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The Zhou Dynasty, an important dynasty in Chinese history, lasted for about 800 years, not only was it the longest-lived dynasty in Chinese history. It was also the first dynasty in China to start implementing the feudal system, and the term "feudal society" that had been passed down for thousands of years was called here. The Zhou Dynasty had a profound impact on future generations, and many of the systems, cultures, and rituals of the Zhou Dynasty profoundly influenced the inheritance of Chinese culture, and even today we can see their shadows.
But for such an important dynasty in our history, I am afraid that many people today only remember King Wen of Zhou and King Wu of Zhou, and a large part of this has to be given to the countless stories of Jiang Taigong that have been passed down like gods in the folk, and it is also possible to remember better the King of Zhou You, who did not love the country and the mountains and loved the beauty, and this also has to be given to the famous story of the "Princes of Beacon Theatre".
It is not difficult to understand that the general post-generation ordinary people have the deepest impression of a dynasty is the founding monarch, after all, the common people do not rely on history to eat, but just a talk after dinner, the biggest benefit is to show their own knowledge among friends. So there's really no need to remember that much.
However, for the Zhou Dynasty, in addition to King Wen and King Wu, among the 35 monarchs in the back, for the ordinary people who like gossip, there is a monarch that you should really know, because this is completely a legendary tianzi, and even to some extent, it can be said that it is more legendary than the experience of King Wen wu.
To what extent is this grandfather legendary? First of all, he is the most documented, and he is the only Zhou Tianzi in the entire Zhou Dynasty who has a personal biography. And among the more than 800 people qualified to be called tianzi in ancient China, this grandfather created many records, not only was he the first tianzi to personally visit abroad, but what was even more imaginative was that he was also the first tianzi in Chinese history to develop an ambiguous relationship with a foreign girl, and he can also be said to be one of the few tianzi in the history records that have been circulated to this day that can let people go deep into the world of their feelings.
When we look at this master, we will not just coldly describe and evaluate like most other heavenly sons, just like looking at a dry mummy on display or a dry bone lying in a coffin, he brings us a vivid historical impression of flesh and blood, sentient intention, literary talent and martial arts, and a happy life.
To say this master, let's first look at the pattern of the general trend of the world at that time.
Around 1000 BC, the world was not as complicated as it is today, but it was not simple. At that time, the three major centers were concentrated in North Africa, the Middle East and East Asia (the civilizations of Central and South America had not yet had a direct impact on the Old World, so it was slightly omitted), the Solomon Dynasty in the Middle East was in its heyday, Egypt entered the third intermediate period, internal and external troubles intensified, and China's Western Zhou Dynasty had begun to decline from a period of stable development of more than forty years in the Chengkang dynasty.
One of the reasons for its decline was that King Zhou Zhao's war to expand his territory to the south for copper resources was stubbornly resisted by the Chu state, and he himself accidentally drowned on the way to the conquest, and the entire army was destroyed. Let the strength and prestige of the Zhou Dynasty be hit hard.
Zhou Zhaowang's classmates finally hung up, in fact, for the Zhou Dynasty, this is a lucky and correct accident, because this makes our protagonist finally shine. This is Ji Man, which is what we are going to call the legendary Heavenly Son King Zhou Mu.
Although at this time, King Mu was already fifty-five years old, and finally got this eye-opening throne, it had to be an accident for the old father, otherwise... But although he waited a little longer, at least he still wore this crown, at least it was much luckier than today's Prince Charles.
However, although this old man was already a little old, his heart was not old at all, and it could even be said that his heart was as old as his, and the ambition to revitalize the Zhou royal family was beating vigorously in King Mu's chest. Faced with the situation of "the decline of the royal road" at that time, his greatest ideal was to revive the glorious situation of his ancestors. After taking office, he carried out drastic reforms, launched a series of major measures in domestic and foreign affairs, and became a shining political star in the history of the Western Zhou Dynasty.
Let's take a look at his achievements!
First of all, he presided over the formulation of one of the earliest criminal law codes in ancient China---- "Lü Punishment" (or "Fu Punishment"), which was divided into five kinds of punishments and more than 3,000 legal rules.
