The rise of the Zhou Dynasty in the feudal state

Mondo History Updated on 2024-02-01

The Rise of the Week.

Zhou was once a state of Fang under the rule of the Shang Dynasty, and legend has it that he was a descendant of Emperor Yu (a descendant of the Yellow Emperor) and belonged to the family surnamed Ji. By the time of Yu Xia, his ancestors abandoned and settled in Tai (southwest of Wugong County, Shaanxi). Zhou Qi inherited and developed the experience of planting "100 grains and 100 vegetables", which was called "Houji". By the end of the Xia Dynasty, the ruling power of the Xia Dynasty was weakened, and the nomadic tribes in the northwest continued to invade the south, which seriously affected the production and life of the Zhou people, and they were forced to move north to the upper reaches of Jingshui. Zhou went through several generations, around the beginning of the Shang Dynasty, Gongliu Zaifeng (northeast of Bin County, Shaanxi), expanded cultivated land, renovated farmland, and the population gradually prospered. The force was gradually expanded, and the range of activities was constantly expanded. They waded through Weishui to mine ore, improve production tools and **. From the seven or eight generations of Gongliu to the Gao and Ya Yuan eras, it was about around the time of the Shang king Wuding, and the Zhou had developed into a great state in Yinxi.

In the period of the ancient father, he moved from the south to the yang of Qishan, that is, the so-called "Zhou Yuan", where he built a city and managed the fields, which soon made Qizhou present a prosperous scene. Prosperity means that the population is large and wealthy, which leads to an increase in the number of soldiers, good military equipment, and naturally stronger military power. The Chaoyi and Xirong tribes scattered in the northwest area of Qishan were defeated and fled; Some small states in the vicinity have also surrendered. After the king, he was succeeded by his youngest son Ji Li, that is, "Wang Ji". Wang Ji launched an attack on the Zhurong tribes in the northwest, and successively achieved great victories, becoming a powerful country in the west.

The rapid development of the power of the Zhou people exacerbated the contradictions with the Shang Dynasty. After Shang King Wending killed Ji Li, Ji Li's son Chang succeeded him as King Wen of Zhou (the author of the famous Book of Changes, the author can't understand the Book of Changes). During the reign of King Wen of Zhou, after expanding the territory in the west, he made every effort to develop to the east. King Wen of Zhou first established Biyi (Beihan, Xianyang, Shaanxi) between Jing and Wei, and then crossed the Weishui River to destroy the pro-Shang Chongguo (east of Huxian County, Shaanxi). Soon, Fengyi was established on the west bank of Fengshui, and the capital was moved here from Qizhou. The Guanzhong Plain is all owned by Zhou, known as "Xibo". According to the Zhou people, many small states in the central plain and the Hedong region (Shanxi region) were annexed one after another. From then on, the Zhou people went out of Henan and Hanoi along the east of the river, directly threatening the Yin capital. The power of the Zhou people reached between the Jianghuai in the east, Jianghan in the south, and Bashu in the southwest, and most of the states and tribes in the south were subordinated to the Zhou. This has formed a semi-encirclement situation for the Shang Dynasty.

Zhou ostensibly remained subservient to the Shang dynasty, but the conflict between the Zhou and Shang intensified, and the Shang king imprisoned King Wen of Zhou for a time. Later, because the Shang Dynasty wanted to deal with Dongyi with all its might, in order to stabilize the rear, he was released again. After the death of King Wen of Zhou, Zifa succeeded to the throne as King Wu, at this time, the Shang Dynasty was in internal and external difficulties, and the situation of the Shang Dynasty and the king of the world had been formed. In the ninth year of King Wu, the princes of the General Assembly held a ceremony to swear in Mengjin and King Wu of Zhou. From then on, many princes obeyed Zhou's command. Less than two years after the Mengjin Meeting, King Wu of Zhou raised troops to attack merchants. He personally led 300 chariots, 3,000 tigers, 45,000 armor soldiers, as well as the armies of the princes in various places and many southern tribal armies. The army crossed the river from Mengjin and marched east along the river. The first month reached the Yin suburb of Muye, and after the battle of Muye, the Shang was destroyed, and the year was about 1057 BC. In April of the same year, he returned to Hojing and officially established the Zhou Dynasty.

The map of the Battle of Makino, the main river in the map is the Yellow River, and the modern place names are marked in parentheses.

Imagination of the Battle of Makino. The main force of the Shang Dynasty army fought in the Dongyi region, far from Chaoge, and the rapidly advancing coalition army under the command of King Wu of Zhou caught King Zhou by surprise and forced him to put together a large army of the Shang Dynasty with slaves and prisoners of war, hoping to deter and scare away or defeat King Wu of Zhou, however, such a miracle did not happen, and the expected thing happened, the so-called Shang Dynasty army that was temporarily patched together was quickly defeated, and then the slaves and prisoners of war turned against each other. King Su was a heroic figure, but he made a mistake in strategic judgment and did not realize the great threat of King Wu of Zhou's power, and threw the main force into the war with Dongyi.

Related Pages