The eastward migration of the Ping King was a historical event in the early Eastern Zhou Dynasty when the Zhou royal family moved the capital from Hojing to Luoyi. According to historical records such as "Spring and Autumn" and "Zuo Zhuan", in 771 BC, Shen Hou's father Shen Hou colluded with Inuyasha to attack Hojing. King Zhou You lit a beacon for help, and the princes ignored it because they had been played by the beacon before. King Youwang of Zhou was finally killed at Mount Li, and Western Zhou perished. Later, the princes proclaimed Crown Prince Yiusu as king, as king of Zhou Ping. In 770 BC, King Ping of Zhou moved the capital to Luoyi (around present-day Luoyang, Henan Province), officially beginning the historical stage of Eastern Zhou. As we all know, after King Ping of Zhou moved east to Luoyi, the Zhou royal family continued to decline. The reason for this is that there is no danger to defend luoyang and there is a certain relationship between it and the place where it is located in the land of four wars. So, the question is, why did King Ping of Zhou move the capital to Luoyang instead of continuing to set the capital in Guanzhong?
One
First of all, Fengjing and Hojing, together known as "Fenghao", was the capital of the Western Zhou Dynasty, that is, after the establishment of the Western Zhou Dynasty by Ji Fa, the King of Zhou Wu, the capital was in the area of present-day Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, that is, it belonged to the Guanzhong region. Guanzhong refers to the "four passes", namely Dongtong Pass (Hangu Pass), Xisan Pass (Dazhen Pass), Nanwu Pass (Blue Pass), and North Xiao Pass (Jinsuo Pass). The south of Guanzhong leans on the Qinling Mountains, and the Wei River passes through it, wuhua tianbao, and the people are brilliant. There are natural terrain barriers on all four sides, which are easy to defend and difficult to attack, and there is a saying of "the country of the four plugs" in history. Therefore, there is a certain relationship between the strength of the Western Zhou Dynasty and its fixed capital Guanzhong. As far as Luoyi, where King Zhou Ping moved his capital, that is, the area around present-day Luoyang City, Henan Province, there was not only no danger to defend, but also under the siege of many princely states such as the Jin State, the Zheng State, the State of Qi, the State of Wei, the State of Chu, the State of Lu, and the State of Song.
Two
Further, because the Eastern Zhou royal family was in the land of four wars, its territory was constantly encroached upon by the surrounding princely states, laying the groundwork for its demise at the end of the Warring States period. So, the question is, why did King Ping of Zhou abandon Guanzhong and move the capital to Luoyang, where there was no danger to defend? The reasons for this are mainly divided into the following points. On the one hand, according to historical records such as "Spring and Autumn" and "Zuo Zhuan", in 771 BC, Shen Hou contacted Inuyasha and quickly attacked Hojing, and King You of Zhou fled to Lishan and was killed by Lishan Zhirong. In this context, for the Guanzhong region at that time, there were still Inuyasha forces, which made the Later King of Zhouping feel very much pressure. Inuyasha, the ancient tribal name, is active in the area of present-day Shaanxi and Gansu in ancient times, also known as Xirong.
Three
During the Western Zhou Dynasty and the early Eastern Zhou Dynasty, the power of the Rong people was very strong, and the Chinese states in the Central Plains were more seriously threatened by it, and even the great powers such as the Jin and Qin states were often invaded by the Rong. For example, in order to defeat Xi rong, many monarchs of the Qin state were killed on the battlefield until the reign of Duke Mu of Qin, who severely damaged Xi Rong. Therefore, after king You of Zhou was killed, the Zhou royal family fell into chaos and could not resist xi rong's next attack. Therefore, King Ping of Zhou chose to move east to Luoyi, far from Xirong. On the other hand, Luoyi is the ancient name of Luoyang, the capital of the Zhou Dynasty, Luoyang is "the breadth of the eight directions, and Zhou Luo is the middle, which is called Luoyi". After the Eastern Expedition, the Duke of Zhou set out to build the eastern capital chengzhou in Luoyi. As a result, as far as Luoyi is concerned, it was built and operated as early as the Western Zhou Dynasty, that is, it has favorable conditions for becoming the capital of the Zhou royal family.
Four
Finally, in 770 BC, King Ping of Zhou, in order to escape the invasion of Inu rong, moved the capital east to Luoyi (present-day Luoyang, Henan) under the escort of the Qin army. At the same time, for the Zheng state and the Jin state that protected the Zhou royal family, Zhou Wangping also rewarded for meritorious deeds. At that time, King Ping of Zhou appointed Duke Wu of Zheng as Situ and asked him to assist the Zhou royal family together with Marquis Wen of Jin. King Ping of Zhou, assisted by Duke Wu of Zheng and Marquis Wenhou of Jin, barely supported the situation. Therefore, for the King of Zhou Ping, the reason why he moved east to Luoyang and abandoned Guanzhong also had a certain relationship with the princely states of Qin, Jin, and Zheng. As far as the State of Qin was concerned, it was natural to hope that the Zhou royal family could move out of the Guanzhong region so that it would be convenient for it to repel Xi Rong and seize the area. As far as the Jin and Zheng kingdoms were concerned, the King of Zhou Ping, Dingdu Luoyi, helped him control the Zhou royal family. What do you think about that?
Text/Sentimental History