1.Background
Since 745 B.C., the Marquis of Zhao of Jin conferred the city of Quwo (now Wenxi, Shanxi) to his uncle Chengshi (i.e., Uncle Quwohuan), and then the civil war of the Jin Dynasty lasted for nearly 70 years. During this time, the small clan replaced the large clan and eventually became the ruler of the Jin state. In order to avoid the growing strength of other clans and the possibility of becoming a threat to their power, the subsequent Jin Xiangong took the opportunity to send troops and killed most of the children of the clans, resulting in the absence of clans within the Jin Kingdom. Later, through the "Liji Rebellion", the Duke of Wen of Jin, who was forced to go into exile, succeeded to the throne as the monarch of the Jin State. When he was in exile, he was accompanied by Hu Yan, Zhao Yuan, Jia Tuo, Xianzhen, and Wei Li, who assisted Duke Wen of Jin to restore the country and helped him establish a hegemony. These five people are therefore known as the "Five Sages".
Zhao Yu won the respect of Jin Wengong, and after Jin Wengong succeeded to the throne, he established a three-army system, which was divided into the middle army, the upper army, and the lower army. Each army had a general and a deputy, and Duke Wen of Jin appointed Zhao Yuan as secretary. They were jointly responsible for the military and political affairs of the Jin Kingdom. At first, most of the generals and deputies of the Chinese army were held by these five or their descendants, in other words, they were not members of the Jin clan. Among the six secretaries of the Jin State, they used to take turns in power, but there were internal contradictions. During the reign of Jin Ping, Liuqing was monopolized by the Zhao, Han, Wei, Zhi, Fan, and Zhongxing clans. Later, with the loss of power of the Fan family and the Bank of China, the six Qings became the four Qings. The Zhi clan was later destroyed by the Zhao clan, the Han clan, and the Wei clan, and finally the three big Qing clans carved up the Jin state.
2.Ranked sixth
The ancestor of the Zhao family is the father, and his descendants are uncles, who led their descendants to move to the Jin Kingdom in the era of Marquis Wen of Jin, which is called "going to Zhou Rujin, Zhao surnamed Shichang". The Zhao family is one of the most prominent among the six secretaries of the Jin Kingdom, and the first suzerain of the Zhao family and the founder of the real rise of the Zhao family is Zhao Yuan. When Chong'er fled to Zhai due to the Liji Rebellion, Zhao Yu always followed him, in addition to taking care of him in life, he also helped him get out of danger many times. Zhao Yu accompanied Chong'er into exile for nineteen years until he finally returned to the Jin Kingdom. After Chong'er arrived in Zhai Kingdom, Zhai Jun got two women - Ji Kui and Shu Kui. He married the young Ji Kui to Chong'er, and the older uncle Kui married Zhao Yuan, and the two had Zhao Dun. Jin Wengong was able to return to the land and establish the hegemony, among which Zhao Yuan's wisdom and wisdom can not be ignored, for which Jin Wengong also gave his daughter Zhao Ji to Zhao Yuan as his wife, and gave birth to Zhao Tong, Zhao Kuo, Zhao Yingqi three sons.
While in exile, Chong'er married several clan women in the Qin state, including Huai Ying, the biological daughter of Qin Mugong. Life in Qin was happier than exile, which made Chong'er, who lived in happiness, reluctant to return to China. Zhao Yu recited the poem "Miao" at a banquet, so that Qin Mugong understood that Chong'er longed to return to the Jin Kingdom as soon as possible. After returning to China, Chong'er became the monarch of the Jin State, that is, the Duke of Wen of Jin, and Zhao Yuan, who was both a friend of trouble and a brother-in-law, naturally became a doctor and was in charge of state affairs. As an important advisor and advisor to the Jin State, Zhao Yu continued to provide support and think tank advice to the Jin Wengong to jointly help the political and military affairs of the Jin State. He played an important role in the political arena of the Jin Kingdom and made important contributions to the successful development of the hegemony of the Duke of Jin and the stability of the country.
