HISTORY of the ZHANGUO ERA

[sephodwyrm]

Zhan Guo Total War
By Po-Lung Chia a.k.a. Sephodwyrm
Source:
Shi Ji, Professor Wang Shou Kuan
Publisher - Zhong Hua Shu Ju Ptd Ltd, HK
1st edition 1998
ISBN 962-231-924-6

Brief History of the Zhan Guo era (480-221 BC)
The great Chinese sage Confucius was most famous for his great work of history known as <<CHUN QIU>>, or Spring and Autumn. The chronology of Spring and Autumn ended in 480 BC, and this marked the beginning of an unprecedented era of war and violence, brilliance and tragedy, new thought and an end of an order. The name of this era comes from the compilation of several works into a single volume titled as <<ZHAN GUO CE>>, or Strategies of the Warring States, in the late West Han (202 BC – 8 AD) dynasty by a scholar named Liu Xiang who was given the task of reorganizing the Imperial Libraries.

Much of the information about the Warring States were taken from Liu Xiang’s work, as well as the Chronicles (Shi Ji) written by Sima Qian (lived around 100 BC) and various archaeological diggings that unearthed numerous texts and inscriptions from bronze vessels. Also, the ancient Chinese had a system of archiving. The Tai Shi (Grand Archivist) was in charge of recording the various events, sayings and important matters that took place. The Shang dynasty probably have already established the position of the Grand Archivist, as the Chronicles recorded that King Wu only decided to attack Shang when even their Archivists have fled. In addition, many oracle bones have been found dating back to the Shang dynasty, recording various events and asking for various offers.

The West Zhou dynasty (1064-771 BC)
Both Spring and Autumn and Warring States era occurred in the East Zhou dynasty, which itself is a continuation of the West Zhou dynasty. The Zhou dynasty was created after toppling of Shang dynasty (1600-1066 BC). Society in the Shang dynasty was slave-based. The collapse of the Shang to the Zhou was partly due to the social antagonisms between the massive number of slaves and the slave nobles and kings. Indeed, the Shang dynasty was a brutal one, and especially so in the reign of the final king Dixin. Now that the kings of Shang had believed that they were descendants of the Heavens, and that by Heaven’s will they rule.

There had been discovery of numerous graves of the great Shang kings, with decapitated corpses of slaves (the tomb of the 17th king Wu Yi had 164 slaves buried with him, and Fu Hao the warrior queen had a record of 300) that would be buried with the king. Some oracle bones carried inscriptions:
“To punish the escaped slaves, I would cleave off the legs of 100 of them”
“I would sacrifice all the prisoners of war to sate the ancestors”

Seeing the great evils of the Shang king, the other feudal lords began abandoning him, only to be attacked and brutally treated. However, the King of the West, Ji Chang (known as King Wen of Zhou) would start to initiate a secret alliance against the Shang. When he died, his son Ji Fa succeeded him and became overt in his task. In the year 1067 BC, Ji Fa (King Wu of Zhou) gathered the troops of Zhou and marched against the Shang. He gave 2 rousing speeches according to Shi Ji.

On the 11th year of his reign on the day of Wuwu in the 12th month, he mustered the Zhou army and marched through the Pass of Tong, crossing the Meng ford and camping on the northern banks of the Yellow River. The various chieftains and lords came to join his force, and the number of chariots in the army reached 4000. King Wu thus made the Oath of Tai:

“Now the King of Shang, Zhou (the tyrant), only listens to the woman and severed himself from the Will of Heaven. He destroyed the 3 upright morals of Heavens, Earth and Man, distanced himself from his brothers, replaced righteous music of his ancestors with songs of corruption and is drowning himself in hedonistic vanity. He built numerous palaces and lakes, and his cruelty is without peer. The people are oppressed, the loyal advisors are tortured, and even a pregnant woman was ripped apart to retrieve her fetus. The God of Heaven was much angered. He ordered my father to mete out justice for the Heavens. My father could not accomplish this feat, and thus left a will such that I, Fa, would complete this wish. Everyone of you have observed the Shang government and their way of doing things. The tyrant has no wish to change.

If the might of the 2 sides are equal, then it would be a contest of Righteousness. If the Righteousness is equal, then it would be a contest of Honor. Although the tyrant of Shang has a countless subjects, they have countless objectives. I only have 3000 followers, but we all have 1 goal. The evils of the Shang king are overflowing, and Heavens has decreed his death. If I do not follow the Will of Heaven, then my sins would be great. All of you must support me and bring eternal peace to the world of Men.”

In the day of Jiazi of the 2nd month, the Zhou alliance has reached the plains of Muye.
Before the whole army, Ji Fa once again made a speech. Holding a golden bronze axe in his left hand and a white banner on his right, he declared the new oath:

“We people of the west, we have marched so far! Hail! The kings of my alliance! All the masters of ministers, marshals and chief judges! All the generals, commanders, 1000 men leaders and 100 men leaders! All those from Yong, Shu, Qiang, Hao, Wei, Lu, Peng and Pu! Raise your great Ge (dagger axe), arrange your shields, hoist your spears, let us partake in our oath.

