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King Youwang Tricks Regional Lords-Sequel І

King Youwang Tricks Regional Lords-Sequel І



When King Youwang was enthroned in the late Western Zhou Dynasty, the dynasty was at the brink of collapse, with lingering disasters and famines. Youwang, however, only continued to indulge himself in dissolute living.

King Youwang Tricks Regional Lords-Sequel І

Baosi, his favorite concubine, seldom ever smiled. The king used all kinds of ways to tease her hoping she would burst into laughter, but to no avail. He then announced that he would award a thousand silver coins to anyone who could make Baosi smile.



Guo Shifu, a high-ranking court official, always excelled at pleasing the king. He offered Youwang a notorious suggestion - that he could play a trick on the regional lords by sending false emergency signals.



In an effort to cope with possible attacks from the Quanrong tribe to the west, the Zhou Dynasty had built every few kilometers a total of over twenty signal towers on Lishan Mountain near Haojing. In case of attack, the soldiers defending the towers were to light fires to inform each other. When regional lords saw the fires, they would send troops to rescue the capital city.



Youwang and Baosi came to Lishan Mountain and ordered fires lit to signal the towers. Believing the capital to be under attack, nearby regional lords rushed to the rescue with their troops. They were all bewildered upon arrival, as they could not see a single invader, but only heard the sounds of merrymaking wafting from the palace in the mountain. Seeing the lords making such a great fuss, Baosi broke into laughter. When they realized that it was all a hoax, the frustrated "rescuers" angrily departed.
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#Posted on Thursday, 21 February 2013 at 8:56 PM

Zhougong, a Loyal Aide-Sequel І

 

Zhougong, a Loyal Aide-Sequel І



After toppling the Shang Dynasty, King Wuwang divided the vast territory into fiefdoms, each of which was governed as a separate state. After this had been accomplished, Wuwang, now the king of the Western Zhou Dynasty, hoped to see an end to all wars and chaos. As soon as he returned to the capital, he ordered the horses in the army to be released and the weapons put away in storehouses, a sign of long-lasting peace.

Zhougong, a Loyal Aide-Sequel І

Despite this, he still remained haunted by a sense of insecurity, as there were many people who refused to obey the rulers of the Zhou Dynasty. For example, Boyi and Shuqi claimed to prefer starving to death to eating the food provided by Zhou authorities. Jizi sailed to (what is now) Korea, to flee Zhou's rule; enough was enough. Obviously the rule of Wuwang was not stable. He was extremely concerned about the future of the dynasty, as he himself was feeble and aged, whereas his son, Song, was still too young to succeed him. He grew so anxious that he became seriously ill. On his sickbed, the dying king asked Duke Zhougong to help Prince Song to govern the country.



Zhougong was the fourth son of King Wenwang. Wenwang's eldest son Boyikao had been killed by King Zhouwang of the Shang Dynasty. His second and third sons were Wuwang and Guanshuxian, respectively. Guanshuxian believed that Wuwang, who had ascended the throne because Boyikao had died so young, was expected to pass the throne to him, rather than the younger Zhougong. He tried to persuade other brothers to rally together in opposition to Zhougong.
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#Posted on Thursday, 21 February 2013 at 8:51 PM

King Wuwang Topples the Shang Dynasty



King Wuwang Topples the Shang Dynasty



Corruption in the Shang Dynasty reached its peak during the reign of King Zhouwang. He had a luxurious palace built in Chaoge called "Lutai," or Deer Terrace, which served as a storehouse for the treasures he had seized. The king used various brutal methods to suppress the people. One of the devices, dubbed paoluo, was said to be a hollow bronze column, some 6 meters high and 2.4 meters cross, stuffed with buming carbon, with three holes distributed evenly from top to bottom. Those who opposed him, officials and common people alike, would all be arrested and burned to death on the red-hot column.
King Wuwang Topples the Shang Dynasty


As the Shang Dynasty declined, a state named Zhou was rising to the west. In stark contrast to Zhouwang's cruelty, King Wenwang of Zhou adopted a policy of "enriching the people," to encourage them to become rich through labor. Hardworking and living a simple life, the king often went to work in the fields together with the peasants to learn about their lives. By the time his son, King Wuwang (r. 1046 to 1042 BC), took the throne, Zhou had overpowered the Shang. Many states that had been subordinate to Shang turned instead to Zhou.