3.Zhao Dun was in power
In 621 BC, the Duke of Xiang of Jin died, and he ordered the young Yi Gao to succeed him as king. However, Yi Gao's young age sparked a power struggle within the Jin Kingdom. Zhao Dun supported Gongzi Yong (son of Duke Wen of Jin and Du Qi), who served in the state of Qin, while Hu Shugu supported Gongzi Le (son of Duke Wen of Jin and Chen Huan). Zhao Dun thinks that Gongzile's mother has a personal affair to blame her son, while Gongziyong's mother loves her son and is filial. In addition, Gongzi Yong had a close relationship with the Qin state. Zhao Dun sent Xian Contempt and Scholars to Qin to pick up Gongzi Yong.
However, in the court, Mu Ying, the wife of Xianggong, hugged Yigao and cried, blaming Zhao Dun with the "order of the ancestors". Zhao Dun and the other ministers had to betray the original plan under the pressure of Mu Ying, and finally against Zhao Dun's wishes, they made Yi Gao the king, that is, the Linggong of the Jin State. This shows that the Zhao family at that time had the power to abolish the monarch in the Jin court. As time passed, Jin Linggong may have tried to kill Zhao Dun because of contradictions when he grew up. However, Zhao Dun escaped the fate of being killed many times. Jin Linggong has been described in history as a promiscuous monarch, which can also be seen in his actions.
Zhao Dun had no choice but to flee the Jin capital, but soon after, Zhao Dun's cousin Zhao Chuan assassinated Jin Linggong in the court. Zhao Dun then returned to the capital and set up his son Black Buttocks as the king, that is, Jin Chenggong. Taishi Dong Hushu recorded: "Zhao Dun killed his monarch Yigao. This incident may be beautified by later generations, but Zhao Dun, as a powerful minister, may send someone to kill the monarch in the power struggle, which does exist. Moreover, Confucius believed that Zhao Dun was a good official, and that he had suffered notoriety because of his etiquette, and that if he had been able to cross the border when he was on the run, he would not have borne the notoriety.
After Jin Chenggong Heibutt succeeded to the throne, Zhao Dun passed the position of the prince's doctor to Zhao Kuo. In the sixth year of Jin Chenggong (601 BC), Zhao Dun died, and his son Zhao Shuo's identity as Zhao Dun's descendant did not change, so Zhao Shuo soon became Qing. However, Zhao Shuo lived for a short time, dying in 597 BC. In the same year after his death, the event that changed the fate of the Zhao family - the difficulty of the lower palace happened.
4.The difficulty of going to the palace
According to the records of the Zhao family, after the reign of Jin Jinggong, who ascended the throne in 599 BC, appointed Tu Anjia as the secretary, he accused Zhao Dun of being responsible for the death of the Duke of Jin Ling. Tu Anjia did not ask for the consent of the monarch, and led the generals to attack the Zhao family's lower palace and killed Zhao Shuo. Zhao Kuo of the Great Sect and members of the other two small sects, Zhao Tong and Zhao Yingqi, also participated in the ** of Zhao Shuo's small sect and exterminated the family of Zhao Shuo's family, but this is the "difficulty of going to the palace". Only Zhao Shuo's wife, Zhuang Ji, was the sister of Jin Chenggong and escaped into the palace and survived. Zhuang Ji gave birth to her posthumous son Zhao Wu in the palace, and managed to let Zhao Wu escape Tu Anjia's search.
