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Xiong Yi served as the first king of Chu, reigning from about 1042 BC to 1028 BC, which lasted 15 years.
When Xiong Yi was awarded the title of King Cheng of Zhou, Zhou Gongdan repeatedly instructed him to inherit the good character of Xiong, garrison southern Xinjiang, and contribute his strength to the consolidation and strength of the Zhou Dynasty. Xiong Yi did not live up to Zhou Gongdan's expectations, after he established the state of Chu, in order to be grateful to the Zhou royal family, he often trekked mountains and rivers, worked tirelessly to meet King Zhou Cheng, and offered the special products produced on his land. According to the record of "Zuo Chuan: The Twelfth Year of Zhao Gong": "In the past, I was the first king Xiongyi, and I was set up in Jingshan, and the road was blue, and I was reckless everywhere. Trekking through the mountains and forests, to serve the Son of Heaven. Only the peach arc is thorny, in order to jointly control the king's affairs. "Due to the early establishment of the Chu State, the national strength was limited, and the conditions were difficult, and the only products to be paid were peach arc thorn arrows and bud grass. The peach arc thorn arrow is a thing to ward off evil spirits and aversion to victory; bud grass is a kind of thatch abundant in the land of Jingchu, although it is a wild plant, it happens to be a kind of item for filtering sake lees that the Zhou royal family needs to hold a sacrificial ritual to "shrink wine". Therefore, the Chu people should regularly pay tribute to the Zhou chamber with peach arc thorn arrows and bud grass.
There were a number of small states around the state of Chu, just south of the state of power (the junction of the southeast of Dangyang City and Shayang County in Hubei Province, about 150 kilometers away from Chu Danyang), the Gong family was the sub-surname, and the Yin people who migrated south in the middle of the Shang Dynasty, the Luo State (south of the middle reaches of the Manhe River between Nanzhang County and Yicheng City in Hubei Province, about 40 kilometers away from Chu Danyang) in the southeast, the Gong family was surnamed Xiong, and the Lu State ( Northwest of present-day Nanzhang County and southeast of Baokang County in Hubei Province, less than 40 kilometers away from Chu Danyang), the Gong family is surnamed Fei, mostly Rong people, and to the east of Luo and Lu is Yan (now north of the lower reaches of the Manhe River in Hubei Province).
In the northeast of Lu State, there was Deng State (now the northern suburb of Xiangyang City, Hubei Province), and the Gong family was surnamed Man; in the northwest, there was Guguo (now Gucheng County, Hubei Province, about 100 kilometers away from Chu Danyang); in the west of Lu State, there was Yongguo (now northwest of Fang County, Hubei Province, Shangyong Town, Zhushan County, about 300 kilometers away from Chu Danyang), and the ethnic group was Pu people; in the northwest of Yongguo, there was Ba State (now the eastern section of the upper reaches of Hanshui in Shaanxi Province), with the surname Ji and the subjects of Ba people; in the north of Yongguo and east of Ba State, there was Lu State (now Yunxian County, Hubei Province, Yunxi County and most of Baihe County in Shaanxi Province, as well as Fang County, Danjiangkou City in Hubei Province and part of Xunyang County in Shaanxi Province), and to the east of it there was a small country with the surname Shu called Jiaoguo (in present-day Yunxian County and Yunxi County of Hubei Province). In the eyes of the Zhou royal family, Chu, Ba, Yong, and Deng are more famous, and the rest of the countries are not enough to worry about.
Xiong Yi was originally sealed in Chu, but the field of Zinan, is a fifty miles of projectile land, and is located in the northwest of Hubei today, belongs to the mountains and mountains, ravines and ravines, shrubs cover the sky, overgrown weeds, sparsely populated, wild beasts herd deep mountains and old forests. At that time, although the state of Chu was famous, due to the poverty of the people, the weakness of the country, the small number of soldiers, and the fact that it was not the same clan of the Zhou royal family, it was quite despised by the Zhou royal family and bullied by the princes of the world.
