Dynasties of ChinaSpring and Autumn periodEastern Zhou royal family lineage
Reign 519–476 BCE
After succeeding to the throne during the rebellion of Wang Zichao, he settled in Zhou Dynasty with the support of the state of Jin. During his forty-four years in power, Confucius traveled around the world, and Wu and Yue fought for hegemony.
Ji Gai is the son of King Jing and the half-brother of King Dao. After King Dao's death, Dan Mugong and Liu Wengong supported him to the throne, but his brother-in-law Wang Zichao occupied the royal city and King Jing could only live in Diquan. In 516 BC, the State of Jin sent troops to escort King Jing into the royal city, and Wang Zichao fled to the State of Chu with the classics of the Zhou Dynasty. In 510 BC, the Jin State joined forces with the princes to expand the city of Zhou for him, and King Jing moved to Zhou. In 505 BC, Wang Zichao was killed in Chu. The following year, the rest of the party rebelled again, and King Jing left home again to help Jin quell the chaos.
King Jing reigned for forty-four years, during the transition from the Spring and Autumn period to the Warring States period. When the state of Wu rose, He Lü used Wu Zixu and Sun Wu to conquer Ying, the capital of Chu; King YueGou Jian became angry after defeating Kuaiji and waited for an opportunity to take revenge. The political power of various countries in the Central Plains was transferred to the ministers and officials, the six ministers of the Jin State were merged, and the Qi State Tian often committed regicide. Confucius served as a military officer in the state of Lu, and then traveled around the country for fourteen years. In his later years, he compiled classics and revised the "Spring and Autumn period". He died in 479 BC. King Jing died in 476 BC, and the following year is generally regarded as the beginning of the Warring States period.
King Jing came to the throne during the Wang Zichao Rebellion. He spent the first half of his life fighting for the throne with his concubine brother. He relied on the Jin State to send troops and build cities to settle down in Zhou Dynasty. The independent status of the royal family was in name only. The forty-four years of his reign were a critical period in the transition from the Spring and Autumn period to the Warring States period: the rise of Wu and Yue, the dictatorship of ministers and officials, the promulgation of written laws, Confucius founded private learning and the Confucian school, and the Zhou Dynasty classics followed Wang Zichao to the south, and academics also moved downwards. The royal family is increasingly marginalized, but Chinese thought and culture are ushering in a new beginning.
PoliticsWang Zichao Rebellion
After King Jing's death, Wang Zichao competed with King Dao and King Jing to occupy the royal city. King Jing could only live in Diquan, east of the royal city, facing Wang Zichao from east to west, and the royal family was divided into two.
CultureConfucius asked Zhou about rituals
According to "Historical Records", Confucius and Nangong Jingshu went to the Zhou Dynasty to ask for courtesy from Laozi, the guardian of the Tibetan Chamber. Laozi told them, "A good gentleman hides his secrets as if they are empty, and a gentleman's virtues are as good as a fool." There are different opinions on the date range of this matter.
CultureWang Zichao Ben Chu
The Jin army escorted King Jing into the royal city. Wang Zichao, Zhao family, Mao family, Yin family and others fled to Chu state according to the Zhou Dynasty classics. A large number of documents collected by the Zhou royal family were scattered to the south.
SocietyHe Lü fortified
After King He Lü of Wu assassinated King Lü of Wu and seized the throne, according to the "Wuyue Spring and Autumn period", he ordered Wu Zixu to build the capital He Lü to "be like the earth and the water, like the sky and the earth".
Lasting legacySuzhou took this as the beginning of the city's construction. In 2014, it held a commemoration of the 2,500th anniversary of the city's founding. The ancient city has generally maintained its original location to this day.
Science & technologyJin cast punishment tripod
Zhao Yang and Xun Yin of the Jin State collected iron materials from the people, cast a punishment tripod, and engraved the punishment book prescribed by Fan Xuanzi. This is an earlier record of cast iron in historical records; Confucius criticized that "the Jin Dynasty was destroyed, and its degree was lost."
