I. Overview of the Western Zhou Dynasty

Important Discoveries in Zhouyi and The Book of Songs The third dynasty in China was divided into the Western Zhou Dynasty and the Eastern Zhou Dynasty.

Named event:

Battle of Makino: The time is BC 1046-BC 77 1 year.

Regent of Duke Zhou: In 275, the historical capitals of Shaanxi and Henan.

Cheng Kang's rule: Two more people were put on the throne, and the founder was Ji Fa (Zhou Wuwang).

Famous figures: Zhou Wenwang, Zhou Wuwang, Jiang Ziya, Duke Zhou.

Second, the Western Zhou Incident

1, the origin of Zhou clan

The ancestor of Zhou family was called "Abandon", so it was also called "Hou Ji" (millet is a kind of food) because it is good at agriculture. He served as an agricultural official during the Yao and Shun dynasties, and obtained the fief in Xunyi, Shaanxi Province in the Xia Dynasty. Later, under the leadership of the ancient Duke Fu Xuan, the tribe moved to Joo Won? (now Qishan and Fufeng in Shaanxi), and the Zhou clan became stronger and stronger, becoming one of the important western countries in Shang Dynasty.

2. Contradictions between Shang and Zhou Dynasties

After Gu's father died, his son became the leader of the Zhou clan. At this time, the Shang Dynasty was transferred to Wen Ding. He doubted the influence of the Zhou clan, and designed and killed Ji Li, thus creating a contradiction between the Shang Dynasty and the Zhou clan. After Ji Li's death, his son Ji Chang succeeded to the throne, which is the famous Zhou Wenwang in later generations. He kept a low profile and recruited talents, and began to prepare for it.

3. Move the capital to Haojing

After the allusion of "Ling Taigong fishing", Zhou Wenwang got the help of Jiang Ziya, and he planned to expand his clan bit by bit next week. After Zhou Wenwang's death, his son, Zhou Wuwang, succeeded to the throne and moved the capital to Haojing, which is closer to Shang Dynasty. At this time, the Shang dynasty responded to the chaos of Dongyi while sealing the king, while the wine pool and meat forest were not interested in dealing with the danger brought by the Zhou family.

4. Jin Meng looked at the soldiers

Before the Zhou Dynasty officially banned merchants, Zhou Wuwang conducted a military exercise in Jin Meng (now Luoyang, Henan Province) to test his appeal. At this point, Shang Zhouwang has lost his heart because of his luxury. In this exercise, more than 800 governors want to cut down businessmen together. However, due to the absence of some big governors, this exercise did not make more moves, but it laid the foundation for the official felling of businessmen later.

5. The Battle of Makino and the Establishment of Zhou Dynasty

After observing soldiers in Jin Meng for two years, Zhou Wuwang felt that the time was ripe. In A.D. 1046, he officially led his troops to attack the Shang Dynasty together with the prince who had assembled before. The allied forces numbered more than 50,000. At this time, the main army of Shang Dynasty was still conquering Dongyi and could not get back in time. The Shang King can only improvise an army of slaves and prisoners 170000 to deal with it. The two armies fought in Mu Ye (now south of Qixian County, Henan Province).

In the battle of Makino, the Shang army itself was dissatisfied with Shang Zhouwang, so they collectively defected and helped the Zhou family to open up the road in the opposite direction. As a result, the Zhou family defeated the Shang Dynasty with fewer victories, entered Chao Ge, replaced Shang Zhouwang, formally established the Zhou Dynasty, and ended the rule of the Shang Dynasty for more than 500 years.

6. Duke Regent

Zhou Wuwang died shortly after the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty, and his son Zhou Chengwang succeeded him. Zhou Chengwang was very young when he first succeeded to the throne. During his reign, Zhou Wuwang's younger brother, Duke Zhou, was in charge of state affairs. During his reign, he enfeoffed governors, pacified civil strife, made Luoyi his capital, carried out the rule of virtue, and formulated rites and music. Duke Zhou not only led the Zhou Dynasty to prosperity, but also laid various systems that influenced later generations.