The "Chinese Jin Language VIII" records: "In the past, the princes of the alliance of the king were in Qiyang, and Chu was Jing Man, set up a maoyuan, set up a watchtable, and guarded with Xianbei, so he did not ally with him." At the meeting of the princes of the Qiyang (now northeast of Qishan County, Shaanxi Province) Alliance, Xiong Yi, as a prince, did not let him participate in the princes' alliance, but could only "guard" with the Xianbei chieftain to watch the fire, and was snubbed. This alliance meeting made Xiong Yi very embarrassed and deeply shocked, and he was resentful because of this, coupled with the remoteness of Chu, even the tributes such as bud grass were not sent in time, which caused Zhou Tianzi's dissatisfaction even more.
According to "Han Feizi and the Foreign Prince", it said: "Chu Zhijingmao does not pay tribute to the Son of Heaven for three years." As a result, the Zhou royal family ordered the Central Plains Zhuxia to attack Chu in the south, and the reason was naturally that Chu was derelict in his duties. Because, according to the regulations of the Zhou Dynasty: the Chu State, like the princes of the Central Plains, must report to the Zhou royal family on time and pay tribute, that is, "trekking through the mountains and forests to serve the Son of Heaven". It is probably that after the troops of the Central Plains entered Chu, they saw that there were mountains and forests and thorns everywhere, and the common people lived a life without clothes and food, and they were very disappointed, so they withdrew and returned. However, on behalf of the Zhou royal family, the leaders of the armies still ordered Xiong Yi to pay tribute to the imperial court on time for local specialties such as peach arc thorn arrows and bud grass, which were abundant in Chu.
Xiong Yi has been nurtured and taught by his ancestors since he was a child, and he is not hindered by difficulties or retreats from hardships. In order to survive and develop, and no longer be bullied by the Western Zhou royal family and various vassal states, he did not hesitate to bring his family and clansmen, and took Danyang (between Nanzhang County and Baokang County, Hubei Province) as a foothold, and went into the mountains to cultivate land with his people. As the king of a country, he wore shabby clothes, sat in a firewood cart made of wattle bamboo, and led his subjects and tribesmen to work hard in the bushes and barren grasses of Jingshan Mountain. In order to arouse the enthusiasm of the people, sometimes he even went down to the field to talk and work with everyone. The king's example touched the hearts of the subjects, and their confidence and motivation were strengthened.
At this time, although the Chu land was not a fertile soil, but under the leadership of Xiong Yi, through the hard work and joint efforts of the people, agriculture, animal husbandry, fishing, and hunting industries have made great progress, and there are copper mines in the mountains around Jingshan and salt mines underground, although the output is not high, but it is undoubtedly an important resource for the Chu State at that time. The national strength of Chu has gradually increased, and the people's livelihood has also been initially improved. For a people who have been displaced several times, it is very satisfying to have a peaceful living environment.
Xiong Yi has always adhered to the spirit of "opening up mountains and forests", and strives to create wealth to improve people's livelihood and enhance national strength. Through unremitting and arduous struggle, the territory of Chu has continued to expand, its military strength has become stronger, and its financial, material, and national strength have also increased day by day. In order to ease the relationship with the Zhou royal family, Xiong Yi led soldiers and farmers on time every year, shoulder-to-shoulder, wading across the Han River and the Danjiang River, crossing the Qinling Mountains, and traveling thousands of miles to pay tribute to the Son of Heaven, serving only carefully, fully demonstrating the Chu people's shrewdness in judging the situation and their will to be resolute and forbearing.
Xiong Yi married a woman surnamed Ji as a concubine and gave birth to two sons for him, namely Xiong Ai and Xiong Mao. After Xiong Yi's death in 1028 BC, he was succeeded by his eldest son, Xiong Ai.
Xiong Ai was appointed as the second king of the Chu State. He ascended the throne in 1027 BC and died in 990 BC, reigning for 37 years.
