The rulers of the Western Zhou Dynasty drew lessons from the rise and fall of Xia and Shang Dynasties, especially Shang and Zhou Dynasties, and summed up a set of theories of "respecting morality and being cautious about punishment" and "protecting the people". Zhou people thought that the demise of Xia Shang Dynasty was due to "disrespect for morality, but early death" (Shangshu), and it was precisely because the great virtue of "protecting the people" was "lost in god". Duke Zhou attributed the demise of Xia Dynasty to Xia people's "failure to open up the beauty of the people", "leniency to the people" and "seeking only the right of heaven and democracy to show that life was ruined and punishment was greatly reduced in summer". The reason for Yin's demise is attributed to Yin's heirs, "It will be a great loss if God fails to protect people regardless of heaven". King Wu attacked Yin and wrote the Thai Oath, saying, "Heaven regards himself and others, and heaven listens to himself and others. The people gave it to someone, and now I have to go. " Duke Zhou talked about "cautious punishment" and said, "People told Yu Dan that he was an obedient king." Since Wentz Sun Wen is now, it should not be mistaken for the caution of ordinary prisons, but it is precisely because of this. "Zhou people expect" to be king for ten thousand years, and future generations will always protect the people. "At this time, people-oriented thinking has begun to take shape.
Xia Shang and Western Zhou Dynasty
The founder of Xia Dynasty was Yu. Dayu made great contributions to water control and won the support of the people, so Shun named him the leader of the tribal alliance. After Yu ascended the throne, he was tolerant of the princes and pacified the quartet. Around 2070 BC, Yu established the first slavery dynasty in Chinese history-Xia Dynasty.
After the establishment of the Xia Dynasty, Yu still practiced the abdication system of recommendation by men and abdication by leaders. At the beginning, people elected Hao Tao as the heir to the throne; Hao Tao died early, and they elected Boyi as their successor. However, at that time, Yu's son Qi already had great influence. After Yu's death, Qi became emperor. So the "hereditary system of the throne" replaced the abdication system, which lasted for more than 4,000 years in the history of China.
The Xia Dynasty established its own army and prison, which was the first time in the history of our country that a state power came into being. However, in the early summer, the politics was unstable, and the "Taikang lost his country" incident occurred. Taikang, the son of Qi, ignored the state affairs after he acceded to the throne, was defeated by the governors and fled to Luo 'an. It was not until Shao Kang ascended the throne and defeated the rebellious princes that the Xia Dynasty began to flourish. This prosperous history is called "Shao Kang Zhongxing". Early summer ends and enters the middle period.
Emperor Kong Jia, the Xia Dynasty began to decline. Jie was the last monarch of Xia Dynasty and a famous tyrant in history. He was arrogant and extravagant, plundered a large number of people's wealth, built palaces for himself, aroused people's resistance, and cursed at the sun: "When will your Sun Die get up?" I really want to die with you! "Jie oppresses other vassal States by force, and the vassal States are unbearable and have defected. At this time, a vassal merchant rose, and its leader was Tang. Tang pursues benevolent policies and treats people with tolerance, and people admire him very much. Hearing about this, he once imprisoned Tang in the summer resort, but was confused by wealth and released him. Tang Dynasty used Yi Yin and other sages to develop its own power. About BC 1600, Shang Tang began to attack the Xia Dynasty, and Jie's army was defeated, and the Xia Dynasty perished. The Xia Dynasty was founded about 470 years ago, and passed through 17 generations of emperors and passed down 14 generations.
The Tang Dynasty established the Shang Dynasty, changed its calendar and changed its clothing color. With the help of Yi Yin, the national strength of Shang Dynasty quickly became strong.
After the Shang Dynasty entered the middle period, the imperial clan was in chaos, and governors from all directions did not come to appear before the court. About 1300 BC, King Pan Geng of Shang Dynasty moved the capital to Yin, so Shang Dynasty was also called Yin. After Pan Geng moved to the capital, the people were at peace and the forces of Shang Dynasty revived. This is because Pan Geng can follow Cheng Tang's thought of ruling by virtue. Subsequently, Wu Ding appointed Fu Shuo, enlightened the government, promoted moral education, and revived the Shang Dynasty.
