The Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period were a period of great change in Chinese history. The feudal etiquette tended to collapse, the social situation changed rapidly, and the environment of the times was obviously different from that of the Western Zhou.
The vigorous development of folk academic culture has created many outstanding intellectuals, who have wandered between countries and influenced the situation in various countries; the progress of production technology and tools has promoted the development of agriculture, industry and commerce; the decline of the patriarchal system, the weakening of the royal family, the strengthening of the power of the princes, and the drastic changes in the political situation.
All these changes have left the old system facing anachronistic embarrassment, but the new system has not yet been fully established. The mixture of the old and new systems has made the phenomenon of the times more disordered.
The great change of the times
Under the long development of the Western Zhou Dynasty, the patriarchal system has shown fatigue, and the patriarchal dependence between the feudal states and the Zhou royal family has become increasingly weak, so the binding force of the patriarchal system has gradually weakened. The strength of the Zhou royal family was declining, but the national strength of the princes was growing, so the ambition of the princes to strive for independence and hegemony was gradually strengthening, and this situation became more and more obvious after the Zhou dynasty moved east.
Zhou Gong improved the patriarchal system
At the same time that the patriarchal system was in decline, the times were also facing drastic changes. The various changes that occurred during this period were not only products of the times, but also became important changes affecting the development of the times. The great changes of the times were accompanied by fierce competition between princes for hegemony and striving for strength, which set off a frenzied trend of reform and change of law.
The great changes in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, in short, were a dispute between "etiquette" and "law." Whether in the political, cultural, economic, and military aspects, it all produced a completely different form from the Western Zhou. In the change of the times, there are also obvious differences between the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States.
In terms of politics, although the Spring and Autumn Five Hegemons took "honoring the king and destroying the king" as the call, they were actually challenging the patriarchal system of etiquette. Especially in the late Spring and Autumn Period, the power of the overlord was almost above that of Zhou Tianzi, but nominally still regarded Tianzi as the co-lord of the world.
Therefore, after the patriarchal system lost its role, the world order was in chaos, and in order to find a solution, there was a trend that the rule of law system gradually overrode the ritualism. The emergence of written law officially announced the arrival of this trend, the Spring and Autumn Period first had Zheng Guozi 'Casting Punishment Book', and later in the Jin Dynasty, Zhao Martin "Cast Punishment Ding", which also implemented the law in writing, symbolizing that the social control of the new era must come from the law rather than the etiquette system.
Although Confucius criticized Zhao Martin and devoted himself to the maintenance of the etiquette system, he was powerless to stop the torrent of great changes in the times. The change in the situation of the times shows that the control of the rule of etiquette system of "no courtesy can not be inferior to the common man, and the punishment cannot be punished" has been inferior to the rule of law system of "no selfishness and no favor at home, and no alienation from the outside" of the rule of law system.
Stills of Zhao Martin in "National Treasure"
The weakening of the binding force of the patriarchal system is also reflected in the appointment of talents. In the Spring and Autumn Period, the employment of personnel still followed the patriarchal tradition, and when selecting people for office, they still tended to use nobles who were related by blood, and they should "leave the old behind". Although the style of shangxian has been revived, civilian officials have not yet become the mainstream.
After the middle of the Spring and Autumn Period, the power of the public offices of various countries gradually declined, and the political power of various countries was almost concentrated in the hands of the doctor. After the meeting of the Xiang Dynasty, foreign wars decreased, and the focus of national development was included, so the struggle for power between doctors became more and more serious. Some countries were eventually replaced by doctors to create entirely new countries.
At the beginning of the Warring States period, in order to prevent the mistakes of the dictatorship of the Doctor again, especially the country built by the Qing clan, they were even more severely defensive, and they broke the power of the patriarchal nobility in internal affairs and implemented the employment method of shangxian and regardless of origin.
In terms of culture, a hundred schools of thought contend, and shangxian is prosperous. At the beginning of the Spring and Autumn Period, due to the flow of scholarship into the people, many talents appeared among the commoners, and with the change of social relations and the weak blood relations, the princes often sought talents from the talented and uneducated commoners in order to consolidate their positions of power. On the one hand, it increases its self-strength, and on the other hand, it weakens the power of the nobility. Intellectuals have traveled from country to country and have been valued by the monarch, showing the change in the trend of employing people in the times.
As a result, intellectuals became one of the key factors for influencing the political situation. The "scholar" class began to rise, and they generally had the mentality of "if the monarch does not use it, he will go", but there are still regional differences due to different cultural traditions. If you take Hangu Pass as the boundary, you can divide the two worlds of the Six Kingdoms of Shandong and Qin.
The relationship between the Eastern scholars, including the Chu state, and the current politics gradually formed a tendency to "discuss without rule" over time, especially represented by the Minoru scholar. Minoru scholars like to discuss political affairs, but most of them are non-ruled discussions, with the premise of ensuring their relative independence; the Qin scholars actively participate in the specific operation of politics, and play a great role in Qin's internal affairs and diplomacy under the premise of abandoning their cultural stance.
However, the Qin scholars, except for the Shang martingale, did not see anyone else leaving cultural assets; in contrast, the Shandong Six Kingdoms scholars left a rich cultural heritage. "Learning for learning" and "entering the army" seem to be impossible to go hand in hand in the hearts of the People of the Spring and Autumn Warring States. The views of all the sons are different, which highlights the liveliness of the freedom of thought of the times.
