-The Hegemon of the Eastern Zhou dynasty, Duke Huan of Qi, was dead, so his five sons immediately began vying for power.
-This period of the Spring and Autumn Period of the Eastern Zhou dynasty is also known as "the Age of Encroachments" (643-546 BC).
-Marked by the further breakdown of the empire and the increasing power of its vassal states.
-Meanwhile, while the state of Chu was still kicking ass in the south, the state of Jin was on the rise in the northwest.
-The ruler of Jin during this time was Duke Xian, and he was able to expand the state's power and dominance by successfully conquering other smaller states as well as the lands of neighboring barbarian tribes.
-Duke Xian also consolidated power by executing many of his family members so that no one else in his family would try to usurp him. This also it would be almost guaranteed that only his own blood would be heirs to his position.
-This period is known as the "Li Ji Unrest" (657-651 BC).
-It was recorded that Duke Xian's concubine, Li Ji, wanted her son, Xiqi, to be heir, so she framed the crown prince Shengsheng by making it look like he had tried to poison his father, the duke. However, Shengsheng actually knew the truth about Li Ji, but he said that he didn't want to break his father's heart by telling him the truth (I guess Duke Xian must have really loved Li Ji), so he just decided to kill himself because he knew that if he tried to escape, it would make it seem like he was guilty.
-Li Ji then accused the duke's other sons, Chong'er (later will be Duke Wen of Jin) and Yiwu (later will be Duke Hui of Jin) of treason, so they fled elsewhere.
-Duke Xian died c. 651 BC, Xiqi took over the position as Duke of Jin.
-Xiqi, however, was still a teenager, so before he died Duke Xian entrusted the state to be run by Chancellor Xun Xi (he was a military officer before this).
-Unfortunately for Xiqi, he was assassinated by the General Li Ke, so Xun Xi replaced Xiqi with his baby brother Zhuozi.
-General Li Ke responded to this by having Duke Zhuozi AND Lady Li Ji (Zhuozi's aunt) assassinated; Chancellor Xun Xi then killed himself and Shao Ji (Zhuozi's mom and Li Ji's younger sister) was imprisoned.
-General Li Ke then invited Chong'er (who had been hiding out in the state of Qi) back to Jin to be the next duke.
-Of course, Chong'er didn't want to get involved in all of that drama, so he declined. Because of this, Li Ke invited Yiwu (who had been hiding in the state of Liang) to be the next duke, but unlike Chong'er, Yiwu accepted!
-So, Yiwu became Duke Hui of the state of Jin. Surprisingly, once Duke Hui consolidated power, he thanked General Li Ke by forcing him to commit suicide!
-Duke Hui soon faced some pretty serious challenges early on.
-There was a famine in the state of Qin, so they asked Duke Hui for help.
-Duke Hui rejected their plea for aid, which, of course, pissed off Qin so they invaded!
-During one of the battles Duke Hui was actually captured, but miraculously was able to avoid execution and was eventually returned home.
-Duke Hui died in 637 BC, replaced by his son, Duke Huai.
-When he was younger he had been sent to the state of Qin as a hostage (for whatever reason) and during that time he had married Huai Yang, the daughter of the Duke of Qin. Thus, it seems as if the powers of both Qin and Jin were combined, so they must have been quite powerful together.
-However, Mu, the duke of Qin, was pissed off that Duke Huai (formerly known as Prince Yu) had left Qin to become the duke of Jin, so he (Duke Mu) declared support for Chong'er to be duke instead of Duke Huai.
-Because of this, Duke Mu married five of his daughters (including Huai Yang!) to Chong'er, and so Chong'er came out of hiding (after 19 years!) and was able to usurp the throne (with the help of the state of Qin as well as two Jin generals), kill his brother (Duke Huai) and become duke himself.
-So, in 636 BC Chong'er became Duke Wen of Jin.
-Duke Wen immediately began introducing military and civil reforms and swallowing up neighboring states via conquest and diplomacy- it looks like some were directly annexed while others were made vassal states of Jin.
-Duke Wen even used his power to help reinstall the usurped Zhou dynasty King Xiang to the throne. We last left off in the chronologically of the Zhou kings with King Huan, so just to catch up:
-King Huan died in 697 BC, replaced by his son, King Zhuang.
-King Zhuang ruled until 682 BC, replaced by his son, King Xi.
-King Xi ruled until 677 BC, replaced by his son, King Hui.
-King Hui ruled until 652 BC, replaced by his son, King Xiang.
-King Xiang was usurped from his throne by his brother, Dai, but he was reinstalled by Duke Wen (see above).
-Anyway, so as Duke Wen was expanding Jin's power, the kingdom of Chu in the south began to challenge their influence via political alliances and betrayals before finally spilling over into battle between the two kingdoms themselves (as opposed to proxies) in 633 BC.
-This started because the the contemporary ruler of Chu, King Cheng, invaded the state of Song, which was allied with Jin.
-Duke Wen raised an army which included his own forces along with troops from the states of Qin, Qi, and, of course, Song to repel Chu. This huge force was necessary because Chu was allied with forces from the states of Chen, Cai, Shen, Xi, Wey, and Lu.
-Both allied forces finally clashed at the Battle of Chengpu in 632 BC. This was one of the biggest battles during the Spring and Autumn Period.
-The forces of Jin proved victorious, and because of this Duke Wen was confirmed as the next hegemon of the Zhou dynasty after pledging his state's loyalty to the throne.
-Of course, peace wouldn't last long, as Duke Wen died in 628 BC.
-Battles were constant between the petty states which were allied to the bigger states (Qin, Jin, Ju, etc.), as well as invasions back and forth between these bigger states/kingdoms. This would go on for like 50 years!
-Shit seemed to reach a crescendo when the armies of Chu finally crushed the armies of Jin at the Battle of Bi (near modern-day Xingyang, Henan Province) in 597 BC.
-This caused Jin to realize that unless they changed things up fast, they faced being conquered by Chu. So, they were able to persuade the state of Wu to start attacking Chu, which distracted the latter from attacking and conquering Jin.
-By 580 BC, Jin had secured an alliance with the power states of Qin and Qi in opposition to Chu.
-However, by 579 BC the state of Song had finally had enough and called these four major states/kingdoms together to agree to a ceasefire, which initially everyone agreed to but obviously didn't last long, and by 575 BC Jin and Chu were fighting again.
-Of course, this time Chu was overpowered by the allied forces.
-Anyway, by the 600-580s it was incredibly obvious that the Hegemon System had completely failed to keep everyone united after Duke Wen died. Also, people stopped giving less and less of a shit about the king.
-Also, during this time the cultures of the different states and kingdoms and "barbarians" were all mixing together. Other states (such as Wu) began declaring themselves sovereign kingdoms as well.
-561 BC- Wu began increasing in power, and around this time declared itself a sovereign kingdom as well (like Chu), with King Shoumeng as their first king.
-By c. 514 BC, Wu was doing very well under their new ruler, King Helu. However, it seems like the he was greatly aided in no small part by the genius generals Wu Zixu (AKA Wu Yun) and Sun Tzu (AKA Sun Zi, Sunzi, and others).
-Both of these dudes are really interesting, but Sun Tzu is the more well-known of the two of coruse since he wrote a little military treatise called "The Art of War". :D
-With both of these generals, King Helu absolutely crushed the state of Chu at the Battle of Boju (modern-day Macheng, Hubei Province).
-The state of Wu then conducted a full-on assault on Chu (along with help from the states of Cai and Tang). As a response, Chu tried desperately to enlist the help of the state of Qin in coming to Chu's defense. It actually worked too!
-By 505 BC, the state of Wu was repelled by the combined forces of Chu and Qin. It also didn't help that while King Helu had been gone from Wu, his son (also a general) Fulai, had returned back to Wu and declared himself king! So, the forces of Wu had to issue a full-scale retreat back home to quell the rebellion.
-Wu still had gained a lot of territory during this time, and Wu was now the most powerful kingdom of the region.
-Unfortunately, Wu's glory would not last long.
-Chu would make up for their humiliating military defeats by helping the upstart state of Yue (south of Wu) wage war against Wu, and Yue would actually conquer Wu in 473 BC!
-Of course, Chu would eventually conquer Yue about a century later...
Sunday, October 29, 2017
Monday, October 23, 2017
Eastern Zhou - Part I - The Shattered Empire
-This era is known as "the Spring and Autumn Period".
-A lot of the info we know about this period comes from the ancient Chinese chronicle "The Spring and Autumn Annals" ("Chunqiu").
-This was the official chronicle of the state of Lu (vassal state of the Zhou dynasty), allegedly compiled by the great Chinese philosopher Confucius (AKA Kongzi) c. 5th century BC.
-Covers c. 722-481 BC.
-The first king of "Eastern Zhou" (as opposed to Western Zhou, although it was all still technically the same "Zhou dynasty") was King Ping (son of King You), who had kindly been allowed to live by the rebel vassal lords who had taken out his dad.
