The ancient gentlemen admired the Duke of Zhou, one in politics and religion, he "made ceremonies and music", laying the foundation of ancient Chinese political culture; second, in morality, he held the naxian, assisted the young lord, and shaped the model of loyal subjects throughout the ages.
The pre-Qin Confucians enshrined Zhou Gong as the pioneer of "self-denial and retribution", and have always enjoyed a high status in the ideological history of the Qin and Han Dynasties and later generations.
Duke Mingdan of Zhou, son of King Wen and brother of King Wu. Sima Qian wrote in the "History of the Duke of Lu Zhou": "Zhou Yue: Taking the zhou land where the king of the ether resides as his caiyi, it is called the Duke of Zhou". "History of Suoyin" Yun: "Zhou, place name, in the Yang of Qishan, where King Ben Tai lived, and later thought that it was the Caiyi of the Duke of Zhou, so it was known as the Duke of Zhou." Justice is called Zhou Gong, Shao Gong, zhou room yuan zai. Assisted by Wen Wu Chengkang below. Gai Concubine was sealed in Yanlu. The second son eats CaiQidian. Yi Ye is a secretary. Therefore, it is called the Zhou Gong Shao Gong Ye".
From this point of view, it is inevitable that people will feel that the reason why Ji Dan is called the Duke of Zhou is because his Caiyi or his title is not his virtue.
However, Mr. Qian Mu believes that "the zhou gong is the concubine, and the special expression of preferential treatment is also the meaning" ("Zhou Gong"). For example, if there is no title in the future generations of the Duke of Zhao, then the title of Zhou Gong has the meaning of admiration of posterity.
Shi Zai Zhou had ten brothers of the same mother, only Ji Fa and Ji Danxian, and the King of Fuwen left and right. It can be seen that the beauty of Zhou Gong's talent.
Indeed, in the year after the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty (about 1045 BC), King Wu of Zhou died of illness and was succeeded by his son Ji Shu, king of Zhou Cheng, but he was only twelve years old and unable to manage state affairs.
When the regime was unstable and the old nobles of the Shang Dynasty were surging undercurrents, Duke Ji Dan of Zhou decided to personally regent the country, act on behalf of the king, and timely and effectively issue and implement government decrees, so that the political situation of the Zhou Dynasty would soon stabilize and stabilize the people's hearts.
At the same time, he also strengthened his education for becoming a king, hoping that he would grow into a true monarch.
However, Several of King Wu of Zhou's other younger brothers, Uncle Guan, Uncle Cai, and Uncle Huo, saw the "regency" of the Duke of Zhou and were dissatisfied. Especially Uncle Guan, who originally wanted to inherit the throne, but now he gave Ji Dan power, and his heart was very dissatisfied. So he spread rumors everywhere that Zhou Gong had the intention of usurping the throne and seizing power.
Soon, there was civil strife in the Zhou Dynasty, and the Yin merchant nobles began to stir again, including Wu Geng, the son of King Huan.
After the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty, Feng Wu Geng was made the Marquis of Yin, and he ruled the old capital of Yin Shang, Chaoge, and changed his name to Feng. At the same time, in order to monitor Wu Geng, the eastern, western, and northern parts of Chaoge were divided into Wei, Yan, and Shao, which were respectively managed by Guan Shu Jixian, Cai Shu Ji Du, and Huo Shu Ji, who jointly monitored Wu Geng, known in history as the "Three Prisons".
Uncle Guan and other "three prisons" were originally to guard against Wu Geng's rebellion, but now they colluded with Wu Geng and instigated several tribes to rebel against Zhou, which is known in history as the "Rebellion of the Three Prisons".
While making preparations, Duke Zhou also held secret talks with another brother of King Wu, Zhao Gong, and convinced him to support him from the overall situation of the country. Then, Zhou Gong summoned the ministers, carried out some propaganda and mobilization, and then resolutely sent troops to the east to quell the rebellion.
The Zhou Dynasty army soon quelled the rebellion of Wu Geng and the "Three Prisons", and the Duke of Zhou took the opportunity to lead an army to conquer the small states of Jiuyi. Subsequently, the Zhou army occupied the neighboring countries to the west and south of the Amami state, and the emperor of the amami state was forced to surrender, dealing a heavy blow to the Yin Shang forces.
During this crusade, the Duke of Zhou captured a large number of Shang Dynasty nobles, and in order to better govern these "recalcitrant people", decided to build a new capital city in the east of the capital city of Ho, and then move them all there in order to control the vast Central Plains in the east. This is the Eastern Capital Luoyi (Luoyang, Henan). Since then, the Zhou Dynasty has had two capitals: in the west is Hojing, which is Zongzhou, and to the east is Luoyi, which is Chengzhou.
In the seven years of the Zhou Dynasty, the Zhou Dynasty suppressed the rebellion, built the Eastern Capital, and also formulated a set of rules and regulations for the Zhou Dynasty, such as unifying the planning of land in the feudal country, extensively implementing the well field system, consolidating and strengthening the economic foundation of the Zhou Dynasty; establishing the system of primogeniture and the system of noble and inferior ranks, and strengthening the rule of the central government; in addition, there was also the "Qifu" system, the "Knighthood" system, the "Law" system, and the "Music" system, so that the rule of the Zhou Dynasty was consolidated.
When King Cheng of Zhou turned twenty years old, the Duke of Zhou decided to return to the throne. The "Shang Shu Da Biography" says: "The regency of the Duke of Zhou, one year to save the chaos, two years to ke yin, three years to jianyi, four years to build hou wei, five years to camp into Zhou, six years to make ceremonies and music, seven years to become a king." ”
Before returning to power, Zhou Gong composed "Wu Yi", admonishing King Cheng to remember the lessons of the demise of the Shang Dynasty, not to indulge in lust, but to think about the "difficulties of harvesting", to be diligent and frugal, to love the people, and to choose the wise and capable. Then he "returned to the throne and became a vassal in the north."
As an outstanding politician and thinker in the early Zhou Dynasty, Zhou Gong not only played a very important role in eliminating merchants, establishing and improving the political system of the Zhou Dynasty, stabilizing social order, and promoting social prosperity, but also was regarded as the founder of the Confucian school and the jurist school, which had a very profound impact on Chinese society for thousands of years after that.