When Wuwang commanded his troops to advance toward Mengjin, taking with him on a chariot a memorial tablet for his late father, he was joined by many other regional rulers who had long resented Zhouwang. They all suggested to Wuwang that he should attack Chaoge directly, to end the rule of Zhouwang. After studying the intelligence reports filed by the spies he had sent to Chaoge, Wuwang decided that the time was not yet ripe for the final attack. He then withdrew his troops, and continued to make preparations while biding his time.



Upon learning that Wuwang's troops were nearby, Zhouwang hastened to gather about 170,000 troops to confront the invaders at Muye. Though outnumbering Wuwang's troops, Zhouwang's troops were mostly composed of slaves who had just been captured. These slaves were all outraged by the cruel king, but they were placed in the front, with elite forces and imperial guards from behind forcing them to charge, an arrangement that only heightened their desire to rebel. As soon as the battle commenced, they switched allegiances and joined soldiers from the Zhou and fought against the Shang troops. As a result, Zhouwang suffered a severe defeat at Muye. Upon seeing the fall of his dynasty, he dressed himself up, mounted the Deer Terrace, piled beautiful jade and other precious treasures all around himself, and ordered the terrace to be set on fire, putting an end to his wicked life.



Five days after the decisive battle at Muye, Wuwang proclaimed the founding of the Zhou Dynasty, taking Haojing (southeast of today's Lintong, Shaanxi Province) as the capital. It was known as the Western Zhou (1046-771 BC), the third and last slave dynasty in Chinese history, after the Xia and Shang dynasties, and considered the golden age of early China.


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#Posted on Wednesday, 20 February 2013 at 8:31 PM

King Wenwang Scouts for Talent-Sequel І



King Wenwang Scouts for Talent-Sequel І



Ji Chang was the king of Zhou, a tributary state in the Shang Dynasty, commonly referred to as King Wenwang of Zhou. A suspicious tyrant, King Zhouwang, the last sovereign of the Shang, who reigned from 1075 to 1046 BC, feared that the regional lords with large numbers of troops under their control could pose a threat to him. He lured Ji Chang and other kings to Chaoge (today's Qixian County, northern Henan Province), a secondary capital of Zhouwang, and imprisoned them.
King Wenwang Scouts for Talent-Sequel І


Boyikao, Ji Chang's son, went to rescue his father but was killed in Chaoge. Heartbroken, his younger brother Ji Fa was determined to quickly rescue his father by any means. He finally succeeded after bribing Zhouwang with many treasures and pretty young women, while humbly pleading with him. Thus his father was saved. Later, Ji Fa became the first monarch of the Western Zhou Dynasty - King Wuwang.



Returning home, mindful of his son's death and the cruelty of Zhouwang, King Wenwang resolved to practice good governance in his state to improve it, biding the time when it could be powerful enough to topple the tyrant. However, he lacked a good aide competent in both civil administration and military tactics.



One night, he dreamt of the Heavenly God with a white-haired, white-bearded old man. "Allow me to bestow a good teacher and aide to you," the Heavenly God said to him. "His name is Wang." As he and the old man fell down on their knees to thank the Heavenly God, he woke up.


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#Posted on Wednesday, 20 February 2013 at 8:28 PM

The Fall of the Xia Dynasty-Ending



The Fall of the Xia Dynasty-Ending



The Fall of the Xia Dynasty-EndingThey even went as far as to kill the young man who had brought the food sent by Tang to farmhands hired by some Ge nobles, and stole the food. This triggered a battle between the two tribes, in which the Ge was defeated. Tang took this opportunity to seize a number of nearby tribes. Tang's power gradually strengthened with these moves. However, the insensible, decadent Jie did not take note of Tang's ambitions.



Tang thought the time was ripe for overthrowing the Xia Dynasty, since many tribes, no longer able to bear the cruelty of the Xia, had seceded from the dynasty. Tang decided to launch a massive attack. He first imbued the soldiers with a desire to topple the Xia Dynasty by appealing to the aspirations of the heavens. As a result, all the soldiers fought heroically. At a decisive battle in Mingdi, Jie's troops suffered a major defeat. Jie fled to Nanchao (southwest of today's Chaoxian County, Anhui Province), where he was captured by Tang's troops. He was exiled there until his death.



After ousting Jie, Tang continued to eradicate the remaining forces of the Xia Dynasty. Around 1600 BC, Tang officially founded the Shang Dynasty (c. early 17th_llth century BC), the second slave regime in Chinese history.