PeopleSun Wu meets He Lü
Sun Wu, a native of Qi, asked to see King He Lü of Wu with the Thirteenth Article on the Art of War. He practiced formations with his maids in the palace, killed two of King Wu's favorite concubines who did not obey orders, and established military discipline, and was appointed as a general.
Lasting legacy"The Art of War" has been circulated to this day and has been translated into many languages; in 1972, its bamboo slips were unearthed from the Yinqueshan Han Tomb in Linyi, Shandong.
SocietyJincheng Chengzhou
The State of Jin joined forces with the princes and officials to build a Zhoucheng for King Jing to prevent the remnants of Zichao. King Jing settled in Chengzhou from then on and never returned to the royal city.
MilitaryBattle of Baiju
King Wu He Lü used Wu Zixu and Sun Wu's plan to unite Cai and Tang to attack Chu, defeated the Chu army in Baiju, and entered Ying, the capital of Chu, in five battles. Shen Baoxu went to Qin to ask for help and cried in the Qin court for seven days. Qin sent troops and Chu was restored.
PoliticsWang Zichao was killed
King Jing sent people to Chu State to assassinate Wang Zichao. The following year, the rest of the Dan Pian party took advantage of the power of the Zheng State to cause chaos again. King Jing left Guchen and was later escorted back to the court by troops sent by the Jin State.
DiplomacyJiagu meeting
Lu Dinggong and Qi Jinggong met in Jiagu, and Confucius accompanied him as the master of ceremonies. He thwarted the Qi people's Yi Lai people's attempt to hijack Lu Jun, and forced Qi to return the occupied Yun, Xi, and Guiyin fields.
PoliticsFalling into Sandu
Confucius served as the secretariat of the Lu State. In order to weaken the three Huan, he advocated demolishing the walls of the private towns of Jisun, Shusun and Mengsun. The city walls of Jisun and Shusun were demolished, Mengsun's Chengyi refused to obey, and the reform was abandoned halfway.
CultureConfucius traveled around the world
Confucius left the state of Lu and led his disciples to visit Wei, Song, Chen, Cai and other states to preach benevolent and virtuous governance. However, he encountered difficulties many times, but to no avail. In 484 BC, he returned to the state of Lu and devoted himself to education and compilation of classics.
Lasting legacyThe Analects of Confucius, compiled by Confucius's disciples and his subsequent disciples, has been handed down to this day, and the sayings such as "Do not do to others what you do not want others to do to you" are well-known to every household.
PoliticsCivil War between the Six Ministers of Jin Dynasty
In the state of Jin, a civil war broke out between Zhao Yang and the Fan family and the Zhongxing family. Fan and Zhongxing were defeated and fled to the Qi state. The four Qings of the Jin state, Zhi, Han, Zhao and Wei, were in charge of the state affairs. The three families were divided into Jin.
MilitaryBattle of Jakarta
When King Wu He Lü attacked Yue, King YueGou Jian sent criminals to commit suicide in front of the battle to disrupt the Wu army and took the opportunity to attack. The Wu army was defeated. He Lü injured his toe and died soon after. Fu Cha succeeded to the throne and vowed to avenge his father.
MilitaryThe defeat of Kuaiji
King Fu Cha of Wu defeated the Yue army in Fujiao. Gou Jian led his remaining troops to retreat to Kuaiji Mountain. He humbly begged for peace and asked to be a minister of Wu. Fu Cha ignored Wu Zixu's advice and agreed to Yue's request for peace.
EconomyDigging Hangou
In order to fight for hegemony in the north, King Fu Cha of Wu built a city in Han and dug a canal to connect the Yangtze River and the Huaihe River. It was called Hangou in history and was one of the earliest man-made canals with clear records.
Lasting legacyHangou is the earliest excavated section of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, and Yangzhou used this as the beginning of city construction; in 2014, the China Grand Canal was listed as a World Cultural Heritage.