7. The rule of Cheng Kang

Seven years after the Duke of Zhou was regent, he returned to Zhou Chengwang. On the basis of Duke Zhou, under the leadership of Zhou Chengwang and his son Zhou Kangwang, the Zhou Dynasty created a prosperous situation. During the forty-six years from 1042 BC to 996 BC, the world was peaceful and the penalty was wrong for more than forty years, which was later called "Cheng Kang's rule".

8. Zhaomu Age

After Cheng Kang's rule, King Zhao of Zhou and Zhou Muwang succeeded to the throne. When he arrived in Zhou Muwang, his rule lasted for 55 years, and the prosperity of the Zhou Dynasty reached its peak. However, in order to publicize its national strength, Zhou Muwang often went on overseas expeditions, especially the Rongdi tribe in the northwest, which caused a strong counterattack from Rongdi and laid a hidden danger for the descendants of the Zhou Dynasty. It was from then on that the Zhou Dynasty turned from prosperity to decline.

9, the era of decline

After Zhou Muwang, Wang Gong, Wang Yi, Wang Xiao and Wang Yi successively succeeded to the throne, which is known as the four kings in the middle period. The national strength of the Zhou Dynasty gradually weakened, and then it went through the following three stages.

Zhou Liwang's blackmail: During Zhou Liwang's reign, he sent people to supervise public opinion, which led to the phenomenon of "taking the road as the eye" and eventually triggered a large-scale mass rebellion, so Zhou Liwang fled hastily regardless of the throne.

Republican government: During Zhou Liwang's escape, the prince had no reason to inherit the throne. The Zhou dynasty was leaderless, and the governors discussed the administration of the common institutions together, which was called "Republican administration" in history.

Zhou Xuanwang's short revival: After Zhou Liwang's death, his son Zhou Xuanwang formally succeeded to the throne. He learned from his father's lessons and made great efforts after taking office, and the Zhou Dynasty ushered in a wave of revival.

10, Prince of Zhou Youwang bonfire party

After Zhou Xuanwang, Zhou Youwang was the last monarch of the Western Zhou Dynasty. In order to win the praise of his beloved princess, he proposed and smiled, lit the beacon tower that can only be lit when foreign enemies invaded, and staged a realistic version of the story of "Wolf coming". When the external enemies formally invaded, the governors stopped helping Zhou Youwang, so the Western Zhou Dynasty perished. After Zhou Pingwang succeeded to the throne, the capital moved to Luoyang, and the Eastern Zhou Dynasty began.

Three. Contribution of Western Zhou Dynasty (1)

1, Duke Zhou's regent

Duke Zhou assisted Zhou Chengwang in regency for seven years. In addition to quelling civil strife, the following three measures have had a far-reaching impact on future generations.

Feudalism and patriarchal clan system: In the early days of the establishment of the Western Zhou Dynasty, the Shang Dynasty still possessed most of the old clan forces, but the Zhou Dynasty did not completely control them. In order to strengthen his rule, Duke Zhou introduced feudal system and patriarchal clan system.

The enfeoffment system is that the Zhou Dynasty sent its own representatives or cronies to various places to establish vassal states, and each vassal state ruled on behalf of the Zhou Dynasty, which not only helped the Zhou Dynasty manage the adherents of the Shang Dynasty, but also prevented external tribes from invading! Patriarchal system is to determine the eldest son as the majority and other sons as the minority, and to strengthen the stability and internal cohesion of management through blood relationship.

Establishing the East Capital: Haojing (now Xi 'an, Shaanxi) in the west was the capital of the Western Zhou Dynasty. In order to strengthen management, Duke Zhou built the second capital in Luoyi (now Luoyang, Henan Province) as the eastern capital, echoing Haojing in the west. After the demise of the West, Luoyi became the capital of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty.

Formulation of "Rites of the Week": Duke Zhou formulated the "Rites of the Week with 300 Rites and 3,000 Rites", covering all aspects from state affairs to life nodes, including Ji Li, Li Jia, Li Bin, martial arts and fierce rites, and clearly pointed out the moral norms and codes of conduct that people must abide by. The birth of Zhou Rites not only promoted the stability and harmony of the internal order in the Zhou Dynasty, but also laid the foundation of Chinese etiquette civilization.