-At this point, though, it was obvious that the throne had no real power, and the kingdom had actually shattered into over 100 different vassal states vying for dominance with no centralized power to keep them in check.
-Of course, some states were bigger than others, and by the end of this period the number of states would be reduced significantly.
-The most powerful of these states were:
-Jin (north)
-Chu (south)
-Qin (west)
-King Ping moved the capital to Luoyang (Henan Province) and ruled for about 50 years before croaking c. 720 BC. Replaced by his grandson, King Huan.
-Like his grandfather, King Huan would have problems with the state of Zheng (center of the kingdom) and especially with its ruler, Duke Zhuang (birth name Ji Wusheng ("Difficult Birth" haha).
-Duke Zhuang was born most likely upside-down (bottom first), so it was extremely painful for his mother, who ended up hating him and preferring her second son, Gongshu, over him. She even went so far as to get Gongshu (who was the lord of the city of Duan) to raise an army and rebel against his older brother.
-Gongshu did this, but when he attacked the capital (Xinheng), he fell into a trap. Duke Zhuang had put his main army outside of the city, so during Gongshu's siege Duke Zhuang was able to surround them!
-Thus, Gongshu took his own life, and Duke Zhuang had his mother imprisoned!
-Later, as Zheng grew in power, King Huan decided to have Duke Zhuang removed from his office as adviser to the king, which resulted in a deterioration of relations between the throne and Zheng.
-Thus, in 707 BC King Huan raised an army and marched to Zheng to punish the duke for his insolence, but his army obviously wasn't strong enough and so unsurprisingly they were defeated, with the king himself being wounded in battle.
-Not only did this severely damage the prestige and reputation of the crown, but it also bankrupted the royal government as well.
-King Huan died c. 697 BC, replaced by his son, King Zhuang.
-We don't know much about this dude except that he ruled for approximately 14 years before dying c. 682 BC.
-Next up was King Zhuang's son, King Xi. At this point, the power of the Zhou dynasty was a joke, as the real power was accumulating with Duke Huan of the state of Qi (see below)!
-Also, it's worth noting that in the south, the state of Chu had been on the rise!
-For a long time it was considered to be a backwater, semi-barbaric state.
-Thus, it was large and strong, but low-ranking.
-Because it was so obvious at this point that the Zhou dynasty was so weakened, the viscount of Chu declared himself King Wu of the new KINGDOM of Chu (not state), with the capital at Danyang (modern-day Nanyang, Henan Province).
-He began to pursue a course of aggressive expansion.
-One story involves his son, Qu Xiao, who was leading an attack against the state of Luo. However, his son was defeated so he (Qu Xiao) committed suicide out of shame, and although King Wu was obviously pissed of by this he excused all of his soldiers for their incompetence (although he did amputate each of their right feet!).
-The kingdom of Chu would actually survive for another 400 years (!) before being swallowed up by the Qin dynasty.
-Because of Chu's aggressive expansion, this actually helped the Zhou dynasty continue to limp along due to its vassal states banding together for fear of Chu invasion.
-During this time, in order to keep the Zhou dynasty's vassal lords united and organized, the Zhou dynasty initiated the "hegemon" system as a way of allocating power and authority.
-Traditionally there are five, but there could have been as many as seven:
-Duke Huan of Qi
-Duke Wen of Jin
-Duke Zhuang of Chu
-Duke Mu of Qin
-Duke Xiang of Song
-King Helu of Wu
-King Goujian of Yue
-Although the first hegemon, Duke Huan was the ruler of the state of Qi, it should be noted that the real brains of the operation was Qi's chancellor, Guan Zhong (also noted for being a proto-Legalist philosopher).
-Under the guidance of Guan Zhong, Qi began expanding rapidly, swallowing up as many as 35 other states!
-King Xi died c. 677 BC, replaced by his son, King Hui.
-Because of the state of Qi's numerous victories, King Hui pronounced Duke Huan hegemon of the Zhou dynasty.
-It wasn't smooth-sailing at the end of Duke Huan's life, however, because Guan Zhong had warned him of a conspiracy among his advisers to overthrow him.
-I guess Duke Huan either didn't act fast enough or didn't take it seriously, because in 643 BC he was imprisoned in his room, where he eventually starved to death!
-Worms were found crawling outside of his room because his corpse had been decaying for so long!
-Of course, because of the power vacuum left by the duke's death, his sons began fighting each other for control of the state of Qi.
-A lot of the info we know about this period comes from the ancient Chinese chronicle "The Spring and Autumn Annals" ("Chunqiu").
-This was the official chronicle of the state of Lu (vassal state of the Zhou dynasty), allegedly compiled by the great Chinese philosopher Confucius (AKA Kongzi) c. 5th century BC.
-Covers c. 722-481 BC.
-The first king of "Eastern Zhou" (as opposed to Western Zhou, although it was all still technically the same "Zhou dynasty") was King Ping (son of King You), who had kindly been allowed to live by the rebel vassal lords who had taken out his dad.
-At this point, though, it was obvious that the throne had no real power, and the kingdom had actually shattered into over 100 different vassal states vying for dominance with no centralized power to keep them in check.
-Of course, some states were bigger than others, and by the end of this period the number of states would be reduced significantly.
-The most powerful of these states were:
-Jin (north)
-Chu (south)
-Qin (west)
-King Ping moved the capital to Luoyang (Henan Province) and ruled for about 50 years before croaking c. 720 BC. Replaced by his grandson, King Huan.
-Like his grandfather, King Huan would have problems with the state of Zheng (center of the kingdom) and especially with its ruler, Duke Zhuang (birth name Ji Wusheng ("Difficult Birth" haha).
-Duke Zhuang was born most likely upside-down (bottom first), so it was extremely painful for his mother, who ended up hating him and preferring her second son, Gongshu, over him. She even went so far as to get Gongshu (who was the lord of the city of Duan) to raise an army and rebel against his older brother.
-Gongshu did this, but when he attacked the capital (Xinheng), he fell into a trap. Duke Zhuang had put his main army outside of the city, so during Gongshu's siege Duke Zhuang was able to surround them!
-Thus, Gongshu took his own life, and Duke Zhuang had his mother imprisoned!
-Later, as Zheng grew in power, King Huan decided to have Duke Zhuang removed from his office as adviser to the king, which resulted in a deterioration of relations between the throne and Zheng.
-Thus, in 707 BC King Huan raised an army and marched to Zheng to punish the duke for his insolence, but his army obviously wasn't strong enough and so unsurprisingly they were defeated, with the king himself being wounded in battle.
-Not only did this severely damage the prestige and reputation of the crown, but it also bankrupted the royal government as well.
-King Huan died c. 697 BC, replaced by his son, King Zhuang.
-We don't know much about this dude except that he ruled for approximately 14 years before dying c. 682 BC.
-Next up was King Zhuang's son, King Xi. At this point, the power of the Zhou dynasty was a joke, as the real power was accumulating with Duke Huan of the state of Qi (see below)!
-Also, it's worth noting that in the south, the state of Chu had been on the rise!
-For a long time it was considered to be a backwater, semi-barbaric state.
-Thus, it was large and strong, but low-ranking.
-Because it was so obvious at this point that the Zhou dynasty was so weakened, the viscount of Chu declared himself King Wu of the new KINGDOM of Chu (not state), with the capital at Danyang (modern-day Nanyang, Henan Province).
-He began to pursue a course of aggressive expansion.
-One story involves his son, Qu Xiao, who was leading an attack against the state of Luo. However, his son was defeated so he (Qu Xiao) committed suicide out of shame, and although King Wu was obviously pissed of by this he excused all of his soldiers for their incompetence (although he did amputate each of their right feet!).
-The kingdom of Chu would actually survive for another 400 years (!) before being swallowed up by the Qin dynasty.
-Because of Chu's aggressive expansion, this actually helped the Zhou dynasty continue to limp along due to its vassal states banding together for fear of Chu invasion.
-During this time, in order to keep the Zhou dynasty's vassal lords united and organized, the Zhou dynasty initiated the "hegemon" system as a way of allocating power and authority.
-Traditionally there are five, but there could have been as many as seven:
-Duke Huan of Qi
-Duke Wen of Jin
-Duke Zhuang of Chu
-Duke Mu of Qin
-Duke Xiang of Song
-King Helu of Wu
-King Goujian of Yue
-Although the first hegemon, Duke Huan was the ruler of the state of Qi, it should be noted that the real brains of the operation was Qi's chancellor, Guan Zhong (also noted for being a proto-Legalist philosopher).
-Under the guidance of Guan Zhong, Qi began expanding rapidly, swallowing up as many as 35 other states!
-King Xi died c. 677 BC, replaced by his son, King Hui.
-Because of the state of Qi's numerous victories, King Hui pronounced Duke Huan hegemon of the Zhou dynasty.
-It wasn't smooth-sailing at the end of Duke Huan's life, however, because Guan Zhong had warned him of a conspiracy among his advisers to overthrow him.
-I guess Duke Huan either didn't act fast enough or didn't take it seriously, because in 643 BC he was imprisoned in his room, where he eventually starved to death!