Fearing that Tu Anjia would search again, Zhao Shuo's disciple Gongsun Pestle discussed with Cheng Ying and asked Cheng Ying to report to Tu Anjia and let another baby replace Zhao Wu. Zhao Wu was raised by Cheng Ying until he was fifteen years old. Later, Han Ju informed Jin Jinggong of this matter. Jing Gong ordered, Zhao Wu and Cheng Ying thanked the generals together, and then counterattacked Tu'an Jia, and finally destroyed the Tu'an clan's clan and recaptured the Zhao family's farm and property. Zhao Shuo's widow, Zhao Wu, succeeded in restoring the reputation of the Zhao family fifteen years later, in the seventeenth year of the reign of King Jing of Jin (583 BC), with the assistance of Han Ju, and attacked Tu Anjia and exterminated his clan. Subsequently, Zhao Wu recovered the Tianyi that had previously belonged to the Zhao family.
5.Zhao's orphans
According to this version, the Yuan Dynasty dramatist Ji Junxiang created a drama "The Great Revenge of the Zhao Orphans", which refers to the "Zuo Chuan", Sima Qian's "Historical Records of the Zhao Family", and Liu Xiang's "New Preface" and "Shuo Yuan" and other historical materials, and finally presents the story of the Zhao orphans that we have realized now. The background of the story is set in the Spring and Autumn Period, depicting the conspiracy of the Zhao family, a nobleman of the Jin Kingdom, who suffered a traitorous retainer Tu Anjia, and the family suffered a tragic destruction, only the Zhao orphan Zhao Weichu survived, and when he grew up, he launched a heroic story of revenge for the family, and the play was also listed as one of the four major tragedies of the Yuan miscellaneous drama.
Zhao Dun was framed by the traitor Tu Anjia and wrongly accused of rebellion, resulting in the brutal annihilation of him and his entire family. Zhao Dun's son, Zhao Shuo, was originally the Linggong of the Jin Kingdom, but was forced to commit suicide by Tu'an Jia's false order. Before dying, Zhao Shuo instructed the princess that if she gave birth to a son, she would name him the Zhao orphan and let him grow up to avenge the whole family.
The princess entrusted the Zhao orphan to Cheng Ying, and then hanged herself. Tu Anjia sent his general Han Ju to guard the gate of the Horse Mansion in case someone took away the orphans of the Zhao family. Cheng Ying hid the orphan in the medicine box and took it out, but was discovered by Han Ju. But Han Ju couldn't bear to kill him, and finally chose to kill himself.
When Tu Anjia learned that the Zhao orphans had been rescued, he ordered that the orphans be handed over, otherwise all babies under the age of half a year would be killed. Cheng Ying and Gongsun Pestle discussed and decided to let Cheng Ying's son pretend to be an orphan of the Zhao family in exchange for the safety of the orphan. In the end, Cheng Ying pretended to be an orphan of the Zhao family, while Gongsun Pestle pretended to be an orphan of his son.
Cheng Ying reported to Tu Anjia that Gongsun Pestle was hiding the Zhao orphans. Tu Anjia tortured Gongsun Jiujiu and asked Cheng Ying to participate in the interrogation. Soldiers searched Gongsun's house, found the orphan in disguise, and put him to death, and Gongsun also chose to commit suicide. The orphan of the Zhao family was pretended to be his son by Cheng Ying, named Cheng Bo, and adopted by Tu Anjia as a righteous son, so he was also named Tu Cheng.
When the adult Zhao orphan learns his true identity, he is angry and sad, and is determined to take revenge on Tu Anjia for Cheng Ying and Gongsun Kijiu. The orphans of the Zhao family complained to the Jin State about the tragic experience of the family. By the order of Shangqing Wei Jiang, Tu'an Jia was exterminated, and the Zhao orphan was restored to the surname Zhao and renamed Zhao Wu.
As a pioneer of Chinese theatre, the first plays introduced to Europe were translated and adapted into various versions, and its story spread and gradually became well-known to international audiences. This version of the story became a typical impression of the Zhao orphans in our minds. Since then, this story has been continuously adapted into **, dramas, movies and other works of art, presenting many different forms and deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. The characterization in this work is really eye-catching. In the story, a group of positive characters are endowed with the noble qualities of not fearing power, daring to fight for justice, and even willing to defend their faith with their lives. Their character traits are vividly displayed in the development of the plot and the sharp and contradictory conflicts, which make people feel real and touching emotional resonance. In the face of the oppression and danger of Tu Anjia and other treacherous forces, these positive characters showed an unwavering stand of justice and heroic and fearless character.
