The Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period are the five hegemons that have risen successively in the Spring and Autumn Period, and the so-called hegemons are roughly morally defending the royal family, and the survival is continuous; the territory is tens of thousands of miles in the territory, and the guests serve the four sides; in politics, there are tianzi to the uncle, and there are small countries to attach. The five overlords of the Spring and Autumn Period have always had different versions. According to various ancient texts, the overlords of the Spring and Autumn Period were Zheng Zhuanggong, Qi Huangong, Jin Wengong, Chuzhuang Wang, Qin Mugong, Song Xianggong, Wu Wang lulu, Fu Cha, and Yue Wang Gou Jian.
It can be seen that among the overlords, there are both Monarchs of the Central Plains and Barbarian Kings, which of course does not mean that the distinction between Huayi and Yi at that time has decreased, but only proves the far-reaching integration of nationalities. Among them, in terms of region and influence, king Zhuang of Chu was also the leader of the barbarian kings. King Zhuang of Chu could only dominate the Central Plains as a barbarian king, and in addition to the superiority in force, in terms of spiritual culture, it also reflected the development of the spiritual culture of the Chu state and the Chu nation at this time.
Just as Yu Lie, the Sixth Emperor of Qin, Han Wu benefited from the Fourth Qing Ming, and the hegemony of King Chu Zhuang was not the result of his own efforts, but stood on the accumulation of his predecessors. At the beginning of the founding of the Chu state, the blue wisp of the Chu Road was to open up the mountains and forests, and gradually rose and expanded when chu became the king, and the king of Wu became the king, and the king of Wu became the king, and the wen and cheng fenfa went deep into the Central Plains, and the king of Mu bajianghan was no different for a while, on this basis, the king of Zhuang dared to lead the army, the weight of the victory, the princes of Jiuhe, and the alliance of the lords of The Shu land dominated.
Regarding the hegemony of the King of Chuzhuang, the White Tiger Tong records that Chu Sheng Zheng did not tell him, so as to attack it, and ordered the return of the division and the Jin Kou to besiege the Song, and the Song was thus at peace with it, leading the division away, knowing that the hegemony of Chu Zhuang was also known. The mention of Chu Shengzheng here is intended to show that this is the starting point of King Zhuang of Chu's external hegemony, but the starting point of King Zhuang's hegemony is of course after his "three years without flying and soaring into the sky, three years without making a splash".
At the time of Mu Zhuang, the Jin state was in decline, and Chu had the ambition to dominate. After the death of King Cheng of Chu, King Mu, the father of King Zhuang, took advantage of the internal turmoil in jin to conquer the states of Song, Zheng, Chen, and Cai, and to dominate the Central Plains. After the death of King Mu, there were frequent internal rebellions in the State of Chu, and the State of Jin took the opportunity to counterattack, and Chu's advantage in the Central Plains was lost. At this time, even with the accumulation of several generations of previous kings of the Chu State, when King Zhuang succeeded to the throne, the lord was less suspicious of the country and had internal and external troubles, so he had no choice but to cultivate obscurity and remain silent for three years. Within three years, the Qunshu rebellion, the gongfu rebellion, the Great Famine of the Chu State, and the rebellion of the surrounding ethnic minorities, while the Jin took the opportunity to ally with the princes and seize Chu's sphere of influence in the Central Plains.
Three years later, King Zhuang basically understood the situation at home and abroad, so he reused the sages and expanded outward.
The starting point is "Sheng Zheng". The reign of King Zhuang was a critical period for the jin-Chu struggle for hegemony, and zheng guo was a "strategic place" for both countries. For the State of Chu, "if you want to dominate the Central Plains, you must first get Zheng", and for the State of Jin, "the beginning of saving Zheng and controlling Chu, covering the world is the great trend".
Therefore, the State of Chu successively conquered the three kingdoms of Zheng, Chen, and Song, and the State of Jin was powerless to prevent Chu from moving north to the Central Plains. It should be noted that among the Three Kingdoms, the Zheng Kingdom has a special geographical location, the Song Kingdom is a descendant of Shang Tang, and the Chen Kingdom is the Shun Emperor Zong Temple, which cannot be moved lightly, so King Zhuang is not destroyed by Zheng, not destroyed by Song Wei, and is not destroyed by Chen.
The first reason is that the Chu state is far away from the Three Kingdoms, and it is not easy to rule. The second is that although the annihilation of the state enabled the power of the Chu state to penetrate deep into the Central Plains, it would cause panic in the Central Plains countries and provoke greater resistance, and the non-annihilation of the country would preserve its strength. The third is that the survival of the people can strive for public opinion and moral superiority. The preservation of the Three Kingdoms by the State of Chu, especially Fu Chen, was widely praised by the princes, and the Huainan Zi records: "When the princes heard about it, they all went to Chu."
