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Text: A little history
Edit|Xiao Xu History
Shang Wang: The tragedy behind the heroism
When we mention the king of Shang, the image of a tyrant often comes to mind, and his absurdity and cruelty seem to be synonymous with him. However, history is not so simple, and the life of King Shang is also full of ambition and brilliant achievements.
Under the rule of the Shang Dynasty, the Shang Dynasty once had a brilliant record of conquering Dongyi and expanding the Bohai Sea. His vision was so ambitious that he dreamed of unifying ancient China, an ambition similar to that of Qin Shi Huang. But why did this brilliant king end up with a ruined country and a family?
First of all, we have to mention the sharp social contradictions of the Shang Dynasty. In a slave society, the contradictions between slaves and slave owners became increasingly acute. Slaves lived at the bottom of society, endured heavy labor and endless oppression. In order to stabilize the society, the Shang king opposed the theocracy and reformed the old customs, which was undoubtedly a challenge to the slave owner class. This challenge led to a conflict between the royal power and the divine power, which further intensified social tensions.
At the same time, the Shang king also made major mistakes in military strategy. Later in his reign, the Shang dynasty was plentiful, but he failed to coordinate the overall situation. He paid too much attention to the conquests of the Dongyi and Li people, ignoring the threat of King Wu of Zhou. When the allied army of princes led by King Wu of Zhou approached the city, the king of Shang hurriedly raised an army to resist. However, this improvised army was unable to resist the coalition of King Wu of Zhou, and the Shang Dynasty came to an end.
In addition to these external factors, the character flaws of the Shang King himself also laid the groundwork for his tragic end. He was stubborn and self-serving, and his cruel treatment of loyal ministers and good generals turned people's hearts away. This kind of personality makes him often obstinate when dealing with government affairs, and he does not listen to his advice. In the end, when the coalition army led by King Wu of Zhou came to the capital to sing, the king of Shang no longer had the generals to lead the army and the soldiers to resist the enemy, so he could only watch his dynasty fall.
To sum up, the tragedy of the Shang King is the result of a combination of many reasons. His ambition and brilliant achievements were somewhat offset by the limitations of his character and his time. His story tells us that for a king to achieve great things, he needs not only great talent and vision, but also a wise mind and tenacity. Only in this way can we remain invincible in the torrent of history.