-Worms were found crawling outside of his room because his corpse had been decaying for so long!
-Of course, because of the power vacuum left by the duke's death, his sons began fighting each other for control of the state of Qi.
Sunday, October 22, 2017
Western Zhou - Part II - The King Who Cried "Barbarian!"
-King Cheng died (c. 1020 BC (or 1005 BC)), so his son, King Kang (haha) was enthroned.
-Continued the Zhou dynasty's policy of aggressive expansion, especially to the west and the north.
-There was also a rebellion to the east (or west?), but it was quickly squashed.
-c. 996 BC (or 978 BC), King Kang died :(
-Next up was King Zhao, eldest son of King Kang.
-Continued the wars of expansion.
-Also began to experience trouble with the state of Chu (or Cho), located to the southwest of the kingdom.
-The Zhou dynasty was obviously more powerful, but Chu was rapidly growing in power so this naturally led to a power struggle.
-King Zhao invaded with his armies, but this was disastrous, and he ended up dying while fleeing a battle by drowning in the Han River ("Hanshui").
-Because of his failure to pacify the region (which roughly comprised the area between the Han and Yangtze Rivers), the state of Chu and the barbarians to the south of the Zhou dynasty's kingdom found themselves outside of the Zhou dynasty's dominance.
-Next up was his son, King Mu (the year was either c. 976 BC or 956 BC).
-Was a huge fan of travel, having allegedly traveled 90,000 km in his lifetime!
-A fun story involving King Mu can be found in the Taoist text "Liezi" (AKA "Lieh-tzu"; compiled in either the 5th century BC or the 4th century AD) in which there's a story about when a genius engineer named Yan Shi brings an extremely lifelike automaton to the court of King Mu.
-Of course, the Zhou dynasty continued to expand its influence in all directions (except the south).
-King Mu also launchd a massive campaign against the Quanrong (translates to "Dog Barbarians" or "White Wolves" in English and who may have also been related to (or were the same as) the Xianyun barbarians of the north (who may in turn also be the same as or related to the Xiongnu (AKA Hsiung-nu)).
-Many of the Quanrong clans submitted to the Zhou dynasty forces, but many also decided to fight. Unfortunately for those deciding to fight, King Mu made sure that they were completely annihilated and/or captured/enslaved.
-However, while King Mu may have been victorious initially, these wars would come back to haunt the Zhou dynasty in 200 years...
-Meanwhile, the Zhou dynasty began having trouble with the "barbarian" states of Xu (to the east) and Wu (to the southeast).
-These states were actually a part of the Zhou kingdom, but had been deemed too "barbarous" and uncivilized to be considered worthy of being allowed to host fiefs.
-For whatever reason, this trouble came to a head c. 961 BC.
-The state of Xu began attacking the Zhou dynasty, and their forces actually got pretty close to Fenghao, but eventually they were driven off and the two armies reached a stalemate.
-As a result of this, the Zhou dynasty recognized the state of Xu as an independent kingdom, but Xu still had to swear fealty or something so I guess they did this just to keep the Zhou dynasty happy.
-Anyway, King Mu died c. 922 BC, replaced by his son, King Gong (AKA King Gong / King Kung).
-We don't know much about this dude except for the fact that he was a king haha.
-King Gong died c. 900 BC, replaced by his son, King Yi.
-It's unclear as to why King Yi's reign was so short, as he died c. 892 BC, but it's possible that he was killed because after him his uncle, King Xiao (AKA King Hsiao; son of King Mu and brother of King Gong) was the next king instead of his (King Yi's) son.
-We don't know much about King Xiao's reign except for the fact that he had a dude named Feizi (AKA Qin Ying) appointed as the official horse breeder for the kingdom's army.
-Feizi may or may not have been descended from noble stock, but either way he would end up founding the state of Qin (AKA Ch'in), which would originate from a small fief granted to him by King Xiao.
-This is important to keep in mind because Qin would eventually become a powerful dynasty of its own (and is quite possibly where the name "China" comes from in English).
-Anyway, King Xiao died c. 886 BC, replaced by his nephew King Yi (son of the possibly usurped/murdered King Yi).
-The sources say that King Yi had been "restored by the many lords", which is strong further evidence that his uncle had usurped his father.
-During his reign, he got involved in some inter-state drama among the nobility of the Zhou dynasty (specifically between the Marquis of the state of Ji and Duke Ai (AKA Lu Buchen) of the state of Qi).
-King Yi sided with Ji and had Duke Ai boiled alive!!
-Also during this time the Zhou dynasty had more trouble with the state of Chu and the eastern barbarians.
-Last, because the Fengjian system was now so old, the original idea of having all the Zhou dynasty states being bonded by blood had obviously become so watered down.
-This was one reason why overall morale was declining among the nobility.
-Anyway, King Yi died c. 878 BC (or 858 BC), replaced by his son, King Li.
-Allegedly, King Li was a shitty king, super decadent and corrupt.
-Passed a bunch of laws allowing for the execution of anyone who said anything bad about him. Also raised taxes and did other dumb shit.
-Not surprisingly, the people finally rose up against him (after 35 (or 15?) years!). and he was imprisoned and then exiled (to near modern-day Linfen, Shaanxi Province). Luckily for his son, he was safely protected and hidden by one of the king's ministers.
-Surprisingly, King Li was replaced not by another king, but by a regent of government ministers to ensure the stability of the kingdom: the "Gonghe regency".
-However, it is unclear as to what exactly went on during this time.
-The Records of the Grand Historian state that there were two dukes (the contemporary Dukes of Zhou and Shao, respectively), but the Bamboo Annals state that it was just one (the Count of Gong (personal name: He)).
-Also, according to Sima Qian (the Grand Historian), it was the Gonghe regency that he said was the earliest that we could actually date the chronology with some confidence.
-Additionally, the word "gonghe" was taken by modern Chinese to mean "republic", which is why it appears in the official name of the People's Republic of China ("Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo").
-Anyway, when King Li's son finally came of age, the regents surprisingly stepped aside and King Xuan was enthroned c. 827 BC.
-Of course, at this point no one was taking the throne seriously anymore because King Li had fucked everything up so bad, and the states had probably gotten used to just governing themselves.
-However, King Xuan tried to change this by boosting his power and the crown's authority by raising a royal army (with the excuse of fighting the western barbarians).
-He did indeed seem to fight off an invading horde, but after this he also used the army to intervene in drama with the states of Lu, Wei (Wey), and Qi.
-Of course, the vassal lords didn't want the throne fucking around in their affairs, so they began to rebel.
-King Xuan died c. 782 BC (allegedly killed by a ghost (!?) of a duke he had executed who had supposedly been innocent), replaced by his son, King You.
-King You was only 14 years old or so at the time of his enthronement.
-His reign started off with what was believed by the seers to be an ill omen...an earthquake in the Guanzhong Plain, the ancestral region of the Zhou dynasty.
-King You soon married the daughter of the Marquis of the state of Shen.
-They had a son named Ji Yijiu.
-All was going well I guess until the king got a beautiful new concubine (uh-oh...) named Bao Si.
-According to legend, Bao Si was born from a virgin girl and a black lizard that had spawned from a 1000 year-old black dragon's saliva (which had been kept in a box dating back to the Xia dynasty)!!
-Bao Si eventually gave birth to a son, Bofu (AKA Bopan).
-It's unclear what went down, but apparently King You decided it would be a good idea to replace his queen with Bao Si and have the crown prince replaced with Bofu as heir to the throne!
-There's also some story about the king abusing the lighting beacon system to try and prank the vassal states into thinking there was an invasion or something in order to amuse Bao Si (who was really emo I guess). Of course, when the vassal states' armies showed up in response to the warning beacons, they weren't very happy when they found out it was just a prank (bro!).
-King You even repeated this "prank" a second time, which I'm sure just pissed off everyone else even more.
-Eventually, everyone started to get really fed up.
-The Marquis of Shen decided to raise an army with some other vassal states (namely the state of Zeng) and even some barbarian hordes!
-As the rebel army rushed towards Fenghao, King You tried to use the beacon system to summon the vassal states to his aid, but obviously no one responded because they thought it was just another prank (and even if it wasn't, King You was a shitty anyway). So basically, this is the Chinese version of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf".
-Thus, Fenghao was occupied and King You and Bao Si were imprisoned. King You was then executed and Bao Si was given some money and then kicked out of the capital (she later committed suicide to avoid being taken prisoner by some barbarian raiders).
-It's unclear as to what happened with Bofu, as some sources say he was executed along with King You, while other sources say he would pop up again later to challenge the legitimacy of the future King Ping (his half-brother, the original crown prince Ji Yijiu).
-Thus, King You was dead, so who would be king next?
-The Marquesses of both Shen and Zeng, respectively, as well as Duke Wen of Xu decided to restore Ji Yijiu as the rightful heir to the throne.