Stills of shang martingale in "Great Qin Empire"
In terms of economy, the progress of production technology and tools has made agriculture more developed and has also led to a high degree of development of industry and commerce. Coupled with the trend of the times such as the popularity of money, the increase in population, the prosperity of cities, and the differentiation of occupations, industry and commerce are very active. However, in the Warring States period, because of frequent wars and large consumption of grain and grass, the rise and fall of the nations was closely related to the development of agriculture, and the idea of heavy peasants developed in accordance with the trend, so industry and commerce were restricted.
Militarily, during the Spring and Autumn Period, the conquests of the princes of the Central Plains were mainly "situations of confrontation between the north and the south", that is, the Qi and Jin in the north and the Chu and Wu in the south competed for hegemony. At that time, most of them fought in the plains, and the method of warfare was mainly vehicle warfare. However, as the scale of the war expanded and the purpose changed, the importance of infantry increased, and more military strength was needed. Therefore, the nations must not break the division between the country and the wilderness in order to expand the source of troops.
In the Warring States period, the princes strengthened the universal conscription system and established a standing army. With the implementation of the county system and the local Shiwu organization, countries vigorously expanded their military strength, and the number of armies owned by the nations far exceeded that of the Spring and Autumn Period, and it truly became the "Warring States Era" - an era of rampant militarism. Annexation and unification of the world have become the main purpose of the war waged by the powerful countries, and the weak countries can only be careful about the big powers in order to survive.
"Great Qin Empire" Stills of the Qin Army
Emergence of emerging countries
In addition to the remarkable "great changes of the times", the "emergence of emerging countries" is also a major event at the turn of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States.
Since the beginning of the Spring and Autumn Period, the power between the princes and the Qing Dafu has obviously weakened, just as the Zhou royal family is unable to control the growth of the strength of the princes, the qing dafu forces in some countries gradually increased, and then controlled the political power, and finally took the office and replaced it to establish a new state.
These emerging countries can be divided into two types, one is to change names and surnames, such as Han, Zhao, Wei and other countries are born from the Jin state, not only the monarch is changed, the name of the country is also completely updated; one is that the easy surname is not easy to name, such as the State of Qi is ruled by the Jiang surname of the Daifu Tian clan, although the name of the country is the same, the monarch has changed.
In the Spring and Autumn Period, during the reign of Gong Xian, in order to prevent the old clan forces of Huanzhuang from threatening the gongfu, Xiangong then adopted the strategy of the grand master Shilang, killing the sons of the huanzhuang clan and moving the capital to stabilize the monarchy; later, due to the succession to the throne, civil unrest broke out in the Jin state, the Jinguo court killed each other in civil strife, the aristocratic power was greatly weakened, and the exiled prince finally returned to the throne after all kinds of difficulties, in order to serve the Duke Wen of Jin. Duke Wen of Jin greatly rewarded meritorious ministers and became a new force in the political arena of the Jin dynasty. Because most of the monarchs are not of the same surname, a special situation has been formed in which the proportion of different surnames is more than that of the same surname among the JinGuoqing doctors.
"Eastern Zhou Kingdoms, Spring and Autumn Chapter" Jin Xian Gong stills
After the middle of the Spring and Autumn Period, some non-Gong clans of the Qing clan controlled almost all the military and political power of the Jin Dynasty, and the main way for them to gain power was the military merit system.
With the expansion of the regime of the Qing clan with different surnames, the monarchy of the Jin Dynasty faced precarious worries. In the late Spring and Autumn Period, the power of the Jin State Office was even weaker, and Qi Chen's infant made Jin, and Jin Chen's uncle told him worriedly that "the government of the Jin State will belong to the Sixth Secretary." Later, the Jin dynasty was divided among six masters, including the Zhao, Wei, Han, Zhi, Fan, and Zhonghang clans.
The six secretaries have carried out reforms, especially in the economic aspect of the reform of the land and acre system and the tax system. Among them, the Zhao family adopts the largest mu system and does not levy land taxes, which is the most popular. According to the "Han Feizi" record, the Duke of Jinping once asked Shu Xiangqun who was superior, and Shu Xiang replied that Zhao Shi was the most virtuous, and it was known that Zhao Shi was able to win the hearts and minds of the people.
The six secretaries fought against each other, and in the end, Han, Zhao, and Wei Sanqing won. The three families divided the jin state power and land, and in the early years of the Warring States period, they were recognized by Zhou Tianzi and were given the title of princes. Although Han, Zhao, and Wei belonged to the emerging countries, they had the same origin in cultural traditions and geographical environment, so they were called the "Three Jins", and they rarely fought with each other.
"Eastern Zhou Kingdoms, Spring and Autumn Chapter" Qi Huangong stills
The monarchs of the State of Qi were mostly mediocre after The Duke of Huan, while the Grand Master Tian Clan bought people's hearts and minds. Yan Bao once said privately to Shu Xiang, "The government of the State of Qi, its pawn belongs to the Tian clan." As he expected, when Qi mourned the Duke, the Tian clan took the lead and further seized the power of the State of Qi. In the eighteenth year of the Duke of Qikang, Tian He met with Marquis Wen of Wei and asked him to be the prince of Li; the following year, King An of Zhou agreed to Marquis Wen's proposal, and Tian He "was made the Marquis of Qi, listed in the Zhou Chamber." ”
These new states symbolized the change in the political pattern of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, the hegemony of the world had been transferred from the hands of the Zhou royal family to the princes, and in the face of the tide of competition for hegemony and annexation, the order under the world was bound to be chaotic.
This is an uneasy but vibrant era, and seeking "change" has become a trend of the times and a panacea for the rescue of difficulties. In this competition for survival between countries, only the strong can survive, and the weak cannot escape the fate of being annexed.