With the bankruptcy of politics, economy, military culture and other aspects one by one, the authority of the Zhou royal family plummeted, and they could only survive amidst the strength of various princes. But at the same time, life was not easy for the princes of various countries. They also faced pressure from ministers, officials, and even scholars, and the entire society experienced a great change in which "the lower class suppressed the upper class." It is no wonder that Confucius lamented the famous saying. The emergence of such situations as "the collapse of rituals and the collapse of music" were all caused by the disintegration of the Sino-French system in the Zhou Dynasty.
To put it simply, the patriarchal system is a system that distributes rights and property based on blood relations. It has a long history. According to archaeological materials, it is known that the prototype of this system existed as early as the Shang Dynasty. However, the Western Zhou Dynasty reformed and developed this system to make it more suitable for the political and economic situation at that time. At the same time, the patriarchal legal system of the Western Zhou Dynasty stipulated that "the establishment of direct descendants is based on elders and not on virtuous people."
It means that only the eldest son is qualified to inherit the throne. The other sons born from concubines are called bastards and are divided into various places and become vassals. By analogy, in the kingdoms of vassals, the eldest sons also inherit the throne of princes, while the bastards are enfeoffed. As a Qing, the Qing's concubine will be granted the title of doctor, and the doctor's concubine will become an ordinary commoner. And so on. As the blood relationship fades, the nobles of the past will become commoners.
This design formed the entire ruling class into a huge pyramid-shaped structure. In such a complex and rigorous system, everyone's identity was relative. The emperor at the top of the pyramid was the absolute patriarch, while the princes were relative to the emperor. Small sects, and large sects in their own feudal states, are so interlocked and closely connected. Politically speaking, the emperor is the king of a country and has absolute political potential. The advantage is that it also supports the status of ancestor sacrifices during clan sacrifices, and is in this chain. This is true for princes, ministers, officials, and scholars. The patriarchal system integrates political power and clan power. The close integration makes the rule of the Zhou royal family more consolidated, and the power of the Emperor of Zhou comes from this.
To be honest, to put it bluntly, we rely on blood ties to build relationships.
But times are always evolving. Therefore, cracks gradually appeared in the patriarchal system from within. As mentioned before, King You of Zhou favored Bao Si and made his son Bo Fu the crown prince. This undoubtedly destroyed the eldest son inheritance system. Although King You of Zhou was smart enough to abolish Bao Si after his death and made Bao Si the queen instead. But this deception could not change the fact that he had trampled on the rules of his ancestors wantonly, so King You of Zhou also lost his country and his family.
King Zhou You set a bad example for future generations. Unfortunately, many of his descendants imitated him. During the Spring and Autumn Period, the sons of common people who were unsatisfied with the status quo allied with ministers or powerful princes to try to ascend the throne and usurp the throne. Internal strife in the royal family frequently occurred. In the third year of King Zhouzhuang, in 694 BC, the ruling minister Zhou Gong Heijian, also known as Zhou Huan Gong, not long after the confrontation. The King of Zhouzhuang was dissatisfied, and since he was planning a regicide coup, he wanted to change his position to become the emperor of King Zhuang, Wang Zi Ke. Fortunately, the incident was reported by Xin Bo. Duke Zhou died in Heijian, and Prince Ke fled to Yan State for refuge.
In the third year of King Zhou Xiang's reign, in 649 BC, his half-brother Wang Zidai colluded with Xirong and Beidi to try to rebel against the king. Although King Zhou Xiang acted first and drove Wang Zidai to Qi State, the prince did not give up. In the 16th year of King Xiang of Zhou, in 636 BC, the princes came back and captured Chengzhou with the cooperation of some ministers of the Zhou royal family and Beidi. King Zhou Xiang had no choice but to flee to the state of Zheng for refuge. Later, Duke Wen of Jin, Chong'er, sent troops to quell the rebellion and killed the prince, so that King Zhou Xiang could regain his throne.
This trend intensified. In the 24th year of King Zhou Jing's reign and in 520 BC, King Zhou Jing died. The crown prince, Prince Meng, was supposed to succeed him, but King Zhou Jing favored his eldest son, Prince Chao, during his lifetime. He was appointed to succeed him, and the two fought for the throne. Although Wang Zimeng proclaimed himself king, he was later killed by Wang Zichao. After Prince Meng's son Wang Zigai came to the throne, he and Wang Zichao fought for three years.
