn period, the emperor's power weakened, and the princes were in dispute. Duke Huan of Qi, Duke Wen of Jin, Duke Xiang of song, Duke mu of Qin, and King Zhuang of Chu were in power one after another. (first, Duke Huan of Qi, Duke Wen of Jin, King Zhuang of Chu, King Helu of Wu, and King Gou Jian of Yue). The spring and Autumn period was followed by the Warring States period.

The spring and Autumn period got its name because Confucius revised the spring and Autumn Annals. This book records the history from 722 BC to 481 BC. For the sake of convenience, modern scholars generally call it the "spring and Autumn Period" from the founding of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty in the first year of King Zhou Ping (770 BC) to the 43rd year of King Zhou Jing (477 BC).

According to historical records, in the spring and Autumn period of 242 years, 43 monarchs were killed by their subordinates or enemy states, 52 vassal states were destroyed, more than 480 wars were fought, and more than 450 princes were appointed to the court and leagues.

In 685 BC, Duke Huan of Qi succeeded to the throne, took Guan Zhong as the prime minister, implemented political reform, abolished the minefield system, determined taxes according to the fertility of the land, set up salt and iron officials and cast money, increased financial revenue, incorporated troops into agriculture, integrated grass-roots administrative organizations and military organizations, increased the source of troops and combat capacity, and quickly became the most prosperous and powerful country in China. And then it started

“

Respect the king and fight against the foreigners

”

Many times, he met the vassals, helped or interfered with other countries, and fought against the barbarians. In the 21st year of King Hui of Zhou Dynasty (656 BC), Duke Huan of Qi led the Allied forces of eight vassal states, Chen Bing "barbarians" on the border of Chu, asking why Chu did not pay tribute to the royal family of Zhou, forcing Chu to sign the alliance of Zhaoling and become the first of the five tyrants in the spring and Autumn period. Since then, Duke Huan of Qi established the system of alliance overlord.

See:

The battle of song Chuhong

After the death of Duke Huan of Qi, the five princes seized the throne, and the civil strife continued. It is said that the five sons of Duke Huan of Qi fought against each other, and the arrow was shot at the body of Duke Huan of Qi, but no one took care of it. The rise of Chu in the south, claiming to be the king, destroyed several small countries in the north, and then pointed the spearhead at the Central Plains. Song Xianggong tried to follow the example of Duke Huan of Qi, in the name of resisting the attack of Chu state, and once again assembled the princes to become the overlord, but the strength and prestige of Song state were not enough. In 638 BC, the song and Chu armies fought in Hongshui. When the Chu army crossed the river, song Xianggong was advised by Ma Ziyu, the Chief Secretary of Song Dynasty, to "strike half way". Song Xiang said that it was inhumane and unjust to attack when the enemy crossed the river. After the Chu army crossed the river, Zi Yu suggested to attack when the Chu army was in chaos. Song Xianggong once again refused on the ground of inhumanity and unjustness. The Chu army launched an attack after the formation. The song army was defeated. Song Xianggong was shot in the thigh and died of serious injuries the next year.

In the state of Jin in the north, they lived in the same clan as Zhou. During the Xiangong period, the state of Jin expanded in all directions, and its territory and national strength increased greatly. However, offering the public favor and trusting his concubine, abolishing his wife and establishing his youth led to a great chaos in the state affairs. In 636 BC, Chong'er, the son of Duke Xian of Jin, was escorted by the army sent by Duke mu of Qin. He inherited the throne of Jin and served as Duke Wen of Jin. He reformed the politics, developed the economy, reorganized the army and trained the military, won the people's trust, stabilized the royal family, and was friendly to the Qin State (Qin Jin's good friend). He had a high prestige among the princes. In the 20th year of King Xiang of Zhou Dynasty (633 BC), the Chu army surrounded Shangqiu, the capital of Song Dynasty. At the beginning of the next year, Jin Wengong led his troops to save Song Dynasty, defeated Chu army in the battle of Chengpu, and then allied with Yu jiantu to become the overlord of Central Plains.

See:

Qin dominates Xirong

After the death of Duke Wen of Jin, the alliance of Qin and Jin was disintegrated, and Duke mu of Qin sought to develop to the East, which was blocked by Jin. In 627 B.C., the whole army of Qin and Jin Dynasty was defeated, and general Meng Ming was captured. He was defeated again in the battle of pengya the next year. Although there were victories later, he could not challenge Jin's position in the Central Plains. Instead, he turned to the West and annexed some Rongdi tribes, and dominated Xirong.

After the Chengpu war, the state of Chu developed eastward and destroyed many small countries, reaching Yunnan in the South and the Yellow River in the north. After conquering Lu hunrong, Chen Bing asked the envoys of King Zhou Ding about the size of Jiuding, a national treasure symbolizing state power, in order to destroy Zhou Zili, which is the origin of the word "JINGDING". In the 10th year of King Ding of Zhou Dynasty (597 BC), Chu and Jin met to fight in Ying (the battle of Ying), which greatly defeated Jin. In 594 B.C., Chu surrounded Song Dynasty. Song Dynasty was eager for Jin Dynasty, but Jin Dynasty could not be saved. Song Dynasty made peace with Chu and respected Chu. At that time, all countries in the Central Plains, except Jin, Qi and Lu, respected King Zhuang of Chu as the overlord.

See:

Jin Chu war for hegemony

、

The alliance of Chinese soldiers

The continuous wars between the two great powers of Jin and Chu brought great disasters to the people, and also caused the boredom of small and medium-sized countries

Chinese PinYin : Dong Zhou