We know how boring and cold the provisions of the law are, except for legal experts and historians, the interest of ordinary people in it is certainly not really raised, although the formulation of these regulations is naturally done by King Mu's men, but at least in the end he has to check it. We can imagine that more than three thousand legal rules will be dizzy even if young people just look at it, and the 55-year-old Mu Wang not only has to look at it, but also has to approve and discuss each one on its rationality and feasibility.
Although today's Lü Punishment has been lost, and only an outline outlining the outlines is preserved in the Book of Shang, it is believed that the later Qin law and even the laws of the Han and Tang Dynasties have its shadow. In the history of world law, it is an important document in the history of human civilization before the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi (more than 1700 years BC) and earlier than the Manu Code of India (about 2nd century BC ---- 2nd century AD).
Secondly, he is the longest-lived son of heaven in history, although there is no final "long life without boundaries", but at least he also has the glory of a centenarian. In front of him, Qianlong and Wu Zetian could only be equated with small children.
As soon as this old man appeared, he was already a very mature age, and even matured to the point of "knowing the destiny of heaven": fifty-five years old. In that era, the average life expectancy was short, fifteen years old belonged to adults, forty belonged to the era of entering old age, this age is already the twilight of most people, there are no days to jump to the head, but for this old man it seems to have just entered the period of youth. Because according to historical records, his reign was the longest of all the rulers of the Zhou Dynasty, up to fifty years. You calculate, the number of years he lived to: 105 years old, is basically three to four times the average life expectancy of people in that era.
105 years old, which is placed in today's extremely guaranteed material conditions and health conditions, is also a rare age, which belongs to the object of care and protection that the government has to focus on every year in countless countries. Under the conditions of that year, it is conceivable how rare it is, no wonder, many later history books evaluate that King Mu is already "half human and half immortal". Believe or not believe in you, anyway, the history books record it like this.
Portrait of King Mu of Zhou
In addition, do not say that living long is not an achievement, today you live such a long try, in today's society, the pursuit of health and longevity has been an ultimate life goal of human beings, if you do not believe, you look at the health care industry, health care industry why so hot to know. So this old man is definitely a health originator in our history. Here you don't lift Peng Zu to carry it, because it is definitely a non-existent figure.
Third, to open up the western region, Zhang Qian of the Han Dynasty, who we are familiar with today, sent a mission to the western region of great significance, so that the Chinese civilization and the countries in the western region carried out friendly exchanges and communication, and laid the foundation for the later great "Silk Road", which is of great significance to the promotion and development of Chinese civilization. However, King Mu of Renren was eight hundred years earlier than Zhang Qian in this regard.
For the Zhou Dynasty, the biggest threat came from the northwest direction of the Inu Rong, a fierce nomadic people in the northwest who had always been a major problem for the Zhou Dynasty. And later historical developments did confirm its threat, and in the story of the "Beacon Theatre Princes" that impressed us deeply, the Western Zhou Dynasty was finally destroyed by Inuyasha.
King Mu had long been aware of this problem, and at the beginning of his succession, he first launched two conquests against this inuyasha who was always close to him. Although not much was gained, at least at that time, this strong nomadic people was subdued, and at the same time, the passage to the countries of the western region was opened. According to today's words: Whoever commits a crime against me will be punished from afar!
However, these two wars also had some consequences, and the strong military suppression led some surrounding foreign states to start to fear the Zhou Dynasty, and dissatisfaction was constantly growing, and many countries began to alienate the Zhou Dynasty and passively confronted, one of which was that they no longer came to pay tribute according to the old rules.
Originally, it was meant to establish a will, but it turned out to be isolated. After discussion and analysis, Mu Wang and his think tank felt that it was really not worth the loss, and in order to enhance the stability of the surrounding area, they decided to start an active visit to repair it. And it can't be an ambassador-level visit, it's the fuehrer-level that plays directly, of course, this fuehrer can only be King Mu himself.
King Mu's travel route at that time was preferred in the West. At that time, the Chinese nation was mainly composed of a mixture of the Central Plains people and the Rong in the west, the Di in the north, the Yi in the east, and the Baiyue in the south. The so-called Rongdi and so on are collectively referred to, and there are many branches among them. The Zhou, Qin and other dynasties actually originated from the West and were inextricably linked to Rong Di, many of whom were actually relatives, such as Qiang Rong and Bai Di. So in fact, In a sense, King Mu's westward journey can also be regarded as walking relatives, returning to his hometown, and worshipping his ancestors.