-So, c. 771 BC Prince Ji Yijiu was crowned King Ping of Zhou, and the capital was moved from Fenghao to Luoyang (AKA Loyang) (modern-day Henan Province).
-Because King Ping had been enthroned via the good graces of the vassal lords, it was obvious that the real power no longer lie in the hands of the king.
-Thus, the era known as the Spring and Autumn Period had begun!
-Continued the Zhou dynasty's policy of aggressive expansion, especially to the west and the north.
-There was also a rebellion to the east (or west?), but it was quickly squashed.
-c. 996 BC (or 978 BC), King Kang died :(
-Next up was King Zhao, eldest son of King Kang.
-Continued the wars of expansion.
-Also began to experience trouble with the state of Chu (or Cho), located to the southwest of the kingdom.
-The Zhou dynasty was obviously more powerful, but Chu was rapidly growing in power so this naturally led to a power struggle.
-King Zhao invaded with his armies, but this was disastrous, and he ended up dying while fleeing a battle by drowning in the Han River ("Hanshui").
-Because of his failure to pacify the region (which roughly comprised the area between the Han and Yangtze Rivers), the state of Chu and the barbarians to the south of the Zhou dynasty's kingdom found themselves outside of the Zhou dynasty's dominance.
-Next up was his son, King Mu (the year was either c. 976 BC or 956 BC).
-Was a huge fan of travel, having allegedly traveled 90,000 km in his lifetime!
-A fun story involving King Mu can be found in the Taoist text "Liezi" (AKA "Lieh-tzu"; compiled in either the 5th century BC or the 4th century AD) in which there's a story about when a genius engineer named Yan Shi brings an extremely lifelike automaton to the court of King Mu.
-Of course, the Zhou dynasty continued to expand its influence in all directions (except the south).
-King Mu also launchd a massive campaign against the Quanrong (translates to "Dog Barbarians" or "White Wolves" in English and who may have also been related to (or were the same as) the Xianyun barbarians of the north (who may in turn also be the same as or related to the Xiongnu (AKA Hsiung-nu)).
-Many of the Quanrong clans submitted to the Zhou dynasty forces, but many also decided to fight. Unfortunately for those deciding to fight, King Mu made sure that they were completely annihilated and/or captured/enslaved.
-However, while King Mu may have been victorious initially, these wars would come back to haunt the Zhou dynasty in 200 years...
-Meanwhile, the Zhou dynasty began having trouble with the "barbarian" states of Xu (to the east) and Wu (to the southeast).
-These states were actually a part of the Zhou kingdom, but had been deemed too "barbarous" and uncivilized to be considered worthy of being allowed to host fiefs.
-For whatever reason, this trouble came to a head c. 961 BC.
-The state of Xu began attacking the Zhou dynasty, and their forces actually got pretty close to Fenghao, but eventually they were driven off and the two armies reached a stalemate.
-As a result of this, the Zhou dynasty recognized the state of Xu as an independent kingdom, but Xu still had to swear fealty or something so I guess they did this just to keep the Zhou dynasty happy.
-Anyway, King Mu died c. 922 BC, replaced by his son, King Gong (AKA King Gong / King Kung).
-We don't know much about this dude except for the fact that he was a king haha.
-King Gong died c. 900 BC, replaced by his son, King Yi.
-It's unclear as to why King Yi's reign was so short, as he died c. 892 BC, but it's possible that he was killed because after him his uncle, King Xiao (AKA King Hsiao; son of King Mu and brother of King Gong) was the next king instead of his (King Yi's) son.
-We don't know much about King Xiao's reign except for the fact that he had a dude named Feizi (AKA Qin Ying) appointed as the official horse breeder for the kingdom's army.
-Feizi may or may not have been descended from noble stock, but either way he would end up founding the state of Qin (AKA Ch'in), which would originate from a small fief granted to him by King Xiao.
-This is important to keep in mind because Qin would eventually become a powerful dynasty of its own (and is quite possibly where the name "China" comes from in English).
-Anyway, King Xiao died c. 886 BC, replaced by his nephew King Yi (son of the possibly usurped/murdered King Yi).
-The sources say that King Yi had been "restored by the many lords", which is strong further evidence that his uncle had usurped his father.
-During his reign, he got involved in some inter-state drama among the nobility of the Zhou dynasty (specifically between the Marquis of the state of Ji and Duke Ai (AKA Lu Buchen) of the state of Qi).
-King Yi sided with Ji and had Duke Ai boiled alive!!
-Also during this time the Zhou dynasty had more trouble with the state of Chu and the eastern barbarians.
-Last, because the Fengjian system was now so old, the original idea of having all the Zhou dynasty states being bonded by blood had obviously become so watered down.
-This was one reason why overall morale was declining among the nobility.
-Anyway, King Yi died c. 878 BC (or 858 BC), replaced by his son, King Li.
-Allegedly, King Li was a shitty king, super decadent and corrupt.
-Passed a bunch of laws allowing for the execution of anyone who said anything bad about him. Also raised taxes and did other dumb shit.
-Not surprisingly, the people finally rose up against him (after 35 (or 15?) years!). and he was imprisoned and then exiled (to near modern-day Linfen, Shaanxi Province). Luckily for his son, he was safely protected and hidden by one of the king's ministers.
-Surprisingly, King Li was replaced not by another king, but by a regent of government ministers to ensure the stability of the kingdom: the "Gonghe regency".
-However, it is unclear as to what exactly went on during this time.
-The Records of the Grand Historian state that there were two dukes (the contemporary Dukes of Zhou and Shao, respectively), but the Bamboo Annals state that it was just one (the Count of Gong (personal name: He)).
-Also, according to Sima Qian (the Grand Historian), it was the Gonghe regency that he said was the earliest that we could actually date the chronology with some confidence.
-Additionally, the word "gonghe" was taken by modern Chinese to mean "republic", which is why it appears in the official name of the People's Republic of China ("Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo").
-Anyway, when King Li's son finally came of age, the regents surprisingly stepped aside and King Xuan was enthroned c. 827 BC.
-Of course, at this point no one was taking the throne seriously anymore because King Li had fucked everything up so bad, and the states had probably gotten used to just governing themselves.
-However, King Xuan tried to change this by boosting his power and the crown's authority by raising a royal army (with the excuse of fighting the western barbarians).
-He did indeed seem to fight off an invading horde, but after this he also used the army to intervene in drama with the states of Lu, Wei (Wey), and Qi.
-Of course, the vassal lords didn't want the throne fucking around in their affairs, so they began to rebel.
-King Xuan died c. 782 BC (allegedly killed by a ghost (!?) of a duke he had executed who had supposedly been innocent), replaced by his son, King You.
-King You was only 14 years old or so at the time of his enthronement.
-His reign started off with what was believed by the seers to be an ill omen...an earthquake in the Guanzhong Plain, the ancestral region of the Zhou dynasty.
-King You soon married the daughter of the Marquis of the state of Shen.
-They had a son named Ji Yijiu.
-All was going well I guess until the king got a beautiful new concubine (uh-oh...) named Bao Si.
-According to legend, Bao Si was born from a virgin girl and a black lizard that had spawned from a 1000 year-old black dragon's saliva (which had been kept in a box dating back to the Xia dynasty)!!
-Bao Si eventually gave birth to a son, Bofu (AKA Bopan).
-It's unclear what went down, but apparently King You decided it would be a good idea to replace his queen with Bao Si and have the crown prince replaced with Bofu as heir to the throne!
-There's also some story about the king abusing the lighting beacon system to try and prank the vassal states into thinking there was an invasion or something in order to amuse Bao Si (who was really emo I guess). Of course, when the vassal states' armies showed up in response to the warning beacons, they weren't very happy when they found out it was just a prank (bro!).
-King You even repeated this "prank" a second time, which I'm sure just pissed off everyone else even more.
-Eventually, everyone started to get really fed up.
-The Marquis of Shen decided to raise an army with some other vassal states (namely the state of Zeng) and even some barbarian hordes!
-As the rebel army rushed towards Fenghao, King You tried to use the beacon system to summon the vassal states to his aid, but obviously no one responded because they thought it was just another prank (and even if it wasn't, King You was a shitty anyway). So basically, this is the Chinese version of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf".
-Thus, Fenghao was occupied and King You and Bao Si were imprisoned. King You was then executed and Bao Si was given some money and then kicked out of the capital (she later committed suicide to avoid being taken prisoner by some barbarian raiders).
-It's unclear as to what happened with Bofu, as some sources say he was executed along with King You, while other sources say he would pop up again later to challenge the legitimacy of the future King Ping (his half-brother, the original crown prince Ji Yijiu).
-Thus, King You was dead, so who would be king next?
-The Marquesses of both Shen and Zeng, respectively, as well as Duke Wen of Xu decided to restore Ji Yijiu as the rightful heir to the throne.
-So, c. 771 BC Prince Ji Yijiu was crowned King Ping of Zhou, and the capital was moved from Fenghao to Luoyang (AKA Loyang) (modern-day Henan Province).