In the 28th year of King Zhou Ding, in 441 BC, the prince who succeeded King Zhou Ding died and was killed by his younger brother Wang Zishu only three months after he succeeded to the throne. The prince's uncle was killed by his younger brother Wang Ziwei five months after he succeeded to the throne. After his death, it was already the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, and the internal and external situation of the Zhou royal family had reached a point of intensification, which finally led to another division of the Zhou royal family. After Prince Wei succeeded to the throne, he named his son Prince Banyu Gong, southwest of Gongyi, Henan today, and later Split into the Eastern Zhou Kingdom.
Even the royal family was in such civil strife. The politically and economically dominant vassal states no longer took the Emperor of Zhou seriously and often participated in the civil strife of the Zhou royal family. However, at the same time, the officials in the vassal states were competing for the position of king. The civil strife that arose after taking the throne was also endless. According to the statistics and analysis of historical records by later historians, 43 monarchs were killed by their ministers or enemies during the entire Spring and Autumn Period, and countless officials were killed in the riots. .
With the bankruptcy of the patriarchal system. The official selection system of the "secular official system" has also been shaken. With the increasing rise of lower-class aristocratic forces such as ministers, officials and even scholars, they have taken advantage of their numerical advantage to participate in politics and enter the center of power, even if they have a lot of maintenance of the traditional ritual and music system. Confucius, his father was only from a low-level noble family, but Confucius once became a sergeant in the state of Lu, holding a high and powerful position.
Changes in the official selection system also caused changes in the salary system. Originally, the patriarchal system could be linked to the well field system, and salaries were distributed by dividing land. However, with the increase in the number of officials, the rise of the commodity economy and the land Privately owned and bought and sold, the land was obviously not enough to distribute, so it was changed to a grain and salary system using grain as a means of payment.
In the Book of Songs, it is written: "The price is for a vassal; the great master maintains the wall; the great state maintains the screen; the great lord is victorious; the eldest son is victorious; the eldest son is victorious; do not allow the city to be destroyed; do not be alone in fear." This sentence is filled with the most beautiful tone, The patriarchal system is compared to a solid city wall. However, during the Spring and Autumn Period, this seemingly unbreakable castle was completely dilapidated by the torrent of the times.
King Wu conquered Zhou, and Muye destroyed the Shang Dynasty in a battle and established the Western Zhou Dynasty. In order to consolidate their rule, the rulers of the Western Zhou Dynasty followed the principle of patriarchal system and enfeoffed the land to the descendants of the Zhou royal family and meritorious ministers. King Wu and Duke Zhou became king. 71 kingdoms were awarded successively. With the expansion of the Zhou Dynasty and the increase in the number of noble children, the number of vassal states increased day by day. By the Spring and Autumn Period, there were actually so-called 1,800 kingdoms. Of course, among these more than a thousand countries, there must be big and small countries, and not all of their names are in the wood industry. Of course, among these more than a thousand countries, there must be big and small countries, and not all of their names are recorded in the annals of history. Historians have compiled records of the Spring and Autumn War. , there are 148 countries in total, and the larger countries include 14 countries including Qi, Jin, Chu, Qin, Lu, Cao, Zheng, Song, Wei, Yan, Chen, Cai, Wu, and Yue.
The reason why the number of vassal states gradually decreased is mainly because in the feudal system of the Western Zhou Dynasty, the jurisdiction of the vassal states became state territories. There are strict restrictions, and the princes cannot change or leave the territory at will. However, the help of the princes may be large or small, which results in the national power of the princes being strong or weak. With the development of the times, some countries have vast territories and good governance. The influence of the vassal states gradually expanded across the territory to other places and established their own sphere of influence.
Small countries within the sphere of influence of powerful countries have become vassals, or simply been destroyed by big powers. This situation has already existed in the Western Zhou Dynasty. By the Spring and Autumn Period, with the decline of the power of the Zhou royal family, it could no longer effectively control the relationship between vassal states. As a result, fierce annexation wars often broke out between ambitious vassal states, not to mention the fall of small countries. According to statistics from Qing Dynasty scholar Gu Donggao, Qi annexed 10 countries during the Spring and Autumn Period, and Jin annexed 18, Qi State annexed 12, Chu State annexed 42, medium-sized vassal states like Lu also annexed 9, and Song State annexed 6.
