In the history of China, there must be a long time of division, and there is a dynasty that has existed for the longest time in the change of dynasties- the Zhou Dynasty.
The Zhou Dynasty (1046 BC - 256 BC) is the third dynasty in Chinese history after the Yin Shang Dynasty, and its existence time node is very special, located at the end of slavery and the beginning of feudalism, which can be said to be a period of transformation.
The Zhou Dynasty passed down a total of 32 generations of monarchs and 37 generations of kings, enjoying a total of 791 years.
In the examination of later history, the Zhou Dynasty was divided into two periods: Western Zhou (1046-771 BC) and Eastern Zhou (770-256 BC), of which the main time of the middle turn was the inuyasha invasion, and the Zhou Youwang Beacon Play Princes led to the destruction of Western Zhou. Western Zhou was founded by Ji Fa, the King of Zhou Wu, and was capitalized in Haojing, which was called Zong Zhou at this time; in the fifth year of King Cheng of Zhou, the Zhou Dynasty set the capital at Luoyi, which was also called Chengzhou at this time; in the first year of the Zhou Ping King (770 BC), the King of Zhou Ping moved east, and the capital of the Zhou Dynasty was set at Luoyi, which was called Chengzhou, and this place was the luoyang of the later generation.
Marked by the eastward migration of the Ping King, this period of the Zhou Dynasty was called the Eastern Zhou.
The Eastern Zhou Period is also known as the Spring and Autumn Warring States Period, during which the three clans of Han, Zhao and Wei joined forces to defeat the ruling Zhi family, and the three families were divided into the Watershed, dividing the Eastern Zhou Period into two parts: spring and autumn and warring states.
So how did the Zhou Dynasty survive to the end of the Warring States period?
Such a story was told in the long novel "Fengshen Yanyi" compiled by later generations of Zhou Annihilation Yin Shang.
It is said that Jiang Taigong fished - the willing person took the bait, when Jiang Ziya was fishing by the Weishui River, he waited for the Ming Jun, who had a chance, to invite him out of the mountain, and Ji Chang, the king of Zhou Wen, who was famous for his virtuousness, was hooked. He sincerely took a cadre of disciples and his entourage to invite Jiang Ziya out of the mountains and go to Western Zhou to help him achieve some hegemony. In order to test the sincerity of this king, Jiang Ziya directly sat on the car and asked King Wen of Zhou to personally pull the car for him, otherwise he would stop there.
The people around you will stop working on the spot, you are just a strategist, although you are considerate of your old age, but it is not the turn of the king to pull a car for you. But King Wen of Zhou didn't care about these things, and without saying a word, he rolled up his sleeves and buried his head. Although the life of King Wen of Zhou, who has the dignity of the emperor, is also quite moist, he really did not neglect to exercise, pulling Jiang Ziya, and walking eight hundred steps in one breath. When he was about to stop and rest for a while and continue, Jiang Ziya got out of the car and spoke: Everything is providence, King Wen has taken eight hundred steps, and the Zhou Dynasty has flourished for eight hundred years! He then followed King Wen of Zhou back to Western Zhou, assisting King Wen and King Wu in founding the Zhou Dynasty.
Of course, this is just myth and legend.
Returning to the real history, the main reasons that allowed the Zhou Dynasty to last so long and survive in the chaotic era of the Spring and Autumn Warring States were mainly two aspects- the policy of sub-feudalism and the ideological patriarchal system.
In terms of policy, Zhou Tianzi divided the Territory of the Zhou Dynasty to the Relatives of the Zhou Clan, meritorious ministers, And Yin merchants and nobles, and each had a fief. The princes set up an official system similar to that of the royal family in their fiefdoms, and they can also control an armed contingent of their own, which can be said to be a high degree of autonomy.
At that time, Zhou Tianzi had greater authority over the princes, and the princes had to obey the orders of nagong. The "Zuo Chuan" Zhao Gong thirteen years said: "The former Tianzi Ban Gong, light and heavy to the column, the column honor tribute, the Zhou system also." "In addition to Gunnar, the princes were also required to make pilgrimages and send troops to conscript. Zhou Tianzi had the right to interfere in the internal affairs of the princes. During the Western Zhou Dynasty, Zhou Tianzi could order the princes, but in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, the authority of the Zhou royal family declined, and most of the princes did not fulfill their obligations to the royal family. The royal family itself also depended on the great powers of the time, Jin, Zheng and Wei, not to mention the matter of ordering the princes.
Ideologically, according to the patriarchal system of the Zhou Dynasty, the clan was divided into large and small sects. The King of Zhou is the Son of Heaven and is the Great Patriarch of the World. The princes were small to the Son of Heaven, but they were large in his fiefdom. The other sons of the princes were given the title of Qing Dafu. Qing Dafu was a small sect to the princes, but within his Caiyi was a large sect. The same is true from the secretary to the taxi.
Therefore, the patriarchal system and the sub-feudal system were mutually exclusive, and in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, the countries were divided into camps and annexed each other, but no one touched the territory of Zhou Tianzi.
All countries stare at each other and make mistakes, using this as an excuse to raise troops, this is justified, the mutual restraint of various countries is the result of the system of division and feudalism, and all countries dare not touch zhou Tianzi's territory, for fear of falling into the hands of others, which is the result of the patriarchal system. The Zhou Dynasty was able to persist until the end of the period because of these two systems.