-Because King Ping had been enthroned via the good graces of the vassal lords, it was obvious that the real power no longer lie in the hands of the king.
-Thus, the era known as the Spring and Autumn Period had begun!
Western Zhou - Part I - Heaven Does Not Make Propositions
-The Zhou dynasty was the longest-lasting Chinese dynasty of all time!
-However, the eras of this dynasty are split into subsections:
-Era 1- Western Zhou
-Era 2- Eastern Zhou
-Era 2.1- Spring and Autumn period
-Era 2.2- Warring States period
-So, it's 1046 BC, and King Wu is enthroned as the first ruler of the brand new Zhou dynasty!
-The capital of this new dynasty was at Fenghao (this city was actually comprised of twin cities, separated by a river: Feng (AKA Fengxi / Fengjing (jing meaning "capital city") and Hao (AKA Haojing).
-Fenghao was located in modern-day Xi'an (AKA Sian / Chang'an), Shaanxi Province.
-Fengjing was (at this point) designated to be the ancestral capital of the Zhou dynasty, with Haojing serving as its political capital and seat of power.
-However, because both cities were just across the river from each other, they eventually just morphed into one big city (Fenghao).
-This was also the starting point of what would eventually become the Silk Road.
-Anyway, King Wu kicked off his reign by introducing a system that would eventually come to be known as the fengjian (started as just a hierarchy for the elite)
-He also divided the kingdom into a bunch of different states (maybe 16?) and then gave his relatives and close friends these holdings to rule as lords ("gong").
-Hierarchy of titles:
-Wang (king)
-Gong (duke)
-Hou (marquis/marquess)
-Bo (count/earl)
-Zi (viscount)
-Nan (baron)
-Eventually, the fengjian expanded to include what was called "the four categories of people" (AKA "the four occupations") (obviously not exhaustive):
-Shi- entry-level nobility (similar to the equites of Ancient Rome)
-Hereditary class; early on made up the military elite but eventually shifted towards a more scholarly, learned class which also included clergymen and philosophers.
-Nong- farmers/peasants (like the company Nongshim ("Farmer's Heart" in Korea)!)
-The backbone of society, and also provided most of the soldiers for the military
-Gong- artisans and craftsmen
-Considered a step down from the nong because they had no land and produced no food, so they were less valuable to the state.
-Shang- merchant class
-These were the lowest because while they served an important place in society, they didn't really produce anything and were thus seen as parasites- greedy and corrupt.
-Of course, they could often become quite wealthy and influential because of this, even if they were looked down upon by others.
-Nobility were forbidden from engaging with these kinds of businesses, but because of the money eventually many shang were taken on to work FOR the elites so they (the elites) could make money too!
-King Wu died c. 1042 BC; replaced by his son, King Cheng.
-However, everyone was scared because he was so young!
-Thus, King Cheng's uncle, Duke Wen of Zhou (usually referred to as just "the Duke of Zhou") stepped in as regent.
-However, it's unclear as to if the duke of Zhou really cared about stabilizing the kingdom or if he just wanted the power for himself.
-Meanwhile, Shang dynasty loyalists and rebels began to organize and revolt against the throne.
-This period is known as "the Rebellion of the Three Guards" (AKA Wu Geng's rebellion) (c. 1042-1039 BC).
-Rebellion was led by the son of King Zhou (former king of Shang), Prince Wu Geng, as well as King Cheng's other uncles (brothers of King Wu) Guanshu, Caishu, and Huoshu, whom had been assigned by King Wu as the "Three Guards" assigned to secure the throne.
-The Three Guards had decided to rebel because they themselves had thought that they had been eligible for the regency and that their brother had stolen the throne,
-Luckily for the fledgling Zhou dynasty, the Duke of Zhou was able to crush the rebels and further expand east into lands occupied by the dongyi ("eastern barbarians") (whom had also participated in the rebellion). The Three Guards were exiled and/or executed, regardless of their status as royal family members.
-It is unclear as to what exactly happened to Prince Wu Geng, but it seems as if he probably died in battle.
-Anyway, after the Rebellion of the Three Guards there was still an air of illegitimacy surrounding the Zhou dynasty, as there was still propaganda being spread that the Zhou kings were phonies and that only the Shang kings were the legitimate rulers because they were descended from the gods themselves.
-How could the Zhou dynasty fuck with that?
-It was because of this that the religious and political doctrine known as "the Mandate of Heaven" came about.
-Still remains an important concept in East Asian culture today!
-An analogous concept in Europe would be the divine right of kings, but this is a gross oversimplification.
-The divine right of kings wasn't a social contract- there was nothing the masses could do because the king had been appointed by God, so he only had to answer to God.
-In China, while the king/emperor was considered to be "the Son of Heaven", their heavenly blessing was only justified if they ruled righteously, otherwise they would lose the Mandate of Heaven because it would be obvious that Heaven did not look favorably upon this king as a divine ruler.
-If a rebellion or revolution was successful, then it was obvious that the deposed ruler had lost the Mandate of Heaven.
-The concept of the Mandate of Heaven kind of continues today with the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China's "One-China" policy.
-While the Mandate of Heaven sounds like it could be incredibly destabilizing since it gives so much power to fate and the masses (outside of the ruling government's control), it was actually incredibly stabilizing!
-It's unclear as to if he made it up or not, but the Duke of Zhou is credited with popularizing this concept. Because they had been successful in overthrowing the old regime, according to the Duke of Zhou, the Zhou dynasty were therefore the rightful rulers of the land!
-Moving on, one of the first things the Duke of Zhou did was construct a new holy ancestral capital at Chengzhou (modern-day Luoyang, Henan Province).
-Constructed according to a strict adherence of geomantic principles (feng shui). Also, it had been determined by using feng shui that Chengzhou's location was the very center of the kingdom.
-The Duke of Zhou also had the sacred 9 tripod cauldrons moved there; he also allowed for the place to be a new home for the Shang nobility. He then had King Cheng move there for symbolic purposes while the duke himself stayed behind in Fenghao.
-Surprisingly, however, once the king came of age to rule, the Duke of Zhou stepped down as regent, and King Cheng's reign went relatively peacefully for the rest of his life. He finally died c. 1021 BC (or 1006 BC).
-Meanwhile, during this time the Zhou dynasty continued to expand outwards and conquer barbarian lands.
-However, the eras of this dynasty are split into subsections:
-Era 1- Western Zhou
-Era 2- Eastern Zhou
-Era 2.1- Spring and Autumn period
-Era 2.2- Warring States period
-So, it's 1046 BC, and King Wu is enthroned as the first ruler of the brand new Zhou dynasty!
-The capital of this new dynasty was at Fenghao (this city was actually comprised of twin cities, separated by a river: Feng (AKA Fengxi / Fengjing (jing meaning "capital city") and Hao (AKA Haojing).
-Fenghao was located in modern-day Xi'an (AKA Sian / Chang'an), Shaanxi Province.
-Fengjing was (at this point) designated to be the ancestral capital of the Zhou dynasty, with Haojing serving as its political capital and seat of power.
-However, because both cities were just across the river from each other, they eventually just morphed into one big city (Fenghao).
-This was also the starting point of what would eventually become the Silk Road.
-Anyway, King Wu kicked off his reign by introducing a system that would eventually come to be known as the fengjian (started as just a hierarchy for the elite)
-He also divided the kingdom into a bunch of different states (maybe 16?) and then gave his relatives and close friends these holdings to rule as lords ("gong").
-Hierarchy of titles:
-Wang (king)
-Gong (duke)
-Hou (marquis/marquess)
-Bo (count/earl)
-Zi (viscount)
-Nan (baron)
-Eventually, the fengjian expanded to include what was called "the four categories of people" (AKA "the four occupations") (obviously not exhaustive):
-Shi- entry-level nobility (similar to the equites of Ancient Rome)
-Hereditary class; early on made up the military elite but eventually shifted towards a more scholarly, learned class which also included clergymen and philosophers.
-Nong- farmers/peasants (like the company Nongshim ("Farmer's Heart" in Korea)!)
-The backbone of society, and also provided most of the soldiers for the military
-Gong- artisans and craftsmen
-Considered a step down from the nong because they had no land and produced no food, so they were less valuable to the state.
-Shang- merchant class
-These were the lowest because while they served an important place in society, they didn't really produce anything and were thus seen as parasites- greedy and corrupt.
-Of course, they could often become quite wealthy and influential because of this, even if they were looked down upon by others.
-Nobility were forbidden from engaging with these kinds of businesses, but because of the money eventually many shang were taken on to work FOR the elites so they (the elites) could make money too!
-King Wu died c. 1042 BC; replaced by his son, King Cheng.
-However, everyone was scared because he was so young!
-Thus, King Cheng's uncle, Duke Wen of Zhou (usually referred to as just "the Duke of Zhou") stepped in as regent.
-However, it's unclear as to if the duke of Zhou really cared about stabilizing the kingdom or if he just wanted the power for himself.
-Meanwhile, Shang dynasty loyalists and rebels began to organize and revolt against the throne.