However, according to the "Zuo Chuan", Zhao Shuo's wife Zhuang Ji had an illicit relationship with Zhao Shuo's uncle Zhao Yingqi after his death. This led to Zhao Yingqi being banished to the state of Qi by Zhao Shuo's brothers, Zhao Tong and Zhao Kuo. In 583 BC, Zhao Zhuangji, Luan Shu of Luan, Xun Qi and others slandered Zhao Tong and Zhao Kuo of Zhao Jing Gong of Jin, so the Jin State crusaded against Zhao, resulting in Zhao Tong and Zhao Kuo being killed. Han Ju, who had previously received Zhao Shuo's favor, advised Jin Jinggong (the one who fell into the toilet and drowned), saying that Zhao Yu and Zhao Dun needed to have an heir. As a result, the Jin Kingdom took Zhao Shuo's son Zhao Wu as the heir and returned the Zhao land. Zhao Wu is the legitimate heir of the Zhao family, and Han Ju also believes that Zhao Wu has the ability to maintain the inheritance of the Zhao family and revive the Zhao family's majesty. This version should be more in line with it, considering that the Zhao family later became a vassal state, it is inevitable that the real reason for the "difficulty of going to the palace" will be buried, so under the Spring and Autumn penmanship, the story of Tu Anjia framing Zhongliang is fictionalized, and this story ignores the real history under the effect of drama.
With the growth of the Zhao family, Jin Jinggong may feel threatened by the Zhao family, especially since Zhao Dun's sons are in important positions. The political antagonism between the Zhao clan and the other scholars in the Jin court further intensified the situation and gave the Jin Jinggong the idea of eliminating the Zhao clan's power. Jin Jinggong quickly purged the Zhao family, and the Zhao family's original power was completely eradicated, leaving only one orphan. In history, the experience of a similar Quwo Daiyi caused Jin Jinggong to be wary of the Zhao family. Although the Zhao clan was not a clan in the Jin court, as the monarch, Jin Jinggong may have to take measures to weaken the power of the Zhao family.
The Zhao family has always been a prominent family in the history of the Jin Kingdom, from the decline of Zhao to Zhao Shuo, and they have made significant contributions to the rise and development of the Jin Kingdom. As one of the five sages, Zhao Yu played an important role in the early days of the establishment of the Jin Kingdom. Later, Zhao Dun and others also played an important role in the Jin dynasty and made great contributions to the prosperity and development of the country. However, despite the merits of the Zhao family from generation to generation, they suffered the disaster of extermination in the era of Jin Jinggong. The demise of the Zhao clan was not only the result of Zhao Shuo's death, but also the overall weakening of the Zhao clan's power. This incident will certainly arouse people's deep concern and suspicion, because the Zhao clan has been an indispensable part of the country since the establishment of the Jin Kingdom. Although Jin Jinggong had returned the Zhao family's land as a sign of appeasement, this return may have only been a superficial practice, just to block the mouth of the Youyou, and the original power and prestige of the Zhao family have not been restored. After all, the ruling position and influence of the Zhao clan have been severely damaged, and it is difficult to restore it to its former glory.
