After Han, Zhao and Wei were divided into Jin Dynasty, history entered the early Warring States period, that is, the late Eastern Zhou Dynasty.
History is still moving forward, and after the Warring States Period, the changes became more dramatic. The entire society is changing from the clan system to the family system.
Regardless of whether they are landowners or farmers, they all need to establish a family system in which the patriarch has exclusive power. The Confucian concept of filial piety is directly reflected in the family system, which requires children to obey their father and elder brothers. "Etiquette: Mourning Clothes" also mentions: "Unmarried, obey your father, married, husband, and son after death." It means that the family concept of the entire society is that women obey men. Under this conceptual framework of kings, ministers, fathers, sons, and sons, a grand social and cultural system was constructed, which consolidated the power of the emerging landlord class and at the same time strengthened this concept.
Compared with the Western Zhou Dynasty, the status of the ruling class in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty was constantly challenged by various challenges, and the power of the royal family gradually weakened. After King Ping of Zhou moved eastward, seven small clans with different surnames followed the king. They made regular offerings to the Zhou royal family every year, and the King of Zhou expressed that he would give them titles for generations to come. This is equivalent to giving them legal inheritance rights in terms of status. In the Western Zhou Dynasty, there were large clans such as Zhou, Zhao, Bi, and Mao. During the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, these large clans continued to decline, followed by the decline of the Zhou royal family. The emperor lost his authority, and the strength of the newly enshrined clans in the kingdom was far behind the strength of the Western Zhou Dynasty, which ultimately led to the weakening of the clan system.
In the article "The Analects of Confucius: Jishi Chapter", it is mentioned: "The conquest of ritual and music came from the emperor." It can be seen that during the Western Zhou Dynasty, the status of the king of the Zhou royal family was highly respected, and the princes never dared to overstep it. In the blink of an eye, in the early Eastern Zhou Dynasty, Qi and Jin successively dominated the Xia, Chu dominated the barbarians, and Qin dominated the Xirong. The princes became the authority above all else in their own territories. Although the other princes did not seek hegemony, they were no longer willing to obey the emperor's orders and only acted perfunctorily. This reflects to a large extent that from the early Eastern Zhou Dynasty, the power of the Zhou royal family was gradually dispersed, and the power of the princes gradually overran the power of the old aristocrats.
In the second half of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, all the seven heroes of the Warring States Period began to believe that "politics is controlled by the officials" and politics "comes from the officials". Relying on the power of scholars, the landlord class was able to strengthen and consolidate its power. Most of these scholars were new aristocrats or hangers-on and retainers in the homes of old-style aristocrats. They were only loyal to their masters and not to the king. "Zuo Zhuan: The Twenty-fifth Year of Duke Zhao" records that "retainers do not dare to know the country", which is what is said.
If the original aristocrats of the Western Zhou Dynasty were the first clan, and the princes of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty were the second clan, then the scholar-official class that continued to grow in the middle and late Warring States Period was the third clan. The replacement of the first clan by the second clan represented the decline of the Zhou royal family and the rise of princes; the replacement of the second clan by the third clan represented the establishment of the feudal state. It was at this time that the existence of the Zhou royal family had become a symbol of symbolic significance.
"Historical Records" records that from the Eastern and Western Zhou Dynasties to the time of King Nan of Zhou Dynasty, there were only thirty or forty cities left with a population of less than 30,000 households. Moreover, the East and West Zhou were divided and ruled, with the Duke of East Zhou managing half and the Duke of West Zhou managing the other half. King Nan of Zhou was only the emperor in name.
In the past, the State of Qin deceived the King of Qi and the King of Qin into calling them the two emperors of the East and West in order to let everyone in the world attack Qi. However, in the end, under the pressure of various countries, they had no choice but to cancel the imperial titles. This shows that although King Nan of Zhou no longer had any power at this time, his influence still existed.
After the Changping War, the six eastern countries no longer had the strength to compete with Qin, and the day when Qin would dominate the world was just around the corner.
It was during this period that Zou Yan's theory of the Five Virtues began to flourish. Zou Yan was a native of Qi State. His birth and death dates are unknown. It is estimated that he was born around 324 BC and died around 250 BC. The era of his activities was after Mencius, and he was a contemporary of Gongsun Long and Lu Zhonglian. Zou Yan believed: "The five virtues are invincible, Yutu, Xiamu, Yinjin, and Zhouhuo." He also said: "Those who replace fire must bring water" and "Several prepared generals will migrate to earth." As long as Qin considers itself water If his destiny is to be promoted widely, it can enhance the legitimacy of the Zhou family.
