King Keyin of Zhou Wu established the Zhou Dynasty. In order to consolidate the rule of Zhou Tianzi, King Wu of Zhou decided to "feudal relatives, with Fanping Zhou", and gave the land to the clan relatives, heroes and descendants of the ancient kingdom of the Zhou royal family. According to the "Twenty-eight Years of Zuo Chuan Zhaogong", King Wu of Zhou originally divided his 15 brothers, plus other clan relatives with the surname of Ji, and sealed a total of forty princely states with the surname of Ji.
After the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty, King Wu of Zhou only lived for two years, so many things were not done in time, and the establishment of feudal states had only just begun, among these princely states, the more famous ones were the State of Lu of Zhou Gongdan, the State of Qi of Jiang Taigong, the State of Yan of Zhao Gongyi, the State of Cao of Cao Shu Zhenduo, the State of Bi Gonggao, and the State of Qi of Shu Wu. There was also the sealing of Wu Geng, the son of Di Xin, in the Yin Ruins and the command of the remnants of the Yin merchants.
In order to prevent Wu Geng from rebelling, King Wu of Zhou also sealed his three younger brothers around Wu Geng, namely Guan Guo of Guan Shu, Cai Guo of Uncle Cai, and Huo Guo of Huo, and surrounded Wu Geng. King Wu of Zhou's purpose was originally to better monitor Wu Geng, but it turned out to be a big mess. Later, King Wu of Zhou died, and the young King Cheng of Zhou succeeded to the throne, and Zhou Gongdan was regent.
The "History of Zhou Benji" records: "Chengwang Shao, Zhou Chu set the world, Zhou Gong feared the princes Pan Zhou, and Gong Nai was the regent of the state." ”
This caused dissatisfaction among the younger brothers of King Wu of Zhou, especially Uncle Guan and Uncle Cai, who were very dissatisfied, and this disobedience united with Wu Geng to cause chaos, which is known in history as the Rebellion of the Three Prisons. Zhou Gongdan personally led the army to quell the rebellion, and finally put down the rebellion of the Three Prisons. When King Zhou Cheng grew up, Zhou Gongdan returned to power king Zhou Cheng.
During the zhou gongdan and zhou chengwang periods, the division of feudalism has been carried out in an orderly manner, from king Wu to king Cheng, dividing a large number of princely states, Xunzi Ruxiao recorded:
"Concurrently rule the world, establish seventy-one countries, the surname Ji lives alone fifty-three people, and the world is not called partial."
Judging from this figure, by the time of King Cheng of Zhou, there were already seventy-one princely states, and the princely states surnamed Ji accounted for fifty-three. The number of princely states surnamed Ji is still quite considerable.
It is worth mentioning that the State of Chu became a princely state during the zhou chengwang period. The ancestor of the Chu state, Huan Xiong, originally responded to the call of King Wen of Zhou, "Zi Shi Wen Wang," which made a great contribution to the king of Wu, but because the Chu people had always been in the south, living with Baiyue, and were regarded as barbarians by the Central Plains, the State of Chu did not become a princely state during the zhou wu king period.
It was not until the time of King Cheng of Zhou that he remembered the State of Chu and sealed xiong, the descendant of the bear, in Chu Man, "sealing the field of sons and men", fang fifty miles, which was the lowest title among the princely states.
According to the title system of the Zhou Dynasty, the highest rank is the dukedom, most of which are descendants of ancient states, such as the State of Chen and the State of Song; then the Marquis State, such as the State of Qi, the State of Lu, the State of Yan, etc.; and the lower rank is the Earl State, such as the State of Zheng and the State of Qin. The lowest is the Chu State, but after all, it is also a princely state.
After King Cheng of Zhou, the system of sub-fiefs gradually stabilized during the reign of King Kang of Zhou, and a large number of sub-fiefs appeared in the period from King Wu to King Kang, and the number of princely states in this period should have exceeded one hundred. After King Kang of Zhou, the division of the princely states slowed down, although there were still sub-seals, but there were not many sub-fiefs, that is to say, only individual sub-fiefs, such as the need to divide the brothers of Zhou Tianzi.
Due to the lack of historical data, we cannot know the number of princely states, or even a general figure. With the passage of time, new princely states continued to appear, but there were also constantly disappearances of princely states, such as Bi Gonggao, one of the four saints of the early Zhou Dynasty, who was sealed in the Bi kingdom. The bi kingdom existed for a short time, about four hundred years old, and was destroyed by Xi Rong.
After king You of Zhou was killed, the king of Zhou Ping moved east, the Spring and Autumn Warring States began, according to the statistics of the "Spring and Autumn Zuo Clan Biography" and other historical books, the princely states in the early Spring and Autumn Period were about one hundred and fifty, which is only a statistical count of the princely states that existed in a certain period, and did not include the princely states that had disappeared, so it is likely that the zhou dynasty divided more than two hundred princely states or more. However, the proportion of the princely states surnamed Ji should be less and less.
After the King of Zhou Ping moved east, the status of Zhou Tianzi's co-lord was questioned, and the deterrent power was not enough, so the princely states gradually lost control, coupled with the spring and autumn period and the fight with inuyasha, as well as the mutual attack between the princely states, the number of princely states decreased rapidly.
In the Warring States period, this situation is even more serious, the King of Zun has become the past tense, and the annexation war has become the main theme, so the number of princely states in the Warring States period is not much, and in the later period, the situation of the Seven Heroes of the Warring States has been formed, and the princely states surnamed Ji have almost disappeared.
In fact, even among the Seven Heroes of the Warring States, only the State of Yan and the State of Chu were the princely states divided in the Western Zhou Period, while the State of Qin was only a princely state in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, and the State of Qi, which had already become the State of Qi with the surname of Jiang and the Lü clan, had become the State of Qi of the Concubine surname Tian. What's more, the Jin state, which had been the hegemon for a hundred years during the Spring and Autumn Period, was divided into three families by Han Zhao and Wei, and divided into three, with the three kingdoms of Korea, Zhao and Wei.
Therefore, among the Seven Heroes of the Warring States, only the State of Yan was divided by King Wu of Zhou, and it was the princely state with the surname Ji that existed for the longest time, in fact, among the Seven Heroes of the Warring States, the State of Yan was not the only princely state surnamed Ji, but also the State of Wei and Korea.
The ancestor of the State of Wei was Bi Wan, a descendant of Bi Gonggao, who fled to the State of Jin after the fall of the State of Bi, and his descendants eventually established the State of Wei. The ancestor of Korea is Han Wan, a descendant of King Wu of Zhou, who originally had a Korea during the Western Zhou Dynasty, and the founding prince of the country was a son of King Wu of Zhou, and later Korea was destroyed by the State of Jin, and Han Wan became the Qing Dafu of the State of Jin, and his descendants eventually established Korea.