In the pre-Qin history, after the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty, Zhou Gongdan was the most influential and far-reaching figure in China history. Confucius regarded him as an idol, and Cao Cao was deeply impressed.
The story of Zhou Gongfu calling himself king is well known. According to legend, he once worked in the music system. Pacify the third prison. By the way, this Duke of Zhou is him. It can be said that the role of Duke Zhou in the history of China is unparalleled. No wonder Cao Cao lamented in his poem: The Duke of Zhou vomited food, and the world returned to his heart.
02
Duke Zhou's surname is Ji, a famous Dan and a novel name. Ji Dan, we used to call him Duke Zhou or Zhou Gongdan. Zhou Gongdan is Zhou Wuwang's younger brother. But in terms of strength, the two are not inferior. After the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty, Zhou Gongdan was ordered to govern the country.
Although the Zhou dynasty defeated the Shang dynasty in the battle of Makino, the situation after the founding of the People's Republic of China was not stable. It turns out that the power of Shang dynasty has not completely subsided. There is a debate about how to deal with the adherents of Shang Dynasty. Jiang Ziya thinks it should be eliminated completely. However, Zhao Gong thinks that we should treat them differently, kill those who do, and leave those who don't.
Duke Zhou put forward his own opinion that the influence of businessmen should be divided and disintegrated. Finally, after consideration, Zhou Wuwang chose to adopt Zhou Gongdan's opinion and set up "three supervisors" to take charge of management. Wu Geng was appointed as the leader to manage the Shang people, and the merchants were divided into three parts, and Guan Shu, Cai Shu and Huo Shu were appointed to supervise them respectively.
The establishment of "Three Supervisors" played a certain role in stabilizing the newly established Zhou Dynasty. The newly established Zhou Dynasty survived. However, King Wu died in the second year after the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty.
Prince Song Ji of Zhou Wuwang succeeded to the throne. This is the famous Zhou Chengwang. At this time, Zhou Wenwang was only thirteen years old and could not manage the affairs of state at all, so the affairs of state were handed over to Zhou Gongdan. This is the famous "Duke of Zhou assisted to become a king".
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After the Duke of Zhou was regent, his other brothers were very dissatisfied with this, thinking that Duke of Zhou wanted to take advantage of the suspicion of the Lord and the country and take power into his own hands. Guan Shu and Cai Shu in Sanjian District sent people to speak ill of Duke Zhou everywhere. To this end, Duke Zhou did not hesitate to "stay in the east to avoid suspicion", but it still did not alleviate the crisis.
Wu Geng of the former dynasty was also ready to move, so he contacted Guan Shu and Cai Shu, and also contacted some tribes of the former dynasty, creating a war, which was called "the Three Prisons Rebellion" or "the Wu Geng Rebellion" in history. In order to save the Zhou Dynasty, the Duke of Zhou led an army to quell the rebellion, which was the famous Duke of Zhou's eastward expedition.
Duke Zhou's crusade to the East is considered as the second war to destroy commerce, which is not much easier than the battle of Makino. The battle of Makino was a war against the upper nobility of Shang Dynasty, while the battle of Duke Zhou was a blow to the lower people of Shang Dynasty. According to historical records, the war began in the autumn of his second year in office. The weather on this day was terrible, with thunder and lightning and strong winds.
Duke Zhou led his soldiers to fight the Shang Dynasty and the rebels in the suburbs. It was a hard battle, and the war lasted for three years before it was completely over. Under the command of the Duke of Zhou, Guan Shu committed suicide in this war, and Cai Shu was imprisoned and exiled. The next year, the uprising leader Wu Geng was killed and the war subsided.
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After six years of rectification and governance, the country was initially stable, so many governors gathered in Beijing and formulated the system of rites and music. Rites and music system is a symbol of a country's stability. It was also formulated on the basis of the ritual and music system in Xia and Shang dynasties, and was reformed on this basis, which was in line with the reality of patriarchal clan system enfeoffment in Zhou Dynasty.