In this way, King Mu came on a walk-and-go trip, and his team went north and west with smoke and dust, including the sacrifice of the Yellow River, the house where the Yellow Emperor once lived on the Kunlun Hills, and the visit to his distant relative Chi Wushi, and talked happily. While hunting and playing, he talks to various countries about the old clichés. The rewards were also generous, and the rewards received were also considerable, mainly jade, strange beasts and horses.
King Mu received warm hospitality everywhere he went, and we can certainly understand that under the pressure of such a powerful army of his followers, if the countries do not warmly entertain, they may not have any good fruit to eat. In this way, King Mu enjoyed many high-level treatments that were difficult to imagine in the Central Plains during this visit, such as drinking the blood of white swans and washing his feet with the milk of cattle and sheep. But after all, it was a place where birds didn't, and I had encountered a lot of trouble, including once in the desert, when I couldn't find a water source and drank horse blood.
This history is recorded in detail in the Biography of Mu Tianzi, excavated in the second year of the Western Jin Dynasty (281 AD) at the tomb of King Wei Xiang of the Warring States of Ji County, Henan. This book should be a transcript of the accompanying historian at that time, and its credibility is very high. But in the end, as for where it arrived, because ancient and modern place names are difficult to correspond to, if there is no new archaeological data to prove it, I am afraid it will be an unsolvable historical mystery.
Personally, I think it is not impossible for some people to say that King Mu went to Central Asia. The mussel carvings of Central Asian heads unearthed in The ZhouYuan of Shaanxi Province can indicate that the interaction between the Zhou people and the Central Asians in the Western Zhou Dynasty must have existed, and even the possibility that some Central Asians were a branch of the Zhou people at that time could not be ruled out. From this, we can also see that King Mu and his entourage did not have a poor understanding of the Western Regions and Central Asia, at least not completely ignorant.
King Mu's visit this time has achieved great results, and the Great Power Tianzi of the Central Plains has risked his life to give such a big face, how can the leaders of the countries in the Western Regions not feel Pei Ende and will never be impressed. In this way, the countries began to re-annex, and the western border began to settle, until after the death of King Mu, riots began again. At the same time, it has also played a positive role in promoting cultural exchanges and communication between the Central Plains and the Western Regions, so the significance of King Mu's visit is of great significance.
Of course, we objectively say that from the perspective of human nature, the purpose of King Mu's visit is certainly not completely so simple and lofty. Reconciliation with nations is only one of the purposes. It is likely that the richness and prestige of the great power Tianzi are displayed everywhere, showing that the wealth and prestige of the great power Tianzi are likely to be two of them.
At that time, according to the zhouli regulations, the tianzi's luxury car should use six horses. King Mu then brought with him his favorite eight divine horses: Chi Ji, Thief Li, Bai Yi, Chao Lun, Shan Zi, Qu Huang, Hua Xiao, and Green Ear (these horses obtained from the northwest conquest were all given a very Chinese name, unlike the six horses of the later Tang Taizong who gave some foreign names), and it was possible whether the eight horses would appear in turn or appear together.
In addition, it also brought a large-scale and well-equipped elite field force and a large number of rich Heavenly Dynasty products. How could such a position not make the small countries in the western regions, which were still barbarian and ugly, stunned and envious? I have always estimated that the Ming Dynasty Zhu Di engaged in Zheng He's Western studies was King Mu of Zhou, who used the army to protect the freedom and safety of navigation, and then sprinkled money and gifts everywhere, playing with the means of swinging to pull the younger brother.
Unearthed Ordos shortsword
The third is to search for treasures. Can we understand this, Son of Heaven, isn't there only this left in the pursuit of life? When he was still fighting xijong, King Mu had obtained two rare treasures: one was the sword of Kunwu (the name is very intimidating, in fact, it is probably what archaeologists now call the Ordos short sword), pure steel, cut jade like mud; the other is the cloth of the fire raccoon, which is made of asbestos material with today's scientific explanation, and is not afraid of fire.