Fourth, the contribution of the Western Zhou Dynasty (2)

1 industry

In the Western Zhou Dynasty, compared with the handicraft industry in Shang Dynasty, there were many craftsmen with special skills, who were called "hundred workers". In these industries, bronzes are still one of the most important departments. The number of bronzes unearthed in the Western Zhou Dynasty far exceeded that of the Shang Dynasty, and because of their wide distribution, they gradually began to have various local characteristics.

In pottery, the technology is more mature than that of Shang dynasty, and the varieties are more diverse, covering many aspects of diet, mainly gray pottery. In addition, many primitive porcelains have been unearthed, which is an important stage in the history of China porcelain.

2. Agriculture

During the Western Zhou Dynasty, with the wider application of copper farm tools, the variety and quantity of crops in the Western Zhou Dynasty increased. In The Book of Songs, Zhou Song Harvest Year, it was once captured that there were many millet, treble, trillion and glutinous rice in the harvest year, which expressed the harvest scene of the Western Zhou Dynasty. The more wine, the sweeter the grain. The picture below shows one of the wine vessels in the Western Zhou Dynasty.

3. Culture

During the Western Zhou Dynasty, Oracle Bone Inscriptions in Shang Dynasty was mainly used for writing, and inscriptions on bronzes were more popular. In terms of rites and music, because the ceremonies in the Zhou Dynasty were very complicated, special officials appeared to manage the rituals and music. In terms of sacrifice, from superstition in Shang Dynasty to ghost worship in Western Zhou Dynasty, more ancestors were sacrificed and the idea of rule by virtue was publicized.

Five, the Western Zhou Dynasty figures

1 Jiang Ziya

Jiang Ziya, whose real name is Jiang Shang, is regarded as the head of a hundred schools by later generations. There is a famous story about Jiang Taigong fishing, and he is willing to take the bait. According to legend, Jiang Ziya fished by the river with a straight hook without bait, and was found by Zhou Wenwang passing by. King Wen asked why, and found that Jiang Ziya was brilliant and resourceful, so he hit it off. Jiang Ziya began to assist, and after the death of King Wen, he continued to assist, eventually defeating the Shang Dynasty and creating Zhou.

2. Duke Zhou

Zhou Gongdan is Zhou Wuwang's younger brother. He once commented on the Duke of Zhou in the Great Biography of Shangshu: one year saved the chaos, two years helped the merchants, three years practiced the election, four years built Hou Wei, five years held weekly camp, and six years of rites and music, and Duke Zhou was called "Sheng Yuan" by later generations. He is an example of Confucius and the source of Confucianism. At the beginning of the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty, it was not only laid through a series of systems.

Six, the Western Zhou Dynasty works

1, Zhouyi

Zhouyi is known as the head of the group classics and the source of the avenue. The author is Ji Chang (King Wen of Zhou for Three Days). According to legend, when Ji Chang was detained, he performed 64 hexagrams according to innate gossip in Fu, with 6 hexagrams each, a total of 384 Ai, accompanied by words of good or ill luck and words of good or ill luck, with profound contents.

At that time, due to the backwardness of ancient science, people would predict the future trend or the quality of things according to divination, and Zhouyi was a book that the ancients summarized the laws behind things and had a very far-reaching impact on all fields of later generations.

2. The Book of Songs

The Book of Songs, one of the Five Classics, is an early collection of ancient poems in China. From the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty to the middle of the Spring and Autumn Period, there were 3 1 1 poems. The content is divided into three parts: wind, elegance and spirit, and the techniques are divided into Fu, Bi and Xing. It is said that there was a poetry collector in the Western Zhou Dynasty who would go deep into folk songs and create European songs reflecting folk life for the emperor at that time as a reference for implementing the system.

Seven, the Western Zhou Dynasty Yandou Site Museum

The Western Zhou Yandou Ruins Museum is located in Dong Jialin Village, Liu Lihe Town, Fangshan District, Beijing. It is the seat of Yan State in the Western Zhou Dynasty. It shows the cultural relics of the Yan State in the Western Zhou Dynasty, including important cultural relics representing the Western Zhou Dynasty, such as Jindingbo Juwei and Keqi. The inscription records the fact that Zhao Gong's eldest son was named Yan Hou by Zhou Wang.