6.Zhao Wu restored the Zhao family
Under the rule of Jin Jinggong, the original Liuqing was expanded to Baqing, and people, including Han Ju, were full of appreciation and expectations for Zhao Wu, especially Han Ju placed extremely high expectations on him, hoping that he could continue the great cause of Zhao's ancestors. Once the Zhao clan was killed, the one who benefited the most was the Sanhe family, which had as many as eight kings and three seats. In 574 BC, Duke Li of Jin eradicated the Sanhe family, and a year later, Luan Shu assassinated Duke Li and established him as a mourning duke. Mourning Gong was a decisive monarch who quickly deposed Luan Shu and promoted Han Ju to the rank of Zhengqing. After this, Mourning Gong promoted the meritorious hero, and Zhao Wu's opportunity finally came. Zhao Wu was promoted to secretary under the weight of mourning duke, and although he was at the bottom of the eight qing, this promotion marked his transition from the status of a doctor to the position of secretary. Zhao Wu made suggestions in the process of reviving the hegemony of the Jin Mourning Prince, and contributed to the re-emergence of the Jin Mourning Prince. In 560 BC, the Jin State Zhengqing Zhiwuzi and Yu Gongzi died one after another, and then Han Qi strongly recommended Zhao Wu to lead the army, and Mourning Gong promoted Zhao Wu, and promoted him to the new army commander in one fell swoop, and was promoted to the rank of general in a row, and even Han Qi was only his deputy.
Zhao Wu was only in his thirties, and he was already among the eight kings, and his future was bright, however, the Duke of Jin, who was planning to fight Qi, died suddenly. The sudden death of Duke Mourning marked the end of the heyday of the Jin Dynasty, and the successor monarch could not control the strength of the Liuqing, which also marked a major turning point in Zhao Wu's political career. Subsequently, the son of the Bank of China died, and Zhao Wu served as the general of the Chinese army, in charge of the government, while the Zhongjun Zuo was mainly responsible for external affairs. Zhao Wu worked tirelessly to maintain the stability of the Central Plains Alliance and suppress the forces in the Jingchu region. In 548 BC, Fan Xuanzi and Cheng Zheng died one after another, and Zhao Wu succeeded Fan Kuang as the general of Zhengqing. During this period, half a century has passed since Zhao Dun's death, and the "Difficulty in the Palace" incident has also gone through 35 years. During this period, Zhao Wu remained committed to stabilizing the domestic situation, maintaining influence in the Central Plains, and constantly responding to challenges from external forces. The Zhao family was restored to the glory of Zhao Dun's father and son again, and then the descendants of the Zhao family have been serving as the military general of Zhengqing in the Jin court, and he also laid a certain foundation for the three families to divide the Jin.
The Battle of Jinyang in 453 BC marked the successful elimination of the Zhi clan by the combined efforts of Han, Zhao, and Wei. Then, in 434 BC, after the death of the Duke of Jin Ai, the Han, Zhao, and Wei families divided the remaining territories of the Jin Kingdom, and only Jiang and Quwo were left to the Duke of Jin You. In 403 BC, Zhou Tianzi made Wei Si, Zhao Ji, and Han Qian princes, and the Marquis of Jin alongside. This means that with the efforts of several generations of the Zhao family, the Zhao family has been successfully promoted from a secretary to a vassal state and entered the political arena of the Warring States Period, which has more of their performance.
The rise and fall of the Zhao family is engraved in the history of the Jin Kingdom. Beginning with the exile of their ancestors with Duke Wen of Jin, they experienced a glorious rise and played an important role in helping the Jin state prosper. However, as time went on, the family faced internal and external challenges, as well as undercurrents of political struggles and power schemes. Although the Zhao family experienced the framing of Tu Anjia, the exile of Zhao Dun, and the revival of Zhao Wu, this historical story ended in war and chaos. The six kings of the Jin State fought endlessly, and the change of political power finally put the Zhao family in trouble. Their glorious history, as an indispensable part of the history of the Jin Kingdom, faced complete doom and decline during the time of the Jin Jinggong.
The final outcome of the Zhao family may not be complete in the historical record, however, the story they left behind became a typical representative of the political struggle and the rise and fall of the Jin family. This rich and colorful history has witnessed the glory and struggle of the family, and demonstrated their tenacity and wisdom in the political arena during the Spring and Autumn period. The fate of the Zhao family may have faded away in the long river of history, but the story they left behind is still shining in people's hearts and will always be remembered. (Network map invasion and deletion).