Although these two things seem to be nothing remarkable today, we know the science and technology of that year, and it is no wonder that King Mu will be regarded as the most precious treasure. It is believed that this has also aroused Mu Wang's enthusiasm for shopping or luxury (which seems to be similar to the psychology of people who are keen to go abroad to buy crazy today), so on this overseas visit, Mu Wang changed his force of plunder to shopping and sweeping goods, and prepared to put more high-quality foreign games in the safe of the harem in a peaceful and friendly way.
Of course, King Mu also knew the risk of his own actions of these costly, unprecedented, and later comers, and he may not have thought about it, but the former ancients would definitely attract the criticism of the people and future generations at that time, so he first took the initiative to block the mouths of the people in the world. What is the means by which he plays? That is, to directly blacken yourself first, and first give yourself a self-deprecating conclusion. Evaluate yourself: "Yu Yiren is obscene", in fact, the meaning is: I am just a fever donkey friend.
Here to explain to you, the "fornication" here is not lustful fornication, in the hearts of the emperors it is not a matter at all, it is the inherent rights of their class, this "fornication" is not the other "fornication", is the meaning of indulging in pleasure. It seems that this self-blackness still played an effect, at least shortly after the death of King Mu, the inscription of the "Wall Plate" of king Gong's period slapped King Mu's ass, saying that he was handsome and good at strategy, etc., anyway, it means that King Mu made a major contribution to the Zhou Dynasty, that is, not to mention that his visit cost the people of the world a huge amount of people.
But hundreds of years later, history still gives an evaluation, and in the "Left Biography", there is a criticism of him, believing that he is to satisfy personal desires and let the world leave his ruts everywhere. Qu Yuan, on the other hand, was even more rude in "Heavenly Questions" and was more dissatisfied with the purpose of King Mu's westward journey, and Qu Laozi's general idea was that Mu Tianzi was greedy and only visited the West to take advantage of it.
Of course, the negation of future generations really cannot erase the positive political significance of King Mu's visit, which is like this in history, and it is difficult to block the mouths of everyone. However, the history is also for posterity to comment, otherwise the historical record will be meaningless. We now return to the most eye-catching and legendary story in King Mu's story: the story of him and the Queen Mother of the West.
In King Mu's great "Journey to the West", it is widely known and the most popular gossip is the meeting with the Queen Mother of the West. In the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" and other legends, the Queen Mother of the West is a half-human, half-beast immortal, with tiger teeth, leopard tails, and good whistles, which can basically be said to belong to a tiger girl with a hippie hairstyle. According to Sima Qian's "Zhao Shijia", after King Mu saw the Queen Mother of the West, he "forgot to return home". The meaning quickly fell into the gentle nest, not wanting to leave half a step.
But I believe that if the Queen Mother of the West really looks like this, then King Mu's aesthetic taste is really a bit like that. In fact, the real Queen Mother of the West is likely to be the name of the leader of a matriarchal hereditary state or tribe in the Western Regions. According to the "Bamboo Book Chronicle" excavated at the same time as the "Biography of Mu Tianzi", the Yellow Emperor, Yao, and Shun all have descriptions of jade objects such as the Jade Ring offered by the Queen Mother of the West, indicating that this tribe had early contacts with the Huaxia region.
Therefore, the Queen Mother of the West at the time of King Mu should actually be a beautiful woman full of exotic styles. According to the book, King Mu specially chose the "auspicious day jiazi" and brought generous gifts, including white jade gui, black jade bi, one hundred brocades, three hundred white silks and so on. It is not difficult to imagine that for the Westerners who had not yet seen silk at that time, this was a gift that was enough to surprise people enough to faint, especially women.
Therefore, the Queen Mother of the West also used high etiquette and even Chinese prayers to welcome King Mu at that time. Coupled with the enthusiasm and boldness of the exotic girl, advocating the freedom of love, so just like the king of the daughter country in "Journey to the West" fell in love with the Tang monk, he fell in love with the handsome uncle Zhou Mu wang who was generous and generous and powerful at first sight. Thus began the story that King Mu and Yang Yu had to tell.