At the end of Shang Dynasty, there was great social chaos. The last monarch of Shang Dynasty was Zhou, who was another famous tyrant after Jie in history. He doted on da ji, built a magnificent deer platform, plundered people's wealth and abused torture. There have been five expeditions to the East. This not only did not strengthen his rule, but caused the princes to resist and the domestic rebellion was like boiling water.
Nine kings of Zhou and Hubei and Xibo Ji Chang, the leader of Zhou Dynasty, were appointed as three princes. The first two men were executed because they were dissatisfied with Zhou Wang's intentions. Uncle Beagan advised him to correct his mistake, and he was cut out and executed. Zhou Wenwang Xibo secretly sighed when he heard these things. So he imprisoned Sibo in prison. Later, the ministers of the Zhou Dynasty sacrificed their wealth and beauty, released Xi Bo and gave him a bow, an arrow and an axe, so that he could conquer other governors.
After Xibo was returned to Zhou State, it had a growing influence on Jiang Shang, Duke Zhou and others. After Xibo's death, his son Ji Fa succeeded to the throne and became the king of Wu. Around 1046 BC, Zhou attacked the Shang dynasty and fought the Shang army in Muye. Zhou Jun won a great victory and took the opportunity to attack the merchants. The Shang Dynasty perished. The capital of the Zhou Dynasty was Haojiang.
After the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty, in order to strengthen the management of the vast areas of the country, the enfeoffment system was implemented. Zhou Wang claimed to be the son of heaven and ceded his sphere of influence to the vassals, who ceded part of their power to Dr. Qing, and Dr. Qing ceded his sphere of influence to the scholars. Then civilians and slaves. Scholars are the lowest people in the ruling class, but they hold the power to control civilians and slaves. This marks the peak of slavery society in China's history.
Although governors can manage their own territory and have the power to enfeoffment other classes, they must be loyal to the son of heaven. It is necessary to pay tribute to Zhou regularly and lead the army to protect him in case of war. After two enfeoffments in the Zhou Dynasty, there were more than 800 governors with national influence. In this way, the king of Zhou firmly grasped the right to govern the whole country.
Twelve kings handed down from the Western Zhou Dynasty. During the reign of the 10th King Zhou Liwang, people were closely protected to prevent people from slandering. The people can't stand it. In 84 1 year BC, the Chinese rioted and drove away Li Wang. When a minister came to power, it was called "* * * and" in history, which was the beginning of a clear chronology in the history of China.
The last king of the Western Zhou Dynasty doted on him, and after he abolished Shen, he aroused the dissatisfaction of Shen Hou. Because you don't like to laugh, you Wang lied about his military situation, but when the princes came, they didn't find the enemy. He looked at the tired and panting vassal and laughed. Wang You was so happy that he lit the bonfire many times and later lost his credit. In 77 1 year BC, Shen Hou set out to attack the Haojiang River, but the vassals did not come to the rescue. The Western Zhou Dynasty also perished. Since then, the status of Zhou Tianzi has plummeted, and various governors have competed for hegemony in order to expand their power. History has entered the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.
In the Xia Dynasty, China was able to make bronzes. After entering the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, the bronze industry flourished. The most famous bronze handicraft is "Simuwu Fang Ding", which is the largest bronze unearthed so far. In addition, there are bronze handicrafts such as "Four Sheep Square Zun", which are also very famous. People call Xia, Shang and Wednesday the Bronze Age.
China's literary history began in Shang Dynasty. Oracle Bone Inscriptions was invented in the Shang Dynasty. It is an original writing carved on the bones of tortoise shells, which was unearthed in Yin Ruins. It recorded the activities of Shang kings and reflected the political and economic situation of Shang Dynasty. In the late Shang Dynasty and early Zhou Dynasty, a kind of writing carved on bronze was found. Because the ancients called bronze gold, this kind of writing is called "bronze inscription", also known as Zhong Dingwen. It is also an important material for studying the history of Shang and Zhou Dynasties. In the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, pictographs were the main ways to create characters, but there were also ways to create characters such as tangible sound and understanding.