I. Overview of the Western Zhou Dynasty

China's third dynasty, the important discovery of Zhouyi and the Book of Songs, was divided into the Western Zhou Dynasty and the Eastern Zhou Dynasty.

Named event:

Battle of Makino: The time is 1046- 77 BC1.

Duke Zhou's Regency: In 275, the historical capitals were Shaanxi and Henan.

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

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

Second, the Western Zhou Dynasty incident

1, the origin of Zhou clan

The ancestor of the Zhou family was named Abandoned Son. Because he was good at agriculture, he was also called Hou Ji (millet is a kind of food). Yao and Shun served as agricultural officials, and Xia Dynasty obtained fiefs in Xunyi, Shaanxi Province. Later, under the leadership of ancient Qi Huangong, the tribe moved to Qishan and Fufeng, Shaanxi Province, and the surname of Zhou grew 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 family. At this time, the Shang Dynasty moved to Wen Ding. He suspected the influence of the Zhou clan and designed and killed Ji Li, thus creating the 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 make preparations for it.

3. Move the capital to Haojing

After the allusion "Ling Taigong fishing", Zhou Wenwang got Jiang Ziya's assistance and planned to expand the clan bit by bit next week. After Zhou Wenwang's death, his son, Zhou Wuwang, succeeded to the throne and moved the capital to Haojiang, 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 was fleshy and had no intention to deal 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 time, Shang Zhouwang has lost his heart because of his extravagance. In this exercise, more than 800 princes will cut down merchants together. However, due to the absence of some big governors, the exercise did not make more moves, but laid the groundwork for the official chop 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, formally led the troops to attack the Shang Dynasty together with the princes assembled before. The allied forces numbered over 50,000. At this time, the main army of Shang Dynasty was still conquering Dongyi and could not get back in time. Shang Zhouwang can only temporarily put together an army of slaves and prisoners170,000 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 and collectively defected, which helped the Zhou family to open the road in the opposite direction. As a result, the Zhou Dynasty defeated the Shang Dynasty, entered Chao Ge, replaced Shang Zhouwang, and formally established the Zhou Dynasty, ending 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 a variety of systems that influenced future generations.

7. The rule of Cheng Kang

After seven years as regent, the Duke of Zhou 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 at peace, and it was fined for more than forty years, which was later called "the rule of Cheng Kang".

8. Zhao Mu era

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 to 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 succeeded to the throne one after another, which was called 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 Tao as the eye" and finally triggered a large-scale popular rebellion, so Zhou Liwang fled hastily regardless of the throne.

Republic: During the 14 period when Zhou Liwang fled, the prince had no reason to inherit the throne. The Zhou Dynasty was leaderless, and the governors discussed the administration of the joint administration, which was called "the administration of the republic" 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 to govern after he took office, and the Zhou Dynasty ushered in a wave of revival.

10, Prince of Zhou Youwang bonfire.

After Zhou Xuanwang, Zhou Youwang was the last monarch of the Western Zhou Dynasty. In order to win the praise of the princess of love, he put forward a smile, lit up the beacon tower that can only be lit up when foreign enemies invaded, and staged a realistic version of the story of "Wolf coming". When the foreign enemy formally invaded, the governors stopped helping Zhou Youwang, and the Western Zhou Dynasty perished. After Zhou Pingwang ascended the throne, the capital moved to Luoyang, and the Eastern Zhou Dynasty began.

Three. Contribution of Western Zhou Dynasty (1)

1, Duke of Zhou Regent

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

Feudal system and patriarchal clan system: In the early days of the establishment of the Western Zhou Dynasty, the Shang Dynasty still retained most of the old clan forces, and the Zhou Dynasty did not fully 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 the invasion of external tribes! Patriarchal law is to determine that the eldest son is the majority and the other sons are minors, and to strengthen the stability of management and internal cohesion through blood relationship.

Establishing the East Capital: Haojing (now Xi 'an, Shaanxi) was the capital of the early Western Zhou Dynasty, located in the west. In order to strengthen management, Duke Zhou built the second capital in Luoyi (now Luoyang, Henan Province) as the eastern capital, echoing the western city of Haojing. After the destruction 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 national events to life nodes, including the five rites system of "military ceremony" and "fierce ceremony", and clearly pointed out the moral norms and codes of conduct that people must abide by. The birth of Zhou Li not only promoted the stability and harmony of the internal order of the Zhou Dynasty, but also laid the foundation of Chinese etiquette civilization.

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

1, industry

During the Western Zhou Dynasty, there were many craftsmen with special skills, which were called "Baigong". Bronze ware is still one of the most important sectors in these industries. 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, there were many millet, high stalks, trillions and grains in the harvest year, which expressed the harvest scene in the Western Zhou Dynasty. The more you drink, the sweeter the grain becomes. The picture below shows one of the wine vessels in the Western Zhou Dynasty.

3. Culture

During the Western Zhou Dynasty, the characters were mainly written by Oracle Bone Inscriptions in Shang Dynasty, and bronze inscriptions were more popular. In terms of rites and music, due to the complexity of the ceremonies in the Zhou Dynasty, special officials appeared to manage the rites and music and choreography. In terms of sacrifices, from superstitions in the Shang Dynasty to the Western Zhou Dynasty, more sacrifices were made to ancestors and the idea of ruling by virtue was publicized.

Five, the Western Zhou Dynasty figures

1, Jiang Ziya

Jiang Ziya, whose real name is Jiang Shang, is regarded as 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, and 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

Duke Zhou's name is Dan, and he is Zhou Wuwang's younger brother. He once commented on the Duke of Zhou in The Great Biography of Shangshu: one year to save chaos, two years to help businessmen, three years to practice elections, four years to build Hou Wei, five years to make weekly camp, and six years to make rites and music. 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 sixty-four hexagrams according to innate gossip in Fu, with six hexagrams each, totaling 384 Ai, with good or bad words and good or bad words, which were profound in content.

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 the book that the ancients summarized the laws behind things, which 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 write European songs reflecting folk life for the emperor at that time as a reference for implementing the system.

Seven, the Western Zhou Dynasty Yan Dou Site Museum

The Western Zhou Yandou Ruins Museum is located in Dong Jialin Village, Liu Lihe Town, Fangshan District, Beijing. It was the seat of Yan State in the Western Zhou Dynasty. It shows the cultural relics of 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 seal of the eldest son, Ke Weiyan Hou.