The people's hearts are attached, which facilitates the calm layout of the Chu State in the next step. At the same time as the three kingdoms, the State of Chu fought everywhere in order to compete with the State of Jin for hegemony. In the eighth year of King Zhuang, King Zhuang "watched the army in ZhouJiang", won the weight of the battle, and then led the army to retreat, a few years later, the Jin-Chu outbreak of the Battle of Yingbei and the Battle of Wu, King Zhuang went north to drink horses, threatened China, took advantage of the situation to besiege the Song, and won the battle.
After the victory over the Song Dynasty, the State of Chu spent another three years with the people's livelihood, and Zhang was relaxed, but King Zhuang died in the third year. Two years after King Zhuang's death, the Fourteen Kingdoms allied with Shu, the Jin State recused, and the princes came to participate in the wei of King Zhuang, and the State of Chu finally established its own hegemony in the form of a main alliance.
There are also people who do not recognize the "hegemony" of King Chuzhuang, which involves the evaluation of the overlord at different times, especially the barbarian overlord.
The name of the Five Lords has already appeared in the Spring and Autumn Period, and the "Left Biography" says that "the five masters of the five masters are also diligent and caressy, in order to serve the king's life", and the status of the five masters is very respected. Mencius said, "The Five Overlords, the Sinners of the Three Kings." Zhao Qi's note: "The five hegemons, the great powers lead the princes in a straight way, and Qi Huan, Jin Wen, Qin Mu, Song Xiang, and Chu Zhuang are also." This theory was originally said in the Spring and Autumn Period, Song Xiang entered the country, which was a recognition of "etiquette", and the juxtaposition of Western Qin and Southern Chu was the work of national integration.
It can also be seen that the Spring and Autumn Period reconciles between etiquette and righteousness and the practice of small words and great righteousness. During the Warring States period, the Xunzi said that the five hegemons were "Qi Huan, Jin Wen, Chu Zhuang, Wu Lu, and Yue Gou Jian", on the grounds that "Faith and Hegemony". Obviously, the "hegemony" recognized by people during the Warring States period lies in the level of strength and political level, and the distinction between the hegemons and the Huayi is no longer so important.
By the Eastern Han Dynasty, the White Tiger Tong listed the five hegemons as "Qi Huan Gong, Jin Wen Gong, Qin Mu Gong, Chu Zhuang Wang, Wu Wang Lu", Chu Zhuang Wang was not among them, reflecting the great unified kingship consciousness of "reviving China and eliminating Yi Di" at this time, except for the King of Chu Zhuang, Western Qin entered because Qin eventually unified China and Han Chengqin Zuo, and King Wu was Taibo after all from China - relatively, the famous Yue Kingdom that competed with Wu for hegemony was not regarded as the Five Hegemons because it was Yidi.
The king of Chu was finally able to dominate in the Central Plains, in today's words, it is the result of the strength of the "comprehensive national strength", relying on the "same desire from top to bottom", then king Zhuang can rely on his own ability and the accumulation of the previous generation to finally dominate, which naturally reflects the double improvement of the political rationality and national personality of the Chu nation behind it. This promotion, on the one hand, is the result of the influence of the fusion of the Chu state and the Central Plains Zhuxia, on the other hand, there is also the political consciousness and national characteristics of the Chu nation itself.
The aforementioned Fu Chen and Wen Ding, for example, reflect King Chu Zhuang's obedience to the Central Plains etiquette system and his study of the Central Plains culture.
The "History of the Chu Shijia" records that it has broken the Chen, that is, the county. All the courtiers congratulated, and Uncle Shen made Qi come and did not congratulate. The king asked, "Contemptuously, morning glory is the field, and the owner of the field takes his cattle." The trail is not straight, and the cattle are not taken? And the king led the princes to cut them down with the chaos of Chen, and coveted his counties with righteousness, so why did he restore the order to the world! "King Zhuang is the queen of the restoration of the kingdom.
The "Zuo Chuan Xuangong Three Years" records that "Chu Zi cut down Lu Hun Zhi Rong, so as for Luo, he watched the army in Zhou Jiang. King Ding made Wang Sun ManLao Chuzi. Chu Zi's size was heavy. Right: "In Germany is not in Ding." ...... Although Zhou De declined, the Mandate of Heaven has not changed, and the weight of Ding is not something that can be asked. "The King of Chu is returning."
For Fu Chen, the reason why the princes praised each other was that the King of Chu was able to preserve the social order and survive and die, which is exactly what the "White Tiger Pass" recognized as "leading the princes to the heavens, the transformation of the world, and the rejuvenation of China". Naturally, yidi cannot be self-eliminated. Even Confucius, who derogated the Chu state in the Spring and Autumn Period, praised, "The king of Chu Zhuang, the king of Chu Zhuang, is a country of light and a thousand multipliers, and the letter of a word is heavy." The letter of Uncle Shen cannot be fulfilled; the sage of the king of Zhuang cannot be disciplined by him. It is also for this reason that the attitude of "Spring and Autumn" towards the King of Chu has changed, which is the so-called "small words and great righteousness".