-This period is known as "the Rebellion of the Three Guards" (AKA Wu Geng's rebellion) (c. 1042-1039 BC).
-Rebellion was led by the son of King Zhou (former king of Shang), Prince Wu Geng, as well as King Cheng's other uncles (brothers of King Wu) Guanshu, Caishu, and Huoshu, whom had been assigned by King Wu as the "Three Guards" assigned to secure the throne.
-The Three Guards had decided to rebel because they themselves had thought that they had been eligible for the regency and that their brother had stolen the throne,
-Luckily for the fledgling Zhou dynasty, the Duke of Zhou was able to crush the rebels and further expand east into lands occupied by the dongyi ("eastern barbarians") (whom had also participated in the rebellion). The Three Guards were exiled and/or executed, regardless of their status as royal family members.
-It is unclear as to what exactly happened to Prince Wu Geng, but it seems as if he probably died in battle.
-Anyway, after the Rebellion of the Three Guards there was still an air of illegitimacy surrounding the Zhou dynasty, as there was still propaganda being spread that the Zhou kings were phonies and that only the Shang kings were the legitimate rulers because they were descended from the gods themselves.
-How could the Zhou dynasty fuck with that?
-It was because of this that the religious and political doctrine known as "the Mandate of Heaven" came about.
-Still remains an important concept in East Asian culture today!
-An analogous concept in Europe would be the divine right of kings, but this is a gross oversimplification.
-The divine right of kings wasn't a social contract- there was nothing the masses could do because the king had been appointed by God, so he only had to answer to God.
-In China, while the king/emperor was considered to be "the Son of Heaven", their heavenly blessing was only justified if they ruled righteously, otherwise they would lose the Mandate of Heaven because it would be obvious that Heaven did not look favorably upon this king as a divine ruler.
-If a rebellion or revolution was successful, then it was obvious that the deposed ruler had lost the Mandate of Heaven.
-The concept of the Mandate of Heaven kind of continues today with the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China's "One-China" policy.
-While the Mandate of Heaven sounds like it could be incredibly destabilizing since it gives so much power to fate and the masses (outside of the ruling government's control), it was actually incredibly stabilizing!
-It's unclear as to if he made it up or not, but the Duke of Zhou is credited with popularizing this concept. Because they had been successful in overthrowing the old regime, according to the Duke of Zhou, the Zhou dynasty were therefore the rightful rulers of the land!
-Moving on, one of the first things the Duke of Zhou did was construct a new holy ancestral capital at Chengzhou (modern-day Luoyang, Henan Province).
-Constructed according to a strict adherence of geomantic principles (feng shui). Also, it had been determined by using feng shui that Chengzhou's location was the very center of the kingdom.
-The Duke of Zhou also had the sacred 9 tripod cauldrons moved there; he also allowed for the place to be a new home for the Shang nobility. He then had King Cheng move there for symbolic purposes while the duke himself stayed behind in Fenghao.
-Surprisingly, however, once the king came of age to rule, the Duke of Zhou stepped down as regent, and King Cheng's reign went relatively peacefully for the rest of his life. He finally died c. 1021 BC (or 1006 BC).
-Meanwhile, during this time the Zhou dynasty continued to expand outwards and conquer barbarian lands.
Saturday, October 21, 2017
Shang Dynasty - Part III - The Shang Vanquished
-Anyway, so King Wu Ding was now dead, so he was replaced by his second son, King Zu Geng (the first son had been shitty I guess, so he died in exile). He ruled for approximately seven years before dying.
-Next up was King Zu Jia (AKA Di Jia), who I guess was King Zu Genes uncle.
-During his reign he fought with the Xirong (AKA Rong) hordes to the west, beating them in battle and forcing them to submit to the Shang.
-Also put down a rebellion and some other shit I'm sure...ruled for roughly 30 years.
-According to the oracle bones, King Zu Jia wanted to make the government more "rational" by toning down the sacrifices to mythical ancestors and nature and shit and instead focus on worshiping non-mythical people (such as former kings like King Wu Ding).
-Next up was King Lin Xin (AKA Feng Xin), son of King Zu Jia. He ruled for 4-6 years.
-Next up was his younger brother, King Geng Ding (AKA Kang Ding). He ruled for approximately 23 years.
-Next up was King Wu Yi, son of King Geng Ding.
-It is at this point that the state of Zhou (AKA Pre-dynastic Zhou / Proto-Zhou) enters the narrative.
-The state of Zhou was allegedly founded by a dude named Old Duke Danfu ("Gugong Danfu" AKA Ji Danfu) posthumously referred to as King Tai of Zhou (Zhou Tai Wang) by his ancestors). He was a member of the Ji clan, which traced its lineage back to Hou Ji (possible descendant of Emperor Ku), a legendary folk hero who is credited with introducing the cultivation of millet to humanity and developing the philosophy of Agriculturalism in addition to ruling the city of Tai (modern day Xianyang, Shaanxi Province), the ancestral home of the Ji clan.
-Fun fact: according to legend, King Tai had three sons:
-Taibo (AKA Wu Taibo) was the eldest son and legendary founder of the state of Wu (capital was Meicun (modern-day Wuxi, Jiangsu Province). He apparently went to Japan (some records state that the "Wo People" (ancient Japanese) claimed Taibo as their ancestor, and there is actually some evidence to back this up!
-Zhongyong was the middle son, he also co-founded the state of Wu with Taibo.
-Jili (King Ji of Zhou) was apparently super-intelligent so he was chosen to rule Wu instead of his brothers (hence why they had left to start the state of Wu).
-It was Jili who was ruling Wu during the time King Wu Yi was ruling the Shang dynasty.
-Obviously, the Shang dynasty was way more powerful than Wu, so Jili submitted to King Wu Yi with a bunch of tribute c. 1118 BC.
-He then famously bought a battle against the Guirong barbarians, capturing 20 of their chieftains!
-Anyway, so King Wu Yi at this point started kind of to go crazy and act weird, like blaspheming the gods, making an idol of a god and then playing a game of Liubo (an ancient Chinese board game) against it. He would also shoot bags of blood and do other weird shit.
-According to legend, because of these blasphemies he was struck by lightning during a hunting trip, dying instantly!
-Next up was his son, King Wen Wu Ding (AKA Wen Ding).
-During his reign, Jili continued to score a number of victories against various barbarian tribes, and this led to the state of Wu becoming increasingly large and more powerful.
-This worried King Wen Ding, so he had Jili assassinated :(
-His son, Ji Chang, was the new lord of Wu.
-So King Wen Ding ruled for about 10 years before croaking c. 1102 BC, replaced by his son, King Di Yi.
-In the early years of his reign, fought battles with barbarians in modern-day Inner Mongolia and to the east (the eastern barbarians / "Dongyi").
-Had three (or four?) sons:
-Di Xin (AKA Zhou Xin or King Zhou)- last king of the Shang dynasty and a really shitty dude.
-Weiziqi- future (first) ruler of the state of Song.
-Weizhong- future (second) ruler of the state of Song.
-Jizi (AKA Qizi / Chit-tzu / Gija / Kija)- possible fourth son, more on him later.
-So King Di Yi ruled for about 25 years before dying c. 1076 BC.
-Next up was King Zhou (see above), the last king of the Shang dynasty.
-Really shitty king, and it's been speculated that the "zhou" character used in his name is the Chinese character for a crupper (part of a horse saddle or harness that is most likely to be shat on by a horse).
-Early in his reign, King Zhou was a badass; he was really clever, quick-witted, hot-tempered, and also a fan of hunting wild animals with his bare hands!
-Also battled more with the eastern barbarians as well.
-However, over time King Zhou began to become more and more depraved and debauched. He stopped giving a fuck about running the state and just wanted to party and bang chicks and shit. He also loved torturing and executing people, including high-ranking officials.
-According to legend, King Zhou had a beautiful but sadistic concubine named Daji who was said to have been possessed by an evil fox spirit ("huli jing" / "jiuweihu" ("nine-tailed fox") ("gumiho" or "구미호" in Korean)) and loved to have people tortured as well. She also allegedly invented a bunch of different sadistic methods of torture.
-King Zhou and Daji had a lake of wine constructed and a "meat forest" in which party guests could grab meat and shit from the branches (called "jiu chi rou lin" ("pool of wine and forest of meat")).
-This may have actually been a true story, as archaeologists seem to have actually found this pool (now known as Deer Terrace Pavilion in modern-day Hebi, Henan Province) in 1999!
-Anyway, so King Zhou and Daji were apparently psychopaths and super fucked up. However, the king became fearful of the rising power of the state of Zhou, so he stupidly decided to have the current lord of Zhou, Ji Chang (son of Jili) and his son, Bo Yikao, arrested on presumably trumped-up charges.
-However, because Ji Chang was such a nice dude whom everyone loved, a bunch of other officials and local lords bribed King Zhou with gold, horses, and sex slaves to let Lord Ji Chang and his son free.
-Of course, once Ji Chang returned back to Zhou he raised an army.