Since then, the system of rites and music has run through all aspects of society and has been used by us to this day, establishing social order. Worship the gods and stay away from ghosts, which made Zhou people completely out of the superstition of Shang Dynasty. Confucius in the Spring and Autumn Period highly praised the rites and music created by Duke Zhou.
Among the four books that future generations must read, Zhou Li is one of the classics. "Zhou Li" makes Zhou people turn from ghosts to self through everyone's eating, drinking, eating, drinking, wearing, living and walking.
The ritual and music system is manifested in music, such as the orientation of hanging musical instruments, the number of musical instruments and the number of different grades. There are also differences in the number of music and dance. For example, there are eight lines in a week, and then each level is reduced by two lines in turn. And on different occasions, the music used is unnecessary.
The system of rites and music has a great influence, which can be called the peak of the pre-Qin cultural system, and the Duke of Zhou also played a great role in it. It has cultivated people's national consciousness, maintained social order and shaped the traditional spirit of the Chinese nation. No wonder Confucius admired it so much.
05
Seven years after King Cheng succeeded to the throne, the Duke of Zhou finally handed over the power of the state to Zhou Chengwang. However, the question of Duke Zhou's regency has been debated endlessly in the history circle. We know that the fuse of the rebellion in the Third Prison was that the Duke of Zhou assisted the imperial court, which caused a series of sequelae. But is Duke Zhou really just the so-called assistance? Why do some people think Duke Zhou is king?
During the Warring States Period, it was generally believed that during these seven years, Zhou Gongdan succeeded to the throne and became the son of heaven. After the death of King Wu, Zhou Gongdan practiced in the Eastern Palace and held sacrifices in the Mingtang, and became the son of heaven himself. In Xunzi and Yizhoushu, there is a clear record of the time when Duke Zhou was king, which confirms this statement. In this way, the reason for the rebellion of the three prisons is clear.
However, in Sima Qian's Historical Records, the Duke of Zhou presided over the state affairs for seven years and was called the Regent, and repeatedly emphasized that Zhou Gongdan replaced the administration like Dourgen. It can be seen that Sima Qian had doubts about whether the Duke of Zhou was king. Later history books followed Sima Qian's statement.
In history books, it is generally believed that the reason why Duke Zhou assisted in becoming a king was that he was 13 years old and still young. However, some scholars believe that this is not the case. He was an adult when he succeeded to the throne. In ancient times, men could get married and have children as long as they were over 13 years old. Zhou Wuwang was 93 years old when he died, and Wen Wang 13 years old. So, when Zhou Chengwang was born, King Wu was 80 years old.
This speculation can be said to be contrary to common sense, that is, when Zhou Wuwang was 60 years old, he married Stone. But Zhou Chengwang, the father of King Wu, gave birth to Bojko at the age of 12, and Zhou Wuwang at the age of 15. So, Zhou Wuwang got married too late.
But if you get married at a normal age, Zhou Chengwang should be over 13 years old. Then, the fact that Duke Zhou assisted the government was overthrown. Seven years after the Duke of Zhou ascended the throne, he handed over power to Zhou Chengwang. Because time is short, it is also reasonable for future generations to deliberately hide it in order to maintain the image of Duke Zhou and Confucian orthodoxy.
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Whether the Duke of Zhou has been king for seven years or not, it is too long since now, and we have no way of knowing. However, the author believes that Zhou Gongdan is indeed a first-class politician and strategist, and he left a lot of precious wealth to future generations, and his contribution can be said to be very great. Until now, we have always praised him as a saint.
References:
minister
Chronology of this bamboo book
Sima Qian: Historical Records
Yang Chaoming: Interpretation of Duke Zhou's Eastern Expedition History.
Wang: Questioning Duke Zhou's Regency as King
author
Jin Nian, a freelance writer and a history lover, is devoted to the study of history. I hope to take history as a mirror, shape collective memory, and learn from the past.