Transnational Mount Tai, the State of Lu is located in the southwest corner of the State of Qi. The State of Lu was originally a fiefdom of Duke Zhou and had a close relationship with the Zhou royal family, so it also enjoyed special treatment. There is such a verse in the Book of Songs. "The king said that his uncle, Jia'er Yuanzi, was appointed Marquis Yulu, Daqi Eryu, and was the assistant of the Zhou Dynasty."
Located in the south is Xiong Ze, the ancestor of Chu State. It is said that he is a descendant of Zhu Rong. Although he was canonized by King Wen of Zhou Dynasty, due to his geographical location outside the Central Plains, he has always been regarded as a barbarian and rejected by the Central Plains countries. But this is this The barbarians were at odds with the Western Zhou royal family during the reigns of King Zhao and King Mu of the Zhou Dynasty, forcing the King of Zhou to confer the Kingdom of Shen in the south as an outpost to defend against the Chu people. By the early Spring and Autumn Period, the increasingly powerful Chu Kingdom simply proclaimed itself king and Zhou The emperor sat up.
Located in the west is the state of Qin. Qin is the same as Chu. Although it is said to be from a famous family, the king of Qin is said to be a descendant of Boyi, Yu's main assistant in controlling floods. Because of its remote location, it was regarded as a Rongdi. It was not until the period of Qin Xianggong that King Fengping moved eastward. However, Qin Xianggong made a lot of efforts and was officially made a prince. Later, he took over the royal family home of the Western Zhou Dynasty and gradually grew into a hegemon.
Located in the north are the Kingdom of Jin and the Kingdom of Yan. The Kingdom of Jin was the fiefdom of Tang Shuyu, the younger brother of King Zhou Cheng, the son of King Wu of Zhou. It was originally called the Kingdom of Tang. Later, it was renamed the Kingdom of Jin because of the Jin River. When King Ping moved eastward, the Kingdom of Jin also Was involved in it. During the Spring and Autumn Period, the Jin State was in rebellion for a long time, and small sects destroyed large sects. Despite this, the Jin State's national strength has always been very strong and played a decisive role in the political arena of the Spring and Autumn Period.
Northeast of the Jin State is the Yan State, and the ancestor of the Yan State is Zhao Gong, who is as famous as Zhou Gongdan. The Yan State was located in the northeast, and its terrain was originally remote. Fortunately, it was a direct descendant of the Zhou royal family, so it was not crowded out by the princes of the Central Plains. However, due to the geographical location, there was not much movement in the Yan State during the Spring and Autumn Period.
In the Central Plains area, which is now the Henan area, there are many vassal states close to the Zhou royal family, forming an intertwined trend. Among them, the biggest one is the Zheng State. In fact, the founding of the Zheng State was formed when King Xuan of Zhou enthroned his younger brother Wang Ziyou. The prince had a lot of political vision. During the chaos of the Western Zhou Dynasty, he transferred the property and population of the fiefdom in advance. Therefore, not only did Zheng Guo suffer no losses, but because it contributed a lot when King Ping moved eastward, its status was improved and it became a powerful country in the Central Plains in the early Spring and Autumn Period.
To the east of Zheng State is Song State. The Song State was founded by the descendants of the Shang Dynasty royal family. As an old member of the previous dynasty, it was enshrined in the Central Plains. It was originally supposed to be supervised by the descendants of the Western Zhou royal family. However, in the Spring and Autumn Period, the Song State actually rose to prominence due to its favorable terrain. It's a pity that although there is such intention, there is no such power. Its hegemony is fleeting, and later it becomes a battleground for military strategists. The local people suffer the scourge of war.
Weiguo is also an important vassal state in the Central Plains. It has a long history. It is the fiefdom of Uncle Kang, the son of King Wen of Zhou Dynasty. During the Spring and Autumn Period, Weiguo participated in political activities many times and was quite active. But surprisingly, perhaps, It's because Weiguo is too small, too small to be important, even if it's too ostentatious. It is also difficult to attract the attention of other countries. Therefore, the name of Weiguo remained until the period of Qin II, when the country was officially abolished.
In the late Spring and Autumn Period, the Wu and Yue states in the southeast also emerged one after another, which is in today's Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas. These two countries were originally called barbarian countries by the countries in the Central Plains. But they all successively gained the status of overlords of the Central Plains with their strong strength.