* Famous Minster YiYin



Yi Yin was once a slave. As he was good at cooking, he took the chance of serving food to the King Shang to present his proposal how to overthrow the Xia Dynasty and build a new country. Later, he was appointed as the "Yin," namely the Right Prime Minister. In the early stage of the Shang Dynasty, he instituted a series of rites and regulations, hence establishing a stable and prosperous country. After his death, the third emperor of the Shang Dynasty Woding held a stately funeral only for the emperors for him and mourned him for three years to praise his contributions to the Shang Dynasty.


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#Posted on Tuesday, 19 February 2013 at 8:56 PM

The Fall of the Xia Dynasty-Sequel І

The Fall of the Xia Dynasty-Sequel I



The Fall of the Xia Dynasty-Sequel ІWhen he died, Da Yu passed the throne to his son Qi, who founded the first slave dynasty in Chinese history, the Xia Dynasty, at the end of the 22nd and beginning of the 21st century BC. Dynastic rulers governed the country for over 400 years until 16th century BC, when Jie, an infamous tyrant, was overthrown.



At that time, the Shang, a tribe living along the lower reaches of the Yellow River who specialized in animal herding, rose rapidly. By the end of the Xia Dynasty, they had become a powerful tribe led by Tang, also known as Shang Tang or Cheng Tang.



Indignant over its corruption, Tang was determined to topple the Xia Dynasty. While acting ostensibly obedient to Jie, he secretly enhanced his own power. In order to facilitate military operations, he moved his tribe to Bo (today's Shangqiu, Henan Province). From Bo to the capital of the Xia Dynasty stretched a vast plain without any mountains or rivers, a geological advantage making it easy for large troops to maneuver. In Bo, Tang with his tolerance won the support of all his tribesmen. He also tried to boost his profile across the country, and to seek the approval of other tribes.



At that time, all tribal leaders believed in gods, and considered the worshipping of the heavens, the earth and their ancestors, to be of paramount importance. However, a tribe called Ge, not far from the Shang tribe, did not offer sacrifices at the correct time. Worse still, the people there themselves ate the cattle and sheep Tang had offered them for sacrificial use.

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#Posted on Tuesday, 19 February 2013 at 8:53 PM

Da Yu Conquers the Floods

Da Yu Conquers the Floods



Da Yu Conquers the FloodsLegend has it that severe floods hit China during the reign of Yao, destroying houses, ravaging farmlands, and drowning tens of thousands of people. In order to save the country from calamity, Yao called on the public to recommend capable persons to deal with the floods. A man named Gun was recommended. For the ensuing nine years, he fought against the floods by building dams. While dams were constructed in one place, those in another place were destroyed. As a result, all his efforts came to nothing in the end. Yao sent Shun to inspect Gun's work. Seeing that Gun could do nothing to stop the floods, Shun had him executed and ordered his son Yu to continue the mission.



Yu took over the task. Learning from his father's failure, he decided to first conduct onsite research. Yu, together with his many aides including Yi and Houji, traveled extensively in the flood stricken areas. They studied the topography of these areas, marking their findings with wooden logs. Based on their research, they came up with plans to tackle the floods.



As chief of the campaign against the floods, Yu set a good example for others. Everybody was moved to tears when they saw his blistered hands and feet. His calves and feet had been soaked in water for so long, that the nails of his toes and hair on his legs had all vanished. In the 13 years he was in charge of combating floods, he passed his home three times during his travels, but never once visited his home.



Yu found the correct approach to control the floods: by creating channels in the mountains, and by diverting the waters through those channels to big rivers and then to the sea. In Yu's time, a range of high mountains (between today's Hejin, Shanxi Province,and Hancheng, Shaanxi Province) blocked the surging Yellow River. Consequently, the river breached its embankments, flooding the regions nearby.



Yu believed that this was the crux of the anti-flood campaign. He decided to create a gap in the mountain so that the river could continue its journey. After strenuous efforts, a gap was excavated. Now, the Yellow River could flow down through the gap. To commemorate this hero, people named the mountain "Longmen" (Dragon's Gate) Mountain, and the gap, "Yumenkou" (Gate of Yu). Yu was also extolled as "Da Yu" (Great Yu) for his remarkable contributions.

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#Posted on Monday, 18 February 2013 at 8:57 PM

Yao Passes the Throne to Shun-Sequel І



Yao Passes the Throne to Shun-Sequel




Yao Passes the Throne to Shun-Sequel ІYao and Shun were two of the Five Emperors in prehistoric China. Yao, surnamed Yinqi and styled Fangxun, was also known as Tang Yao because his fief was in a region called Tang.



