A Spring and Autumn Jin Chu hegemony
Understand the Jin Chu hegemony in one go! Why is it said that half of the history of the Spring and Autumn Period is about the struggle for hegemony between Jin and Chu?
The history of the Spring and Autumn Period is complicated, but if you want to pick out one of the most important themes, it is undoubtedly the "Jin and Chu Struggle for Hegemony". This is a drama that has lasted for hundreds of years, in which countless heroes and heroes have appeared and performed a magnificent historical picture. So, why do we say that half of the history of the Spring and Autumn Period is about the struggle for hegemony between Jin and Chu?
The Jin State and the Chu State, these two countries were like the two overlords of the Spring and Autumn Period, and their struggles continued throughout the Spring and Autumn Period. Located in the Yellow River Valley, the Jin Kingdom is a country with a long history and profound cultural accumulation. The state of Chu, on the other hand, is located in the Yangtze River basin and is an emerging and powerful state. The struggle between these two countries is like the confluence of the Yellow River and the Yangtze River, forming a unique landscape.
The beginning of the struggle for hegemony between Jin and Chu began with the battle of Chengpu between Duke Wen of Jin and King Cheng of Chu. This war was a head-to-head duel between the Jin and Chu countries, and it was also an important battle in the Spring and Autumn Period.
Duke Wen of Jin showed great military talent in this war, and he skillfully exploited the weaknesses of the Chu army to achieve the final victory in the war. This battle not only established the hegemony of the Jin State in the Central Plains, but also opened the prelude to the struggle for hegemony between Jin and Chu.
In the decades that followed, the Jin and Chu states fought fiercely. They are constantly expanding their territory and encroaching on each other's spheres of influence. In this process, many outstanding politicians and military strategists emerged in both the Jin and Chu states. For example, Zhao Dun and Xun Yan of the Jin State, Wu Zixu and Qu Wan of the Chu State, etc., they are all influential figures of this era and have made great achievements for their respective motherlands.
The climax of the struggle for hegemony between Jin and Chu appeared in the period of King Chu Zhuang. During the reign of King Zhuang of Chu, the state of Chu rose rapidly to become a powerful state that could compete with the Jin state.
During the reign of King Chu Zhuang, the pace of Chu expansion was extremely large, and more than 40 small countries were destroyed successively. Even the Jin Kingdom suffered defeat at the hands of King Chuzhuang. However, the overlord of King Chu Zhuang did not sit firmly, and his sudden death caused the state of Chu to fall into civil strife, thus losing the opportunity to compete for hegemony with the Jin state.
At this time, the Jin Kingdom ushered in a Ming monarch - Jin Jinggong. During the reign of Duke Jing of Jin, the Jin State reunited those small states that had been conquered by the Chu State and once again engaged in fierce battles with the Chu State. After a series of efforts, the Jin State finally succeeded in curbing the northward march of the Chu State, making the Chu State fall into strategic passivity.
However, the Jin Kingdom did not rest on its laurels. They realized that in order to defeat the state of Chu once and for all, they needed to find a strong ally. As a result, the Jin State set its sights on an emerging country in the south, the State of Wu. With the support of the Jin state, the state of Wu rose rapidly and became a major threat to the state of Chu. The alliance between Jin and Wu put Chu in an unprecedented predicament.
During the period of the Jin Mourning Dynasty, the relationship between the Jin State and the Wu State reached an unprecedented height. For the first time, they held a meeting at the monarchial level and jointly formulated a strategic plan for the state of Chu.
In the decades that followed, the Jin and Wu states launched fierce attacks on the Chu state from both north and south. Under this double pressure, the state of Chu gradually collapsed, and the strategic space was compressed step by step.
However, just when the Jin Kingdom was about to achieve victory, internal problems arose. The power struggle within the Jin State intensified, and several Qing Dafu families fought with each other, which eventually led to the ** of the Jin State. The ** of the Jin State made the Chu State able to breathe, and it no longer had the ability to compete for hegemony in the Jin State.
After that, the Jin and Chu states reached a reconciliation, and the two sides agreed to divide the hegemony equally, and the other vassal states were required to pay tribute to the Jin and Chu states. This result marked the end of the Jin and Chu hegemony and also heralded the end of the Spring and Autumn Period.
The Jin and Chu hegemony was one of the most important events in the Spring and Autumn Period. It ran through the Spring and Autumn Period, influencing the political, economic, cultural and many other aspects of the Central Plains. It is precisely because of the existence of the Jin and Chu hegemony that the history of the Spring and Autumn Period has become more colorful, and it also enables us to better understand the historical changes of that era.
Author: Wang Gongjian.