After Xiong Ai ascended the throne, he continued to adhere to the spirit of the first king's "blue wisps on the road", led the people to vigorously explore and start a business, and after two generations of more than 50 years of hard work, Danyang has developed into a political, economic, military and cultural center in the early days of the Chu State. After King Cheng of Zhou ascended the throne, due to his youth, Zhou Gongdan became the regent of the country, and formulated and improved various rules and regulations, mainly including "Da Huo", "Wine Message", "Toast", "Wuyi", "Duofang" and so on. When Zhou Gongdan went to Chu, he brought certain statutes and his ideas of establishing the rule of law to the Chu State. Xiong Ai absorbed the statutes of the Zhou Dynasty and the statecraft of Zhou Gongdan and applied them, thus playing an important role in promoting the early legal system construction of the Chu State.
Xiong Ai married a woman surnamed Ji as a concubine and gave birth to a son, Xiong Di. After Xiong Ai's death in 990 BC, he was succeeded by his son Xiong Huang.
Xiong Huang (亶) served as the third king of the Chu State. He ascended the throne in 989 BC and died in 958 BC, reigning for 32 years.
After Xiong Huang ascended the throne, he still continued to adhere to the arduous entrepreneurial spirit of "the blue thread of the road", leading his subjects to open up territory and establish regulations, so that the state of Chu became stronger and stronger. "The Eleventh Year of the Hidden Prince" contains: "Zhou Zhizong League, different surnames are the queen". Chu was a country with a different surname in the Zhou Dynasty, and was discriminated against by Zhou Tianzi from the beginning, and even in the princes' alliance, he was not even qualified to participate in the formal alliance. The Zhou royal family rewarded the Qi, Lu, Jin and other states every year, while the Chu state had nothing.
This made the Chu people indignant. This kind of master-slave relationship based on the patriarchal hierarchy of "kissing" and "respecting" will inevitably lead to profound and acute contradictions between Zhou and Chu, and the state of Chu must adhere to the road of "blue threads on the road" and self-reliance, so that the country will become stronger and stronger and more ashamed. The bear with courage and courage not only did not pay tribute to the Zhou room such as thatched buds, but also continued to expand the territory, so that the king of Tongzhao concentrated all his efforts to attack the state of Chu, according to the inscription on the bronze wall plate unearthed in Fufeng, Shaanxi: "King Honglu Zhao, answer Jing Chu, only hunt south." It can be seen that King Zhao of Zhou once personally led an army to the south to conquer the Chu State, and his momentum was very huge. According to the "Bamboo Book Chronicle" and other documents, King Zhao of Zhou attacked Chu three times:
In 985 B.C. (the sixth year of Xiong Huang (亶)) and the sixth year of King Zhao of Zhou), King Zhao of Zhou led a large army to crusade against Chu for the first time in order to teach a lesson that he had no longer obeyed his own Chu State. When the Zhou army was about to cross the Han River, which was regarded as the weight of heaven at that time, and advanced to the hinterland of Jingchu, they met the "Da Ji" on the side of the Han River.
In 982 B.C. (Xiong Huang (亶)) nine years, Zhou Zhao King sent the priest Xin Bo to lead the army to attack Chu, when crossing the Han River, was ambushed by the Chu army, coupled with the sudden wind raging, the sky was dark, the soldiers were frightened, and the Zhou army was defeated. This is the "Bamboo Book Chronicle": "In the nineteenth year of King Zhao of Zhou, the sky was great, the pheasants were exempted from earthquakes, and the six divisions were lost in the Han Dynasty. ”
In 977 BC (the fourteenth year of Xiong Huang (亶)) and the twenty-fourth year of King Zhao of Zhou), King Zhao of Zhou was still unwilling to accept the first two defeats, remobilized the army, and personally led the army to attack Chu again. King Zhao of Zhou's army went south, blocked by the Han River, and requisitioned boats to cross the river, and the people of Chu, who had been premeditated and prepared, pretended to be boatmen and presented a large number of boats glued with glue to the Zhou army. The Zhou army crossed the river with the requisitioned boats, and when the boats marched to the middle of the river, the gums dissolved, the planks of the boats separated, and many soldiers fell into the water.