In order to elaborate on this relationship, Zou Yan believed that the history of the Yu (Shun) Dynasty, Xia Dynasty, Shang Dynasty, and Zhou Dynasty was a historical development process in which victory and defeat transformed, and one after another. It strictly follows the order of earth, wood, metal, fire and water, and each dynasty has its own stages. In addition, according to the relationship of starting from earth, ending with water, and migrating to earth, the dynasties cycle back and forth, so they are cyclical. , the contradictory movement of "yin and yang news" promotes the "transfer of five virtues" and plays a decisive role in the "rise and fall of the world (the current world)". The conflict and struggle between the two forces of yin and yang exists in every stage of development when wood wins over earth, metal wins over wood, fire wins over metal, and water wins over fire. The two compete and "the winner gets the job", and the winner eventually becomes the one who writes history. In a cyclical law, all the rise and fall of honor and disgrace are determined in advance. When an emperor is about to rise, God will see it in advance and give blessings to the people. As long as a dynasty is about to decline or rise, Heaven will send certain instructions.
Both Qi and Yan borrowed Zou Yan's theory when they proclaimed themselves emperors, but it was Qin that actually turned it into reality. At that time, in order to destroy the Zhou royal family, King Qin Zhaoxiang said categorically that the Qin State was destined to water and would definitely replace the Zhou Dynasty, which was destined to fire. Of course, after Qin Shihuang arrived, certain changes were made to this theory in order for Qin to survive forever.
Regarding the demise of the Zhou royal family, we need to start with Lord Xinling leading the combined army to defeat the Qin army.
This alliance allowed King Chu Kaolie to see the military talents of Lord Xinling, and he was extremely envious of Wei for having such a talented person. Lord Chun Shen felt unconvinced by this. Why couldn't he be compared to Lord Xinling? Chun Shenjun believed that what he lacked was an opportunity to prove himself.
There is such an opportunity right now. Qin and Zhao are facing a great war. Qin is completely defeated. Zhao naturally has nothing to worry about. Since the battle of Changping, the only way to defeat Qin is thanks to the help of other princes. Zhao has been severely weakened. No more big waves can be stirred up. But Qin State is not the same. Although it has just been driven to the west of Hangu Pass, its strength has not suffered a big loss and it is still the most powerful country in the world.
It's a pity that Chun Shenjun didn't see this. He thought that Qin State, like Zhao State, would be unable to recover after a great defeat, and he thought that he could finally be a fisherman. Therefore, Lord Chun Shen decided to take a big gamble and unite the six countries to attack Qin again. Now that they had just experienced a great victory, all countries must be gearing up and eager to try. As long as the Chu State raises its arms and calls out, heroes from all over the world will surely gather to respond. Chun Shenjun informed the King of Chu of this idea, and the King of Chu had no objection. However, none of the other countries could protect themselves at the moment. They were afraid that other countries would not be willing to send troops just relying on the flag of Chu.
Chun Shenjun thought for a while and thought that this matter could be easily solved. The Chu State could allow the Zhou royal family to call on all countries, and with the huge benefits of attacking the Qin State, the princes of all countries would definitely surrender. The king of Chu agreed.
Chun Shenjun then sent lobbyists to King Zhou Nan, believing that he was the common master of the world and it was his duty to punish the rebels. As long as he said a word, all the countries would bow their heads and obey his orders.
King Zhou Nan never expected that he thought he had been forgotten by the world, but today someone would respect and respect him so much. For a moment, it seemed that the majestic aura of the world in another world had returned to King Zhou Nan. On the body.
Of course, King Nan of Zhou also had his own considerations. He was well aware of his status in the hearts of the princes - when he was in need, he would call him "big king" respectfully; when he was not in need, he would ask them himself, and no one would Will take care of myself. He knew that at this moment, he was useful to the princes again. More importantly, he also had something to ask the princes for help at this moment.
It turned out that not long ago, a battle report came from the front: the Qin army gathered, and its front was pointed directly at Yangcheng in South Korea (now southeast of Dengfeng, Henan). Of course, the Qin State was also very happy to destroy Guo in a false way. They wanted to take the opportunity to destroy the Zhou royal family and control the Jiuding, the symbol of the highest power in the world.