MilitaryBattle of Ai Ling
King Fu Cha of Wu united with the state of Lu to attack Qi and defeated the Qi army in Ailing. Wu Zixu strongly advised him to destroy Yue first, but was given a sword by Fu Cha to commit suicide.
DiplomacyHuangchi meeting
King Fu Cha of Wu went north to form an alliance with Jin Dinggong in Huangchi to compete for the leadership of the alliance. King YueGou Jian took advantage of the elite troops of Wu State to attack Wudu, and Fu Cha hurriedly returned to seek peace.
CultureHuolin's final writing
When the people of Lu hunted to the west and found lin, Confucius sighed, "My way is poor." It is said that the "Spring and Autumn period" revised by Confucius stopped writing at this point, and the records ended in this year.
PoliticsTian Chang regicide
Tian Chang (Chen Heng) of Qi State killed Duke Jian of Qi, supported Duke Ping of Qi, appointed himself Prime Minister, and specialized in state affairs. Confucius took a bath and went to court, asking Duke Ai of Lu to send troops to attack, but he was not allowed.
PeopleConfucius died
Confucius died in the State of Lu at the age of seventy-three and was buried on the shore of Surabaya, north of Lu City. His disciples stayed in mourning for three more years, and Zigong built a hut next to the tomb and guarded the tomb for six years.
Lasting legacyKonglin, the cemetery of Confucius and his descendants, was listed as a World Cultural Heritage together with Confucius Temple and Confucius Mansion in 1994.
After the death of King Jing, he raised an army to fight for the throne. He held the royal city and fought against King Jing for several years. In 516 BC, he went to Chu with Zhou Dynasty's classics. In 505 BC, he was assassinated by King Jing in Chu.
His name is Qiu and his courtesy name is Zhongni. King Jing served as the Sikou of the State of Lu, presided over the Jiagu meeting, and fell into the three capitals. After that, he traveled around the country for fourteen years. In his later years, he compiled "Poems" and "Books", revised "Spring and Autumn period" and founded the Confucian school.
According to "Historical Records", his surname was Li, his name was Er, and his courtesy name was Dan. He once served as the history guard of the Tibetan Chamber of Zhou Dynasty, and Confucius once asked him for courtesy. Seeing the decline of the Zhou Dynasty, he went westward and wrote more than 5,000 words before leaving the pass. His life and book Date range are still controversial.
Fame. He sent Zhuan Zhu to assassinate King Liao of Wu to seize the throne, and appointed Wu Zixu and Sun Wu to conquer Ying, the capital of Chu. He was injured and died in the Battle of Li.
A native of Chu, his father and brother were killed by King Ping of Chu and he fled to Wu. He assisted He Lü in seizing the throne, presided over the construction of the capital of Wu, and led the army to defeat Ying. Later, he repeatedly admonished Fu Cha to destroy Yue first and was sentenced to death.
A native of Qi State, he met King He Lü of Wu with the Thirteenth Article on the Art of War, and was appointed as a general to participate in the battle to defeat Chu. "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu puts forward the principle of "knowing your enemy and yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles without danger", and is known as the "sacred book of military science".
After he came to the throne, the son of He Lü, he defeated the Yue army in Fujiao and went north to Ailing to win over Qi and Huangchi to compete for hegemony, but he spared Gou Jian and sentenced Wu Zixu to death. In 473 BC, Yue defeated Wu and Fu Cha committed suicide.
After the defeat in Kuaiji in 494 BC, he devoted himself to Wu. After returning to the country, he worked hard and appointed Fan Li and Wen Zhong.
That is Zhao Jianzi. Zhu Xingding promulgated the written law and won the civil war with the Fan family and the Zhongxing family, laying the foundation for the Zhao family's future founding of the country. The alliance letter unearthed in Houma, Shanxi in 1965 is generally believed to be related to the alliance oath he presided over.