But later, compared to the amorous mother of the Western Queen, King Mu's reaction was a little chilling, at least it made the female fans a little chilled. During the period of intense love and honey, the two were like glue, and also carried out some seemingly love-like commemorative activities, such as planting a locust tree together, taking the same sound of locust and huai, indicating the cherishing of this relationship. King Mu also carved the words "Mountain of the Queen Mother of the West" on the mountain to show his recognition and respect for this young lady.
But as soon as he heard the crisis in southern Xinjiang coming from the country, this guy immediately put away his amorous side and immediately announced that he would return to China to deal with it. The typical model of the country is more important than the beauty, and the British Empire is simply incomparable to the King Edward. Of course, from another point of view, it is not wrong to say that as a son of heaven and the country is the most important thing, it is not wrong to do so.
Since Lang Xin was like iron, even though the Queen Mother of Yang Yuxi was reluctant in every way, she was also helpless, so she had to set up a banquet in Yaochi to bid farewell. During the banquet, the two also gave poems to each other and exchanged feelings. The Queen Mother of the West sang during the banquet: The white clouds are in the sky, and the mountains come out of themselves. The road is far away, and the mountains and rivers are between them. Will the son not die, can he still come back?
Translated into today's vernacular text, it is: white clouds belong to the sky, and mountains and mausoleums stand on the earth. The road is far away, separated by thousands of mountains and rivers. If you go to peace here, when will the king come again? This literary !!! Look, there is more than interest, sincerity, the full of affection to express vividly. It seems that this lady is not only beautiful, but also a talented woman who cherishes love and righteousness.
However, King Mu's answer was quite disturbing: return to the eastern land and rule the Summers. The average of all the people, I see you. Than three years, will return to the wild.
This is like poetry, devoid of literary style, without any mood, and simply completely perfunctory. The gap with the literary mood in the song of the Queen Mother of the West is simply not a little bit, to the effect that after I go back, when I settle the people, I will think of you. It's only three years, and I'll be back at home. Completely the whole big vernacular spoken by a folk husband going out to talk to his wife.
In the face of King Mu, whose heart was like an arrow, although the infatuated Queen Mother of the West was still unfinished, her heart was like iron, and she could only sigh. And our bubble girl master Mu Wang has long been impatient, let the best driver build the father of the eight horses, a day thousands of miles, at the speed of today's high-speed rail, quickly rushed back to the south, hit the rebellious Xu Yan Wang a surprise, calmed the chaos.
However, there are also records that King Mu rushed into battle, the southern expedition failed, and "one army was exhausted". However, regardless of whether he wins or loses, anyway, King Mu did not fulfill his promise that "in three years, he will return to the wilderness." On the contrary, the Queen Mother of the West could not let go of King Mu, and also ran to Hojing to meet King Mu. However, the history books only record that it was placed in the "Zhao Palace" to rest, and there is no follow-up. However, it is estimated that due to the difference in cultural customs and the countless beauties in the Tianzi harem, the Queen Mother of the West will inevitably be abandoned in the end.
Seeing this, do you think that this yang lady's persistence and infatuation are really pitiful, three thousand years ago, this unladylike western beauty should have already become a piece of loess! I just don't know, a few years ago, whether the dried corpse of the western beauty who swept the world was her descendant? Or is it herself?
In his old age, King Mu was tired, tired, and unable to run. He finally heeded the advice of his subordinate minister, Gong Gong, and finally enjoyed his life in the palace. King Mu died, but legends about him have been made. These legends and westward journey experiences are fused together, and they are also intertwined with mystery and strangeness, which adds to the difficulty of distinguishing the true and false and legendary deeds of King Mu's life.
Therefore, the Liezi says, "Mu Wang's gods and men! To be poor and happy, judas is a hundred years, and the world thinks that it is a falsehood." This means that King Mu is almost a god man! He can enjoy the happiness of a god when he is alive, and he died after a hundred years old, and the world thinks that he has become an immortal in heaven.
The tomb of King Mu of Zhou today
Finally, in fact, most of this history is the small editor through the history books to imagine the play, Bo you see a pleasure, but the historical story is our descendants continue to rely on the imagination of crooked, but after reading no matter how true it is, you really can not deny that this grandfather is indeed a legendary son! It's just that throughout the ages, legendary or not, mediocre or not, in the end, they have not all become a pile of yellow soil in the above picture!