Yao won popular support for his superb moral standards and high prestige. A prudent and respectable man, he had been able to strengthen the solidarity of different clans and tribes. Yao also gained respect for his simple way of living.



After 70 years on the throne, the 86-year-old tribal leader felt it time to pass his responsibilities onto a younger person. So he ordered announcements posted across the country, calling on people to recommend able candidates. Shortly after, people unanimously recommended Shun to succeed the old emperor.



Shun lived with his blind father and stepmother, who later gave birth to a son called Xiang. Xiang was lazy and arrogant. However, the father was always partial to him. Despite this, Shun was filial to his parents and kind to his half-brother. Having been told what kind of person Shun was, Yao decided to put him to a test, in order to see if he was qualified enough to be his successor. He married his two daughters Ehuang and Nuying to him, and sent him to work in different parts of the country.



Shun was first sent to farm at the foot of Lishan Mountain, where disputes often rose among the residents over the use of land. As soon as Shun arrived, they stopped quarrelling to focus on their farm work. Shun was also sent to fish among the fishermen. Before this, the fishermen were constantly embroiled in bloody squabbles over houses. However, immediately after Shun arrived, they shed their selfishness and befriended with each other. Wherever Shun went, local people followed his leadership.


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#Posted on Monday, 18 February 2013 at 8:49 PM

Emperors Huangdi and Yandi

Emperors Huangdi and Yandi



Huangdi, or the Yellow Emperor, was one of the Five Emperors in prehistoric China, together with Zhuanxu, Diku, Yao and Shun, prominent tribe leaders of the patriarchal society. With the family name of Gongsun, and given name Xuanyuan, Huangdi was born a talented child. When he grew up, he was elected chief of his tribe, because of his readiness to help his fellow tribesmen. Later, he defeated and annexed a tribe led by Yandi, surnamed Jiang, in an armed conflict. After the takeover, Huangdi became the chief of the new tribe, with Yandi serving as his deputy. The Yan-Huang tribe is believed to be the embryo of the Chinese nation. The Chinese often refer to themselves as "descendants of Huandi and Yandi."



After the merger of the tribes of Yandi and Huangdi, the Jiuli tribe in the south began to move northeastward, threatening the Yan-Huang tribe. As he once had defeated Yandi in a battle, Chiyou, the arrogant chief of the Jiuli tribe, presumed the Yan-Huang tribe to be no match to him.



Chiyou was said to be a powerful figure. He had 81 brothers, all of whom were animals with human heads, each with eight arms and nine toes. Their foreheads were as strong as iron. Wearing colorful designs on their faces, these ferocious creatures could eat sand and stone. In order to cope with the threat from the Jiuli tribe, Yandi and Huangdi had many stone knives and axes carved, and a formidable force trained. At the same time, they devised a scrupulous defense plan.

Emperors Huangdi and Yandi

A fierce battle between the two tribes finally broke out in Zhuolu. At the beginning, Huangdi ordered General Yinglong to block rivers and used the water to drown Chiyou's troops. Chiyou remained unfazed as he had the support of the gods of wind and rain, who sent strong winds and heavy rains. In response, Huangdi sent for Goddess Hanbo, who dispelled the winds and rains with scorching sunshine and dry gusts.



Beaten in the first round, Chiyou was forced to make the most of his powers. Using wizardry, he caused a heavy fog. In the blinding fog, which lasted for three days and nights, the warriors of the Yan-Huang tribe lost all sense of direction, unable to spot their enemies, and they struggled to stay together. Huangdi then ordered General Fenghou to construct a compass chariot to give directions. With the chariot, they found the location of Chiyou's headquarters.



When they launched the decisive attack, the complacent Chiyou was indulging in merrymaking, assuming a guaranteed victory in this battle. The offensive took him by complete surprise. He was beaten to the ground and taken prisoner before he had time to organize any significant counterattack. After their triumph, Yandi and Huangdi merged the Jiuli tribe into the Yan-Huang tribe.

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#Posted on Tuesday, 05 February 2013 at 9:11 PM

My archives (207)

  • Nüwa Repairs the Heavens Tue, February 05, 2013
  • Pangu Creates Heaven and Earth Mon, February 04, 2013
  • Zhougong, a Loyal Aide-Ending Mon, February 04, 2013
  • Great Playwright Guan Hanqing Sun, February 03, 2013
  • Cao Xueqin and a Dream of Red Mansions-Ending Sun, February 03, 2013
  • Lin Zexiu Destroys Opium at Humen Fri, February 01, 2013
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