[800 Years of Chu Ba] 800 Years of Chu History from the Monarchs of the Past Dynasties (1): 14 Dynasties of the Western Zhou Dynasty

@秦楚刊号

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According to historical records, the distant ancestor of the state of Chu was one of the five emperors, and one of his descendants was appointed by the emperor to be in charge of fire sacrifices, named Zhu Rong. Among the descendants of Zhu Rong, there is a person named Ji Lian, who is an iconic figure in the formation of the Chu nation. Ji Lian's surname is Mi, and the later Chu people inherited it from Ji Lian with Mi as their surname. At the end of the Shang Dynasty and the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty, among the descendants of Ji Lian, there was an outstanding figure named Mane Xiong, who had made important contributions to the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty and was respected as the ancestor of the Chu State.

The bear's wife, Yan Li, had a difficult birth when she gave birth to her son Xiong Li, and died after giving birth to a child by caesarean section, and the shaman buried him with a wattle (i.e., "Chu") wrapped around his abdomen, which is the origin of the Chu appellation. Xiong Li, the son of the bearded bear, began to take Mi as his surname and Xiong as his name. During the period when Xiong Li and her son Xiong Mad served as leaders, they began to gradually establish a ruling relationship, establish their own authority, and implement large-scale and orderly management of the land and the people, but all this was not recognized by the Zhou Dynasty. When Zhou Cheng Wang Ji Yu ascended the throne, he felt the loyalty of several generations of the Xiong clan, and divided Xiong's great-grandson Xiong Yi to Danyang (now in Xichuan County, Henan Province) and established the Chu State. The 800-year history of the Chu State officially began, and by 223 BC, the Chu State was destroyed by Qin, during which a total of 43 generations of monarchs had been experienced. This article first introduces the 14 monarchs of the state of Chu during the Western Zhou Dynasty.

1. Xiong Yi (reigned from about 1042 BC to 1006 BC, a total of 36 years)

Xiong Yi was given "Fifty Miles of the Field of the Son" by King Cheng of Zhou because of the merits of the three generations of his ancestors, established the Chu State, and was named the fourth class knighthood, called Chu Zi, and set the capital Danyang, becoming the first feudal monarch of the Chu State. Xiong Yi married a woman surnamed Ji as a concubine and gave birth to two sons, Xiong Ai and Xiong Mao. For a nation that has been displaced several times, it is very satisfying to have a peaceful living environment. At this time, the state of Chu was only a small country with a radius of only fifty miles, although the status was low, and he was unfairly treated by the Zhou royal family, and he was dissatisfied, but Xiong Yi, who was nurtured and taught by his ancestors, chose to endure silently, "the road is blue, and the grass is reckless, and the mountains and forests are used to do things for the son of heaven", develop production, expand the territory, lead the subjects of the Chu State to work hard, strive to create wealth, enhance national strength, and seek survival and development. It fully demonstrates the Chu people's shrewdness in judging the situation and their will to endure perseverance.

2. Xiong Ai (reigned from 1006 BC to 981 BC, 25 years in total)

Xiong Ai, also known as Xiong Yi, Xiong Yi's eldest son. Xiong Ai married a woman surnamed Ji as a concubine and gave birth to a son, Xiong Dai. During Xiong Ai's reign, he continued to pioneer and cultivate armed forces in the spirit of the previous king's "blue wisps". He absorbed the statutes of the Zhou Dynasty and the statecraft of Zhou Gongdan and applied them, which promoted the speed and quality of the development of the Chu State, and Danyang became the political, economic, military and cultural center of the early Chu State. During this period, King Zhao of Zhou led his troops to attack Chu twice, but they were both defeated by Xiong Ai.

3. Xiong Yu (reigned 981-970 BC, a total of 11 years)

Xiong Yu is the son of Xiong Ai, married a woman from the Qin State as a concubine, and gave birth to two sons, Xiong Sheng and Xiong Yang. Xiong Yu has courage and courage, during his reign, he led his subjects to open up territory, establish regulations, self-reliance, make the country stronger and stronger, and suspended the tribute to the Zhou royal family, so that in 977 BC King Zhao personally led a large army to the third south, to attack the Chu State, but was beaten by the prepared Chu army, almost all the army was wiped out when crossing the Han River, and King Zhou Zhao also fell into the Han River and died. Since then, the state of Chu has gradually embarked on the road of fighting against the Zhou royal family.