-However, he knew that he'd have to do it like how Lord Tang did it when he brought down the Xia dynasty. So, he started minor wars with smaller vassal states of the Shang dynasty in order to weaken King Zhou's overall power.
-Unfortunately, Ji Chang was unable to fulfill his vision of bringing about the end of the Shang dynasty because he died c. 1056 BC (he was super old too, almost a century old!). He was replaced as Lord of Zhou by his second son, Ji Fa.
-Lord Ji Fa kicked off his reign by working with his father-in-law, the veteran ex-Shang court official Jiang Ziya (AKA Lu Shang / Jiang Shang / Shangfu / etc.).
-Jiang Ziya had become so sickened with the madness of King Zhou that he fled the court to the state of Zhou, where, according to legend, he ended up shacking up near modern-day Xi'an, Shaanxi Province. There he spent his days fishing along a tributary of the Wei River.
-One day, while Lord Ji Chang was hunting in the area, he encountered Jiang Ziya along the banks of the river. Thus, Lord Ji Chang took on Jiang Ziya as prime minister of the state of Zhou, and Jiang Ziya's teachings were recorded in the Chinese military classic "The Six Secret Teachings".
-The Six Secret Teachings are:
1. The Civil Strategy
2. The Military Strategy
3. The Dragon Strategy
4. The Tiger Strategy
5. The Leopard Strategy
6. The Dog Strategy
-Anyway, so Lord Ji Fa was ready to attack after he inherited the throne, but Jiang Ziya told him to wait until the time was right.
-Finally, after about 10 years, the two decided it was time to strike!
-Lord Ji Fa marched his army down to the Mengjin Ford on the Yellow River (modern-day Luoyang, Henan Province) where he met with 800 other nobles and minor lords and shit.
-Here they constructed a new ancestor table, naming Lord Ji Fa's father, Ji Chang, as the first king of a brand new dynasty- the Zhou dynasty!
-Also, Ji Chang was renamed King Wen of Zhou, and Ji Fa was renamed King Wu of Zhou ("Zhou Wu Wang").
-1046 BC- King Wu led his forces across the Yellow River. War had begun.
-According to historical records, King Wu had about 50,000 troops under his banner.
-Chinese historical records claim that King Zhou had like 700,000 men, but this is most likely a wild exaggeration, and they probably only had like 70,000.
-The two armies clashed at the Battle of Muye (AKA Battle of Mu) (near modern-day Xinxiang, Henan Province). About 35 km south of the Shang capital of Yin.
-However, many of King Zhou's troops defected (including all of the slaves), so that helped the outnumbered Zhou army.
-Also, apparently the Zhou army had an advantage with their chariots, which they used for attacking (as opposed to just transportation, which I guess was a new tactic).
-Obviously, the Zhou army won! Mad King Zhou was now on the defense, so he fled back to the capital.
-He knew that he was doomed, so he gathered up all of his treasure and then committed suicide by burning down his palace (with him still inside). It's unclear what exactly happened to Lady Daji, but she must have either committed suicide or was murdered/executed.
-King Wu was thus hailed as a hero of the people!
-The house of Shang was not punished for the actions of King Zhou, although it was obvious that they were no longer in power.
-King Wu was now enthroned as the official head of the brand new Zhou dynasty.
-King Zhou's brother, Weizi, was allowed to continue administrative duties as lord of the state of Song. This would happen later on, though.
-It was considered good etiquette during this time for a defeated house to be allowed to continue to worship their ancestors at their ancestral capital, so I guess the house of Shang stuck around still for at least a little bit.
-During the time that King Wu was enthroned, King Zhou's brother (or relative? It's unclear what this dude was or if he even existed) Jizi returned from exile (he had been exiled by King Zhou for whatever reason) and served as an advisor to King Wu.
-As a reward for his service, King Wu allegedly gave Jizi some newly conquered land to rule over as lord in the northeast.
-This territory was called "Joseon" (조선) by the local barbarians living there, and today is a land/period we identify as "Gija Joseon". However, this is extremely controversial.
-Before 300 BC there was no mention in the records of Jizi being a lord/ruler of this area.
-The records after 300 BC, however, say that Jizi did indeed lead some 5000 troops to the NE to fight with the Joseon people, and upon victory established the kingdom of Joseon (or "Gojoseon" as it's called today).
-Of course, some scholars believe that both the Korean and Chinese versions are correct and that Jizi's Joseon kingdom (Gija Joseon) existed to the west of the pre-existing Gojoseon kingdom.
-This is based on records from the Han dynasty AND the Goryeo dynasty in Korea. However, according to Goryeo dynasty records, King Wu actually had Jizi enthroned as king/lord of Gojoseon.
-It is also thought that if the Chinese record is correct and General Wi Man did indeed usurp the throne (thus beginning the era of Gojoseon known as Wiman Joseon) and disrupt the lineage of Jizi and his descendants. This lineage is listed as 73 kings who ruled Gija Joseon, but it seems as if many Korean historians disagree with this.
-The Korean nationalist Shin Chaeho, however, stated that he believed Gija Joseon was simply another name for Beonjoseon, which, according to some sources, was one of the three confederacies (the "Samhan") which made up the kingdom of Gojoseon (the other two were Majoseon and Jinjoseon). He argued that Gija Joseon was actually started c. 323 BC when the king of Beonjoseon was assassinated and the government ministers began began fighting for control of the state. The minister who ended up winning and becoming king (a dude named Gihu) renamed the kingdom "Gija Joseon" after his famous ancestor Gija (see above).
-The scholars who try to match archaeological evidence with evidence from the book of Han (which states that Jizi took 5000 Zhou dynasty troops to settle the new kingdom of Gija Joseon) believe that Gija Joseon did indeed exist, but it was to the west of Gojoseon/Beonjoseon.
-Korea University professor Kim Jung-bae, however, argues that Gija Joseon was completely made up by the Han dynasty, as none of the other records about Gija/Jizi said he went east to Gojoseon.
-"The Records of the Grand Historian" say nothing about this as well.
-The archaeological evidence, however, does seem to suggest that the region of Gija Joseon was indeed inhabited by a culture with Chinese origins, although with certain distinctly Korean characteristics as well, and that also this Chinese (as well as Pazyryk) cultural influence continued until c. 400 BC.
-Next up was King Zu Jia (AKA Di Jia), who I guess was King Zu Genes uncle.
-During his reign he fought with the Xirong (AKA Rong) hordes to the west, beating them in battle and forcing them to submit to the Shang.
-Also put down a rebellion and some other shit I'm sure...ruled for roughly 30 years.
-According to the oracle bones, King Zu Jia wanted to make the government more "rational" by toning down the sacrifices to mythical ancestors and nature and shit and instead focus on worshiping non-mythical people (such as former kings like King Wu Ding).
-Next up was King Lin Xin (AKA Feng Xin), son of King Zu Jia. He ruled for 4-6 years.
-Next up was his younger brother, King Geng Ding (AKA Kang Ding). He ruled for approximately 23 years.
-Next up was King Wu Yi, son of King Geng Ding.
-It is at this point that the state of Zhou (AKA Pre-dynastic Zhou / Proto-Zhou) enters the narrative.
-The state of Zhou was allegedly founded by a dude named Old Duke Danfu ("Gugong Danfu" AKA Ji Danfu) posthumously referred to as King Tai of Zhou (Zhou Tai Wang) by his ancestors). He was a member of the Ji clan, which traced its lineage back to Hou Ji (possible descendant of Emperor Ku), a legendary folk hero who is credited with introducing the cultivation of millet to humanity and developing the philosophy of Agriculturalism in addition to ruling the city of Tai (modern day Xianyang, Shaanxi Province), the ancestral home of the Ji clan.
-Fun fact: according to legend, King Tai had three sons:
-Taibo (AKA Wu Taibo) was the eldest son and legendary founder of the state of Wu (capital was Meicun (modern-day Wuxi, Jiangsu Province). He apparently went to Japan (some records state that the "Wo People" (ancient Japanese) claimed Taibo as their ancestor, and there is actually some evidence to back this up!
-Zhongyong was the middle son, he also co-founded the state of Wu with Taibo.
-Jili (King Ji of Zhou) was apparently super-intelligent so he was chosen to rule Wu instead of his brothers (hence why they had left to start the state of Wu).
-It was Jili who was ruling Wu during the time King Wu Yi was ruling the Shang dynasty.
-Obviously, the Shang dynasty was way more powerful than Wu, so Jili submitted to King Wu Yi with a bunch of tribute c. 1118 BC.
-He then famously bought a battle against the Guirong barbarians, capturing 20 of their chieftains!
-Anyway, so King Wu Yi at this point started kind of to go crazy and act weird, like blaspheming the gods, making an idol of a god and then playing a game of Liubo (an ancient Chinese board game) against it. He would also shoot bags of blood and do other weird shit.
-According to legend, because of these blasphemies he was struck by lightning during a hunting trip, dying instantly!
-Next up was his son, King Wen Wu Ding (AKA Wen Ding).