The Spring and Autumn Chronicle records, "In the winter, in October, the Chu people killed Chen Xia Zhengshu. Ding Hai, Chu Zi into Chen. "Formerly known as the Chu people, it is because the princes can not kill and please, this is uncivilized, uncivilized things, even if "Xia Zhengshu" is not a subject, but the Chu people are dedicated, it is inevitable to overstep the bounds. Of course, in "Spring and Autumn", changing to the monarch of Zhuxia to send troops may be another expression, and the Gaichu people YiDiye are not of the same standard as Zhuxia. Coupled with the kindness of Zhu Xia, they may have the same surname or marriage to each other, and it can be said that the teacher is famous.
However, after changing the Chu people to Chu Zi, the biggest reason was that the King of Chu Zhuang restored Chen, which was to maintain the royal system, preserve the social order, and conform to the great righteousness, so it was also mentioned again, remembering that the Chu State was originally a viscount, and praised the Chu people for incorporating it into the system of patriarchal division. Here, calling the King of Chu Chu a Chu Zi, first, is Confucius's self-denial and restoration, and the second is to recognize the viscount status of the King of Chu in the Zhou Dynasty's sub-feudal system, which for the Spring and Autumn Period is to elevate the status of Chu and is a "gift" to the King of Chu.
However, confucius called Chu ren and Chu zi when he wrote the book, and in his daily life he called him the king of Chu, which is the "power change" outside the small words and righteousness.
The victory was a provocation by the King of Chu to the Zhou royal family, and it was also a temptation. As the co-lord of the world, the King of Zhou did not perish one day, then he occupied the great righteousness one day, and since Qi Huan was the first ruler, the princes never forgot to honor the king. At this time, although the king of Chu had the advantage of the army and the power of victory, he was powerless to confront all the countries, that is, he was powerless to confront the "great righteousness of the world". If the King of Chu offended the Zhou Dynasty excessively, and although the Jin Dynasty was in decline, it was ultimately the head of Zhu Ji, at this time, the King of Zunyi would be able to gain political initiative and public opinion advantages, on the contrary, the Chu State would face a situation in which the whole world would attack and make enemies on all sides.
King Zhuang naturally understood that this was not good for a barbarian country, but insisting on winning the championship, or some of them were taking advantage of the victory and being satisfied, but the main purpose was to test the attitude of the Zhou royal family and other princes towards Chu -- after all, he was still a "Chu zi", and once he wanted to honor the king, it was not completely free of room for maneuver.
In the history books, although Wang Sun Man replied to Chu Zi in a strong tone, Jin and other Central Plains princely states were silent and indifferent, which also showed the strength of the Chu Kingdom. Therefore, the king of Chu, who was well versed in advance and retreat, continued to cultivate virtue, and obeyed the rules of the time.
However, it is not advisable to blindly exaggerate the influence of the Central Plains culture on the Chu state, which also has its own national identity and political consciousness. King Wu of Chu was crowned king in that year, and the "Records of History" recorded that Chu Fa followed. "I am not guilty." Chu Yue: "I am a barbarian also." ...... Please honor the royal family. ”
The royal family did not listen, and two years later the king of Chu angrily said: "The barbarians are all obedient, and the king does not add to the throne, I have self-esteem." "He established himself as the King of Warriors." This fully illustrates the chu people's resistance and rebellion against the Zhou people's "non-my race" attitude. A few years later, King Zhuang came to the throne, also as a prince of a different culture, reflecting the relationship between subordination and hostility between Zhou and Chu.
In the same way, the Chu king Fuchen obviously has little to do with respect for the Miao people of the Central Plains, but more with political considerations, this kind of political wisdom is smallly the king of Chu, and in large terms, the political consciousness of the Chu people.
In the internal affairs of the Chu state, the king of Chu was good at accepting advice, reusing talents, attaching importance to agriculture, and developing commerce, so as to raise the economic development and social order of the Chu state to a higher level. The appearance of the State of Chu is, in the words of the Jin people, "Virtue, execution, political success, time, obedience, and obedience." In short, during the reign of King Zhuang, Chu cultivated virtue at home and abroad, and was bent on fighting for hegemony, so the four seas were served, "After Chu Zixiao, the spiritual scene was not the same as before."
The Spring and Autumn Five Hegemons or Hegemonic Central Plains, or Hegemonic Places, were pivotal figures in the Spring and Autumn Period. Among them, the hegemony of King Chu Zhuang is the result of several generations of accumulation, and it also stems from his own efforts. Examining the hegemony of King Chuzhuang, it can be seen that in ancient China, there were different criteria for judging the princes of the Central Plains and the barbarian princes, so compared with other princes, King Chuzhuang still had a heavy obstacle.
The Spring and Autumn Period is an era of great turmoil and great change, but also an era of great national integration, this period of Chu culture was profoundly influenced by the Culture of the Central Plains, but still has its own national identity and unique national spirit, Chu's hegemony not only requires strength, but also requires the maturity of decision-makers for the political level, so behind Chu's hegemony is the improvement of the entire national political rationality and national personality, which is particularly far-reaching.