4. Xiong Sheng (reigned 970-946 BC, a total of 24 years)

Xiong Yu's eldest son. During his reign, production was vigorously developed, people's lives were improved, and the country's strength was continuously enhanced. According to the ancient book "Bamboo Book Chronicle", Xiong Sheng once followed King Mu of Zhou on an expedition and attacked the Xu State on a large scale, which also opened the eyes of the Chu people.

5. Xiong Yang (reign: 946-887 BC, a total of 60 years)

Xiong Yu's second son, also known as Xiong Thorn, his brother Xiong Sheng died childless, and succeeded his brother as Chu Jun. Xiong Yang married Zhao Nu as a concubine and gave birth to a son, Xiong Qu. Xiong Yang continued to follow the line and policy of several generations of previous kings, developed mineral resources, gathered financial resources, improved people's livelihood, expanded troops, enhanced the country's comprehensive strength, and prepared for the expansion of territory.

6. Xiong Qu (reigned 887-877 BC, a total of 10 years)

The son of Xiong Yang is a famous monarch in the history of the Chu State, who is brave, courageous and strategic, and the descendants of the Chu State have always recited him as a magical person. Xiong Qu married a woman surnamed Jiang as a concubine and gave birth to three sons, namely Wukang, Zhihong, and Zhifu. Xiong Qu is good at shooting, and the "Historical Records" says that his shooting skills actually surpassed the mythical character Hou Yi. Once, when Xiongqu was walking at night, he saw a lying stone, thinking it was a crouching tiger, and bent his bow to shoot it, and even the arrows and arrows were shot into the stone.

After Xiong Qu ascended the throne, taking advantage of the weakening of the Zhou royal family and the turmoil in the Central Plains, he adopted the strategy of inbreeding and long-distance attack to attack Yong, Yangyue, Hubei and other countries, and vigorously expanded the territory, so that the Chu State expanded from a small country with a radius of only 50 miles to a large country controlling the Jianghan Plain, and embarked on the road of rebellion against the Zhou Dynasty and independent development. Xiong Qu was extremely dissatisfied with the failure of the Zhou royal family to be crowned the king of Chu, and publicly declared that "I am a barbarian, and I do not take the name of China (Central Plains)", openly regarded himself as the Son of Heaven, and named the eldest son Xiong Wukang as the king of Ju, the second son Xiong Zhihong as the king of E, and the young son Xiong Zhifeng as the king of Yuezhang. By the time of King Li of Zhou, Xiong Qu was worried that the tyrannical King Li would attack the State of Chu, so he took the initiative to remove these royal titles. (Note: According to the records of the Chu family, Xiong Wukang, Xiong Zhihong, and Xiong Zhifang, that is, Xiong Yan, are all sons of Xiong Qu; However, according to Tsinghua Jian's "Chu Ju", Xiong Zhihong and Xiong Yan are Xiong Wukang's sons and Xiong Qu's grandsons. ）

7, Xiong Zhi (reigned 877-876 BC, a total of 1 year)

Formerly known as Xiong Zhihong, the second son of Xiong Qu. After Xiong Qu died, due to the early death of his eldest son Xiong Wukang, the second son Xiong Zhi was appointed to inherit the position of Chu Jun according to the system. Due to Xiong Zhi's frailty and illness, his younger brother Xiong Yan staged a coup d'état in the following year, forcing Xiong Zhi, who had reigned for less than a year, to abdicate.

8. Xiong Yan (reigned 876 BC - 847 BC, a total of 29 years)

Formerly known as Xiong Zhifang, Xiong Qu was a young son, and became the Jun of Chu through violent seizure of power, and changed his name to Xiong Yan. Xiong Yan married a woman surnamed Ji as a concubine and gave birth to sons Xiong Yong and Xiong Yan. Although Xiong Yan reigned for a long time, there is almost no record of his deeds in the historical materials.

9. Xiong Yong (reigned 847-838 BC, a total of 9 years)

Bear extenders. During Xiong Yong's reign, in 841 BC, the Western Zhou Dynasty had a "national rebellion" that swept the whole country and shocked the world. The people of the country supported the regents of Zhao Gong and Zhou Gong, which was known as the "Republic" in history. At this time, the state of Chu took advantage of the internal turmoil of the Zhou royal family to continue to develop itself, and the domestic political situation was relatively stable.