-During his reign, Jili continued to score a number of victories against various barbarian tribes, and this led to the state of Wu becoming increasingly large and more powerful.
-This worried King Wen Ding, so he had Jili assassinated :(
-His son, Ji Chang, was the new lord of Wu.
-So King Wen Ding ruled for about 10 years before croaking c. 1102 BC, replaced by his son, King Di Yi.
-In the early years of his reign, fought battles with barbarians in modern-day Inner Mongolia and to the east (the eastern barbarians / "Dongyi").
-Had three (or four?) sons:
-Di Xin (AKA Zhou Xin or King Zhou)- last king of the Shang dynasty and a really shitty dude.
-Weiziqi- future (first) ruler of the state of Song.
-Weizhong- future (second) ruler of the state of Song.
-Jizi (AKA Qizi / Chit-tzu / Gija / Kija)- possible fourth son, more on him later.
-So King Di Yi ruled for about 25 years before dying c. 1076 BC.
-Next up was King Zhou (see above), the last king of the Shang dynasty.
-Really shitty king, and it's been speculated that the "zhou" character used in his name is the Chinese character for a crupper (part of a horse saddle or harness that is most likely to be shat on by a horse).
-Early in his reign, King Zhou was a badass; he was really clever, quick-witted, hot-tempered, and also a fan of hunting wild animals with his bare hands!
-Also battled more with the eastern barbarians as well.
-However, over time King Zhou began to become more and more depraved and debauched. He stopped giving a fuck about running the state and just wanted to party and bang chicks and shit. He also loved torturing and executing people, including high-ranking officials.
-According to legend, King Zhou had a beautiful but sadistic concubine named Daji who was said to have been possessed by an evil fox spirit ("huli jing" / "jiuweihu" ("nine-tailed fox") ("gumiho" or "구미호" in Korean)) and loved to have people tortured as well. She also allegedly invented a bunch of different sadistic methods of torture.
-King Zhou and Daji had a lake of wine constructed and a "meat forest" in which party guests could grab meat and shit from the branches (called "jiu chi rou lin" ("pool of wine and forest of meat")).
-This may have actually been a true story, as archaeologists seem to have actually found this pool (now known as Deer Terrace Pavilion in modern-day Hebi, Henan Province) in 1999!
-Anyway, so King Zhou and Daji were apparently psychopaths and super fucked up. However, the king became fearful of the rising power of the state of Zhou, so he stupidly decided to have the current lord of Zhou, Ji Chang (son of Jili) and his son, Bo Yikao, arrested on presumably trumped-up charges.
-However, because Ji Chang was such a nice dude whom everyone loved, a bunch of other officials and local lords bribed King Zhou with gold, horses, and sex slaves to let Lord Ji Chang and his son free.
-Of course, once Ji Chang returned back to Zhou he raised an army.
-However, he knew that he'd have to do it like how Lord Tang did it when he brought down the Xia dynasty. So, he started minor wars with smaller vassal states of the Shang dynasty in order to weaken King Zhou's overall power.
-Unfortunately, Ji Chang was unable to fulfill his vision of bringing about the end of the Shang dynasty because he died c. 1056 BC (he was super old too, almost a century old!). He was replaced as Lord of Zhou by his second son, Ji Fa.
-Lord Ji Fa kicked off his reign by working with his father-in-law, the veteran ex-Shang court official Jiang Ziya (AKA Lu Shang / Jiang Shang / Shangfu / etc.).
-Jiang Ziya had become so sickened with the madness of King Zhou that he fled the court to the state of Zhou, where, according to legend, he ended up shacking up near modern-day Xi'an, Shaanxi Province. There he spent his days fishing along a tributary of the Wei River.
-One day, while Lord Ji Chang was hunting in the area, he encountered Jiang Ziya along the banks of the river. Thus, Lord Ji Chang took on Jiang Ziya as prime minister of the state of Zhou, and Jiang Ziya's teachings were recorded in the Chinese military classic "The Six Secret Teachings".
-The Six Secret Teachings are:
1. The Civil Strategy
2. The Military Strategy
3. The Dragon Strategy
4. The Tiger Strategy
5. The Leopard Strategy
6. The Dog Strategy
-Anyway, so Lord Ji Fa was ready to attack after he inherited the throne, but Jiang Ziya told him to wait until the time was right.
-Finally, after about 10 years, the two decided it was time to strike!
-Lord Ji Fa marched his army down to the Mengjin Ford on the Yellow River (modern-day Luoyang, Henan Province) where he met with 800 other nobles and minor lords and shit.
-Here they constructed a new ancestor table, naming Lord Ji Fa's father, Ji Chang, as the first king of a brand new dynasty- the Zhou dynasty!
-Also, Ji Chang was renamed King Wen of Zhou, and Ji Fa was renamed King Wu of Zhou ("Zhou Wu Wang").
-1046 BC- King Wu led his forces across the Yellow River. War had begun.
-According to historical records, King Wu had about 50,000 troops under his banner.
-Chinese historical records claim that King Zhou had like 700,000 men, but this is most likely a wild exaggeration, and they probably only had like 70,000.
-The two armies clashed at the Battle of Muye (AKA Battle of Mu) (near modern-day Xinxiang, Henan Province). About 35 km south of the Shang capital of Yin.
-However, many of King Zhou's troops defected (including all of the slaves), so that helped the outnumbered Zhou army.
-Also, apparently the Zhou army had an advantage with their chariots, which they used for attacking (as opposed to just transportation, which I guess was a new tactic).
-Obviously, the Zhou army won! Mad King Zhou was now on the defense, so he fled back to the capital.
-He knew that he was doomed, so he gathered up all of his treasure and then committed suicide by burning down his palace (with him still inside). It's unclear what exactly happened to Lady Daji, but she must have either committed suicide or was murdered/executed.
-King Wu was thus hailed as a hero of the people!
-The house of Shang was not punished for the actions of King Zhou, although it was obvious that they were no longer in power.
-King Wu was now enthroned as the official head of the brand new Zhou dynasty.
-King Zhou's brother, Weizi, was allowed to continue administrative duties as lord of the state of Song. This would happen later on, though.
-It was considered good etiquette during this time for a defeated house to be allowed to continue to worship their ancestors at their ancestral capital, so I guess the house of Shang stuck around still for at least a little bit.
-During the time that King Wu was enthroned, King Zhou's brother (or relative? It's unclear what this dude was or if he even existed) Jizi returned from exile (he had been exiled by King Zhou for whatever reason) and served as an advisor to King Wu.
-As a reward for his service, King Wu allegedly gave Jizi some newly conquered land to rule over as lord in the northeast.
-This territory was called "Joseon" (조선) by the local barbarians living there, and today is a land/period we identify as "Gija Joseon". However, this is extremely controversial.
-Before 300 BC there was no mention in the records of Jizi being a lord/ruler of this area.
-The records after 300 BC, however, say that Jizi did indeed lead some 5000 troops to the NE to fight with the Joseon people, and upon victory established the kingdom of Joseon (or "Gojoseon" as it's called today).
-Of course, some scholars believe that both the Korean and Chinese versions are correct and that Jizi's Joseon kingdom (Gija Joseon) existed to the west of the pre-existing Gojoseon kingdom.
-This is based on records from the Han dynasty AND the Goryeo dynasty in Korea. However, according to Goryeo dynasty records, King Wu actually had Jizi enthroned as king/lord of Gojoseon.
-It is also thought that if the Chinese record is correct and General Wi Man did indeed usurp the throne (thus beginning the era of Gojoseon known as Wiman Joseon) and disrupt the lineage of Jizi and his descendants. This lineage is listed as 73 kings who ruled Gija Joseon, but it seems as if many Korean historians disagree with this.
-The Korean nationalist Shin Chaeho, however, stated that he believed Gija Joseon was simply another name for Beonjoseon, which, according to some sources, was one of the three confederacies (the "Samhan") which made up the kingdom of Gojoseon (the other two were Majoseon and Jinjoseon). He argued that Gija Joseon was actually started c. 323 BC when the king of Beonjoseon was assassinated and the government ministers began began fighting for control of the state. The minister who ended up winning and becoming king (a dude named Gihu) renamed the kingdom "Gija Joseon" after his famous ancestor Gija (see above).
-The scholars who try to match archaeological evidence with evidence from the book of Han (which states that Jizi took 5000 Zhou dynasty troops to settle the new kingdom of Gija Joseon) believe that Gija Joseon did indeed exist, but it was to the west of Gojoseon/Beonjoseon.
-Korea University professor Kim Jung-bae, however, argues that Gija Joseon was completely made up by the Han dynasty, as none of the other records about Gija/Jizi said he went east to Gojoseon.
-"The Records of the Grand Historian" say nothing about this as well.
-The archaeological evidence, however, does seem to suggest that the region of Gija Joseon was indeed inhabited by a culture with Chinese origins, although with certain distinctly Korean characteristics as well, and that also this Chinese (as well as Pazyryk) cultural influence continued until c. 400 BC.
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