According to historical records, the reason for the fall of the Shang Dynasty was that the king of Zhou did not cultivate "virtue", so he was defeated by Ji Zhou, who cultivated "virtue", which is probably the so-called "invincible benevolence and righteousness". Needless to say, this is a traditional moral statement, but it is certainly not that simple.
Judging from the comprehensive historical data, one of the reasons for the fall of the Shang Dynasty was that the two fronts faced a great enemy, namely Dongyi and Ji Zhou. In the end, the Dongyi rebellion contained and consumed the power of the Shang Dynasty, allowing the Zhou people to gradually grow bigger, and as a result, the Shang Dynasty was destroyed in the first battle of Muye.
Modern archaeology has found that in addition to Dongyi and Ji Zhou, the Shang Dynasty also faced a powerful enemy, and the existence of this enemy caused the situation in the west to collapse. This force is the famous ghost party, the "ghost clan" in Chinese history!
The relationship between the Shang Dynasty and the ghost side
Judging from the available information, the relationship between the Shang Dynasty and the ghost side can be divided into three stages:
First of all, Zhou Yizhong recorded that "Gaozong attacked the ghost party in three years", that is, when the Shang king Wuding attacked the ghost party, after three years of war, the ghost party was defeated. Obviously, the ghost side was very strong at that time, so it was only "three years of defeat".
Secondly, in the oracle bone inscriptions, the Shang king cared about the safety of the ghost party, recorded that the ghost party helped the Shang Dynasty capture the Qiang people, and even some ghost people served as ministers in the Shang Dynasty's royal court, indicating that the Shang Dynasty had a harmonious relationship with the ghost party at this time.
Third, the relationship with the ghost side declined again in the late Shang period, such as Ji Zhou Jili, who was subservient to the Shang Dynasty, attacked the ghost Rong (belonging to the ghost tribe) and captured twenty Di kings, and the Warring States Policy also recorded that the king of Zhou executed the daughter of the ghost marquis.
Subsequently, the ghost side did not surrender to the Zhou Dynasty until the twenty-fifth year of King Kang of Zhou, and the inscription of "Xiao Yu Ding" recorded that a fierce war broke out at that time, and the Zhou people won a complete victory, killing and capturing countless people. Some scholars speculate that this war may have been the Zhou people's capture of the capital of the ghost side, and the ghost side has been in a state of collapse since then, so the historical materials are basically no longer mentioned.
Therefore, the relationship between merchants and ghosts during the reign of King Su was definitely not good. But the question is, what was the strength of the ghost side at that time? If the ghost side is vulnerable, then the impact on the situation will not be too great, otherwise it will change the situation. There is no mention of this in the historical data, but modern archaeology has made significant discoveries.
Archaeology fills in yet another history
In the 80s of the last century, in the west of Lijiaya Village, Gaojie Village, Qingjian County, Yulin, Shaanxi, archaeological discoveries of "Lijiaya City Site", after many researches, it was finally confirmed as "Shang Dynasty Ghost Fang Capital Ruins". Through the archaeological research of the site, it was found that the ghost side is very powerful, such as the following three points:
First of all, there are at least 300 small settlements in the Lijiaya culture, which are mainly based on extensive agriculture and have a high degree of settlement, rather than the nomadic people who used to think. At the same time, it can be seen that the ghost fang is similar to the late Shang culture in terms of livelihood methods, etiquette methods, and social customs.
In the picture below, the stone statue of the ghost party was unearthed at the site of Lijiaya. The three-legged urn mouth unearthed at the site is engraved with the word "ghost" pottery, which is roughly the same as the ghost character in the oracle bone inscription, indicating that the ethnic group living here is the main body of the ghost party who calls themselves "ghosts".
Secondly, ten years ago, several groups of large building foundations were found in the site, one of which was not less than 770 square meters, and the archaeological report said that "the remains of a high-grade building of a ceremonial nature". As a result, the ghost side has formed a state-level polity with a complex social organization and social structure.
Third, in the Lijiaya Ghost Fang cultural site, not only a large number of bronzes have been unearthed, including many weapons, but also bronze workshops, and even bronze weapon styles have been absorbed by the Shang Dynasty, such as animal head knives, horse head bows, etc. Therefore, the official statement to the Lijiaya ghost site is "belonging to the remains of bronze culture".
Based on this, it can be seen that the ghost side has a large population, a strong ability to organize and mobilize, and a powerful bronze weapon, which is undoubtedly a powerful force.
More importantly, the relationship between the Shang Dynasty and the Ghost Fang did undergo fundamental changes in the late Shang Dynasty. Scholars Jing Zhongwei and Wang Lixin's "Archaeology of the Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties" point out: "The Shang culture represented by the cemeteries of Wenxi Jiuwutou, Fushanqiaobei, Linfen Pangdu, and Lingshi Jingjie (Jinzhong) was distributed in a linear pattern from south to north near the east bank of the Fen River, and this distribution was obviously related to the efforts to resist the Lijiaya cultural population from the Luliang Mountains west of the Fen River." ”
Obviously, this archaeological discovery indicates that the Shang Dynasty was in a state of hostility with the Guifang during the Late Shang Dynasty, and the Shang Dynasty had to establish a defensive line in the central and western parts of Shanxi in order to defend against the Guifang, which had spread to the Luliang area. Therefore, in addition to Dongyi and Ji Zhou, the Shang Dynasty also had the great enemy of the ghost side.
Aftermath
Because Dongyi and the ghost side contained the Shang Dynasty's troops, Ji Zhou was able to calmly attack the Shang Dynasty's stronghold in the west - Chongguo (Xi'an Laoniupo site), and later when Chongguo was destroyed, there were no Shang Dynasty reinforcements. At the same time, because of the existence of this containment, Ji Zhou was able to attack the Li State in Changzhi, which was located in the core area of the Shang Dynasty. Under the dual pressure of Ji Zhou and the ghost Fang, the Shang Dynasty could only face a systemic collapse in the west, which was difficult for the Shang king to change.
At the same time, the hostility of Shang ghosts can also answer the mystery of why the Shang Dynasty did not suppress it after Ji Zhou's rebellion. In the past, it was believed that because of the existence of Dongyi, the Shang Dynasty might choose the strategy of Dongyi first and Ji Zhou later, but in fact, the Shang Dynasty was really powerless to deal with the west, because in the face of the two strong enemies of Ghost Fang and Ji Zhou, it would be good to be able to hold it, and it was not able to counterattack at all.
In short, it is necessary not only to fight Dongyi, but also to guard against ghosts, and also to guard against Ji Zhou, and to prepare more forces, so that the Shang Dynasty, which is internally unappeased, will not die? Interestingly, in today's world, it seems that a certain lighthouse country is roughly similar to the Shang Dynasty at that time.
References: "Historical Records", "Historical Records", "Zhang Changping | The relationship between the Late Shang Dynasty and Lijiaya culture from the turquoise tools", etc