10. Xiong Yan (reigned 838-828 BC, a total of 10 years)

Xiong Yong's brother and Xiong Yan's son. Because Xiong Yong had no children under his knees, his younger brother Xiong Yan inherited the throne of the monarch. During Xiong Yan's reign, he put his main energy on economic development, and on the basis of improving the living standards of the people, the country's financial resources were greatly enhanced, and the surrounding neighboring countries were not invaded or invaded, and a relatively peaceful state was maintained, and the population of Chu also increased rapidly, and Xiong Yan himself had four sons and three daughters. Xiong Yan's four sons, Boshuang, Zhong Xue, Shukan, and Ji Yan, had killed each other for a long time in order to compete for the throne after Xiong Yan's death.

11, Xiong Shuang (reign: 828-822 BC, a total of 6 years)

Xiong Yan's eldest son, also known as Boshuang. After Xiong Shuang ascended the throne, he was opposed by an alliance formed by his three younger brothers. In order to stabilize the situation, Xiong Shuang overworked and died of illness after only six years in power. Xiong Shuang had no children, and after his death, his three younger brothers all wanted to seize the throne and began to work separately, killing each other. In the end, the second Zhongxue was killed, and the third uncle was defeated and had to flee to the land of Baipu to take refuge until he died of old age. Lao Siji seized the power of Chu by violent means and established himself as the king.

12. Xiong Yi (reigned 821-800 BC, a total of 22 years)

Xiong Yan's son, Xiong Shuang's brother, also known as Ji Yan. Xiong Xi married the Song girl as a concubine and gave birth to a son, Xiong Zhao. Xiong Yi is sober-minded, sharp-minded, and good at insight into domestic and foreign situations. After he ascended the throne, he took advantage of the situation, implemented a pro-people policy internally, vigorously developed agriculture and animal husbandry, accumulated financial resources, stabilized the domestic political situation, and revived the country for a time; Externally, the relationship between Chu and Zhou began to shift from defense to offensive, which made the relationship between Chu and Zhou tense again. In order to strengthen its control over Chu, the Zhou royal family successively divided dozens of princely states with the surname Ji or in-laws between the east and north of the Han River and the Jianghuai, the so-called "Hanyang Zhuji", forming a barrier and seriously hindering the development of the Chu State.

13, Xiong E (reign time: 800-791 BC, a total of 9 years)

Xiong E, also known as Xiong Hao, is the son of Xiong Yi. Xiong E married Hu Nu as a concubine and gave birth to sons Xiong Yi and Xiong Lun. Because the Zhou royal family used the "Hanyang Zhuji" to tightly control Chu, Xiong E called himself "Gong" after ascending the throne.

Adopt the strategy of "recuperation and recuperation", lead the subjects to develop production, increase strength, and create conditions for finding opportunities to expand outward. At this time, Chu Guoye casting industry began to take shape, has been able to cast into a group of bells, etc., from its inscriptions, the style of writing and language in the same Central Plains; The Chu calendar is based on the number of words to record the month and the day of the Ganzhi, which is also the same as the Central Plains Zhou and Lu.

14, Chu Ruoao Xiongyi (reigned 791-764 BC, a total of 27 years)

Xiong Yi is the son of Xiong E, the last Chu Jun in the Western Zhou Dynasty, buried in Ruo after his death, and is respected as "Ruo Ao", which is the beginning of Chu Jun's nickname. Xiong Yi married two women surnamed Ji and Jiang as concubines, and gave birth to four sons, namely Xiong Kan, Dou Bobby, Dou Archer, and Cheng Dechen. Xiong Yi inherited the will of the previous king, continued to work hard, and ruled the country diligently and thriftily, and the state of Chu began to expand outward, first conquering the country of Ruo (鄀, southwest of present-day Xichuan County). The original meaning of Ao is a military chief, and the early Chu monarchs generally served as military chiefs, which is the reason why Xiong Yi is called Ruo Ao. Among Chu Ruoao's descendants, there have been many famous military strategists, all of whom have made great contributions in the war of Chu's foreign expansion.

In 771 B.C. (the twentieth year of Ruoao), Shenhou united with the tribes such as Yan and Dog Rong to attack the Zhou Dynasty until Haojing, and the King of Zhou You was killed by Dog Rong and the Western Zhou Dynasty perished. In the second year, King Ping of Zhou was forced to move eastward, moving to Luoyang, known as the "Eastern Zhou" in history, and the Zhou Dynasty was even weaker from then on, "the end of King Ping, and the prosperity of Qin, Jin, Qi and Chu", Chinese history entered the Spring and Autumn era in which the princes competed for the overlord.