The ancients have said: ‘The hen cannot call for dawn, for if she did it, the household would end.’ Now the tyrant of Shang only listens to the woman. He no longer performs sacrificial offerings to his ancestors. He no longer assigns the tasks of ruling to his brothers of the same lineage. He only trusts criminals and evil men, assigning them as Dafu and Qing to oppress the people and harm the lands of Shang.

Now I am dutifully meting out the punishment for Heaven. In the upcoming battle today, march 6, 7 steps, halt and form up. Everyone must strive hard. After striking and thrusting 4, 5, 6, 7 times, halt and form up. Everyone must fight hard! In this battle in the plains of Shang, everyone must fight with the ferocity of the tiger and leopard and the might of the bear and badger. Do not strike those that surrender, but make them serve us of the West. Everyone, fight hard! If you don’t, I’ll slay you myself.”

The battle of Muye saw the Shang king Dixin arraying a vast army of 170000 men against the Zhou alliance of 50000. However, the army of the Shang king was rapidly mustered and composed mostly of slaves. The slaves turned against their oppressors when they saw the chariot of the King of Zhou, and Dixin fled the field, ascended the great tower of Lutai and burnt himself. Ji Fa entered the Chao Ge (the capital of Shang) victorious, and ritually decapitated the bodies of the Shang King and his 2 queens (they both hanged themselves). The Shang dynasty had collapsed and a new order was established.

The Zhou dynasty saw a need to rule effectively instead of relying on brutal sacrificial rites to keep the people in place. They effectively inherited the position as the Son of Heaven, receiving the Heaven’s Will to rule, just as Ji Fa had ‘received’ Heaven’s Will to overthrow the corrupt Shang dynasty. The advisors of Ji Fa who had performed great feats and deeds in ruling and in the war of Muye were granted feudal holdings. Shi Shangfu (or Jiang Ziya) was granted the fiefdom of Qi, prince Dan of Zhou was granted fiefdom of Lu, prince Shi of Zhao was given Yan, Shuxian was given Guan, Shudu was given Cai, and so on. According to the records, the feudal holdings numbered 71. States given to the brothers of Ji Fa numbered 15, and those given to those of the same clan numbered 40. The rest were given to the descendants of the Shang and Xia royalties.

The death of Ji Fa in 1064 BC saw a crisis. The feudal lords of Guan and Cai (Shuxian and Shudu) did not recognize the central authority represented by their young nephew Ji Song (who succeeded his father as King of Zhou). Instead, they supported Wu Geng the son of the tyrant Dixin and declared their revolt. Prince Dan, the lord of Lu and Regent of the dynasty, thus mustered a force to meet his brothers in the field of battle. After 3 years of battle, Shuxian and Wu Geng were both captured and slain. Shudu was exiled. The foundation of the Zhou dynasty was further strengthened as any hope of reestablishing the Shang dynasty was destroyed with the execution of Wu Geng. Prince regent Dan undertook a second task of building a new capital of the Zhou dynasty at Luo Yi. At the event of completion, Ji Song (King Cheng of Zhou) personally came to the royal palace and met all the feudal lords and chieftains of the 4 barbarians. Those who had followed Wu Geng were obliged to live at the capital for ease of control. The Prince Regent also drew up the <<Etiquettes>>, <<Music>> and various <<Rites>> that would be the foundation stone of the Zhou dynasty, solidifying the inheritance laws which would be the main mode of governing.

After Ji Song breathed his last, his son Zhao ascended as King Kang of Zhou. The reigns of Wu, Cheng and Kang was the golden age of West Zhou. King Zhao of Zhou met his end at the crossing of Han river and drowned. The succeeding King Mu of Zhou then drew up more stringent regulations to strengthen the central authority of the dynasty and initiated campaigns against the barbarians.

But the kings that succeeded King Mu were less prestigious. In the reigns of King Gong, Yi, Xiao and Yi the dynasty’s power slid downhill. The northern nomads, the Rong and Di, never halted their incursions. Prolonged wars caused the wealth of the dynasty to dwindle. Some feudal houses became a bankrupt and vented their frustrations upon the dynasty. The reign of King Li was brutal. He trusted sycophants and was lavish in his spending. To meet such demands, King Li increased the levies and monopolized the mountainous and swamp regions. The citizens were much incensed and discussed matters with each other. King Li then sent priests to listen to these conversations, and executed those that dare speak out against him. The citizens thus dared not raise their opinions.

However, after 3 years the angered citizens took arms and exiled the King to Zhi. The throne of Zhou thus sat empty while the princes Zhou and Zhao ruled. This period is known as the Republic of Zhou and Zhao (841-827 BC). Clear and continuous archiving of events started in 841 BC. At the death of King Li, his son ascended as King Xuan of Zhou. He ruled justly and was much beloved. When he breathed his last the throne went to his son Gong Nie, who would be known as King You of Zhou, the 12th king of the Zhou dynasty.