Of the 800 vassal states divided into the Western Zhou Dynasty, how small was the smallest?In the distant Western Zhou Dynasty, the number of feudal vassal states was amazing. However, among these many countries is a small country called the Zunguo, which is negligible in size and population.
The state of Yan, located in the northern part of present-day Linyi City, Shandong Province, was almost ignored at the time. So, just how small is this country?
According to historical records, in the eighteenth year of Lu Zhaogong, the monarch of the Yan State personally inspected the rice fields, but was unexpectedly attacked by the people of the Yi State. Due to the sparse population of the state of Yan, the monarch was captured by all the ** team in this incident and became a veritable commander of the light pole. This story reveals the smallness and fragility of the kingdom, and also gives us a deeper understanding of the strife of that era.
What's even more amazing is that the State of Yi that destroyed the State of Yan was only a vassal state of the State of Lu. And Lu was not a big country at that time. This kind of strife and war between small countries, like a contest between ants and sesame seeds, was played out almost every day in those days. However, this incident caused the Song state to intervene because it involved the background of the Lady of the Song State, which eventually led to the restoration of the State of Yan. This in turn gives us a deeper understanding of the intricate web of relationships of that era.
Although there is no clear record in history, according to the speculation of the Lü Spring and Autumn Period, more than 800 of the more than 400 countries divided by the Western Zhou Dynasty were serving countries. After more than 500 years of wars for hegemony and annexation, the exact number of these ancient kingdoms has become an eternal unknown.
After the discovery of the tomb of Zeng Marquis Yi in Suizhou, Hubei Province in 1978, people's understanding of Zeng Guo gradually deepened. This country, while not necessarily the smallest in the Western Zhou Dynasty, is certainly a very small one. By contrast, the state of Teng was much smaller, measuring only 50 li and about 25 kilometers in length, and was about the size of the modern Haidian district of Beijing, but its population and army numbers are not verifiable.
However, both Teng and Yan were real "states" in the Western Zhou Dynasty, and due to the extremely backward productivity at that time, these small states could only make ends meet within their own territories. This is also the fundamental reason for the emergence of the concept of "Chinese savages".
Therefore, it is reasonable to speculate that in that era the smallest vassal state may have been a small settlement of villages and towns, estimated to be only two or three thousand people at most. This is comparable to the population of a large village in present-day Henan Province.
Overall, the vassal states of the Western Zhou Dynasty are a colorful picture, with both large and powerful states and small and fragile settlements of villages and towns. These countries have witnessed the vicissitudes of an era, and have also given us a more comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the history of that period. Guest, what do you think?