King Zhao of Zhou and the sacrificial prince Xin Bo also fell into the Han River and drowned, and the Zhou Dynasty army was defeated and almost completely annihilated. "Historical Records" Zhang Shoujie's "Justice" quoted "Imperial Century" and said: "King Zhao's virtue declined, the south conquered the Han Dynasty, and the boatmen were evil, and they advanced with rubber boats." The king's ship reached the middle stream, the glue ship was dissolved, and the king and the priest both submerged in the water and collapsed." The "boat man" mentioned here is the boatman pretended to be the Chu people. This matter was regarded as a great shame by the Zhou people, in order to avoid being ridiculed by others, the Zhou people tried every means to conceal this matter, and the historians who recorded the history of the Zhou Dynasty were even more secretive. However, Sima Qian's sentence in "Historical Records: Three Generations of the World" broke through the heavens: "Singing Wang Fang will not return from his southern tour." If you don't go, you can't do it. And "Imperial Century" also clearly said: "The Zhou people are secretive." King Zhao of Zhou's attack on Chu and his defeat damaged the vitality of the Zhou Dynasty, while the State of Chu became increasingly powerful and gradually embarked on the road of fighting against the Zhou royal family.
Xiong Diao married a Thai woman as a concubine and gave birth to two sons, namely Xiong Sheng and Xiong Yang. After the death of Xiong Huang (亶) in 958 BC, his eldest son Xiong Sheng succeeded to the throne.
Xiong was qualified as the fourth king of the state of Chu. He ascended the throne in 957 BC and died in 955 BC, reigning for 3 years.
After Xiong Sheng ascended the throne, he continued to adhere to the entrepreneurial spirit of the previous king, led the people to vigorously develop production, and improved the people's living standards, thus continuously enhancing the country's strength.
After Xiong Sheng's death in 955 BC, he was succeeded by his younger brother Xiong Yang because he had no children. Xiong Yang served as the fifth king of Chu. He ascended the throne in 954 BC and died in 920 BC, reigning for 35 years.
After Xiong Yang ascended the throne, on the one hand, he continued to follow the line and policy of the previous generations of kings, led his people to vigorously develop agricultural and animal husbandry production, improve people's livelihood, and gather financial resources; on the other hand, he expanded his military strength and strengthened his strength to prepare for the expansion of the territory of Chu. Under the leadership of Xiong Yang, through the hard work of the monarch and the people of the whole country, the financial and material resources of the state of Chu have been increasing day by day, and the strength and combat effectiveness of the army have also been greatly improved. According to the ancient book "Bamboo Book Chronicle", it is recorded that King Zhou Mu, the prince of Zhou Zhao, once attacked Xu on a large scale, and there was a "Chu Zi" to conquer. This expedition with King Mu of Zhou not only opened Xiong Yang's eyes, but also provided his son Xiong Qu with information about the rich mineral resources of Hubei.
After Xiong Yi, the state of Chu went through 5 generations of kings, lasted more than 100 years, inherited the arduous entrepreneurial spirit of the ancestors, carried forward, and worked hard to open up, so that the country gradually became stronger. With the growth of the population of Chu and the enhancement of national strength, the people of Chu who were dormant between the Jing Mountains have begun to show their edge. The reason why the Chu people have been able to turn the weak into the strong, the backward into the advanced, and create a broad and profound Chu culture with a unique style, is undoubtedly one of the important factors in the arduous pioneering spirit of "the blue wisp of the road". The history of the development of Chu is, to a certain extent, a history of entrepreneurship. The entrepreneurial spirit of the Chu people can be said to be an immortal monument that stands in the history of the Chinese nation and symbolizes the fearlessness of hardships and hard work.
Xiong Yangzi Zhao Nu was a concubine and gave birth to a son Xiong Dye. After Xiong Yang's death in 920 BC, he was succeeded by his son Xiong Qu.