The Book of Shang is a collection of ancient court documents, which records the official documents of the Yao Shun, Xia Dynasty, Shang Dynasty, and Zhou Dynasty in the ancient period, which is both history and the outline of governance. According to the classification of Kong Anguo, The Book of Shangshu is divided into six main types: "canon, mo, training, edict, oath, and fate", including the deeds of the previous kings, the discussion between the monarchs and the courtiers, the suggestions of the ancient famous ministers, the exhortations when dividing the princes, the oaths before the battle, and the appointment documents of officials. In general, it is a political document of the ancient dynasty.
YaoDian
There are several historical fragments that are mainly recounted:
A harmonious world under the rule of Emperor Yao
Emperor Yao arranged for people to set the agricultural time and calendar, involving a large amount of early astronomical knowledge
Emperor Yao's criteria for selecting successors and Emperor Yao's trial of Emperor Shun
Emperor Shun's early achievements, establishment of institutions, and hunting
Emperor Shun's personnel arrangements after Emperor Yao's death finally set up twelve prefectures, four yue (elders), and nine secretaries
And the ending of Emperor Shun, although the whole article is based on Emperor Yao as the title, a large amount of space is devoted to the deeds of Emperor Shun, describing various myths and legends of early Chinese civilization, many of which have become the origin of various countries in the later Xia Dynasty, Shang Dynasty, and Zhou Dynasty. The stories in the Yaodian are quoted in a large number of the Five Emperors of the Chronicle of History, which should be said to be officially recognized mythological stories.
Gao Tao Mo
It was mainly during the reign of Emperor Shun that his subjects discussed the political principles of how to govern the country. At first, Gao Tao and Yu discussed the requirements for virtue as an emperor, then Emperor Shun asked Xia Yu how he could do a good job, and then Emperor Shun's requirements and expectations for the ministers. It should be the Confucian beautification of early politicians, the ultimate purpose is to describe the ideal political ecology of a monarch and a sage, and it is also an important example of the future Confucianism proposing a monarch and a subject.
Yu Gong
Yi Yu tells the story of the time of water control, describing the geographical situation of early China. If not read carefully, it should be an important first-hand source for examining geographical history. At the same time, at that time, the ancient Chinese already had the humanistic concept of appropriate taxation according to geographical conditions.
Oath
The Oath of the Emperor Qi of the Xia Dynasty before the battle with the Youshi clan. Mainly, Kai demanded strict implementation of military orders and promised clear rewards and punishments. Among them, the description of reward and punishment, the reward is rewarded in the ancestral temple, and the punishment is killed in the altar, with the color of Confucian emphasis on sacrifice, perhaps the Xia Dynasty did not punish in this way.
Soup oath
Oath of Oath at the time of Shang Tang's crusade against Xia Jie. Explain why Shang Tang wants to fight Xia Jie, the reasoning behind it is actually very complicated. According to the Confucian view, there must be a strict hierarchy between kings and subjects, and if a courtier seeks to overthrow the monarch, it is a great rebellion, but there are also such incidents of princes violently overthrowing the emperor in the beautiful ancient three generations described by Confucianism. Therefore, with this tang oath, by explaining the motive of the Shang Tang crusade, it was to save the world, creating a theoretical basis for the expansion of the application of Confucian thought and the service of the new emperor.
Pan Geng
Divided into three parts, it is a series of speeches to the people of the Shang Dynasty before and after the Shang King Pan Geng moved the capital of the Shang Dynasty from the north bank of the Yellow River to the south bank of the Yellow River. Judging from the whole article, the internal opposition within the Shang Dynasty was very strong.
The first one: The speech when the move was not only bitter, but also coerced and seduced, using the punishment of the first king and God as a means of intimidation, and at the same time announced the punishment measures for violating the ban, and forcefully promoted the relocation of the capital.
The second part: The speech after the capital has just been moved is mainly an explanatory work on the behavior of moving the capital, starting from divination, combined with the requirements for officials, and still dealing with the matter of opposing the forces of the capital move.
Part III: Speech after a period of time in the relocation of the capital, it can be seen that after a period of time of moving the capital, the development of the Yin Shang Dynasty was not as good as promised before the capital was moved, and part of this part is to explain the relocation of the capital, and the other part is to blame the poor development on the instigation of officials and then collectively criticize and collectively demand the officials. For the ancient Shang Dynasty, which had just entered the agricultural society, the relocation was a very important event, which meant abandoning the familiar natural geographical environment to reclaim and build in a new place, which was a major survival challenge for the low-productivity ancients. Pan Geng's move to the capital should be a last resort, but there are still a lot of objections to be dealt with, so he sacrifices Enwei and implements a killing move to unify his thinking. Even if the effect was not good for a period of time after the capital was moved, the responsibility was transferred to the officials, and the goal was achieved by rectifying the officials.
Gojong's Day
It introduces the story of the Shang King's vision when he sacrificed his ancestor Gaozong, and the minister Zu Ji exhorted him to observe the etiquette.
Siberius
It describes the warning of the chancellor Zuyi to the king of Yin after king Wen of Zhou conquered the northwest of Yin Shang, as well as the blind confidence and rebuttal of Zuyi that king Huan said, "My life is up to heaven". Seen as evidence explaining why the Shang Dynasty perished.
Neutrinos
It tells the story of The Younger Brother of the King of Sui who was deeply desperate after admonishing the King of Lu to no avail, so he consulted the political elders and finally chose to flee. It is also a source that explains why the king of The Fallen Kingdom.
Pastoral oath
King Wu of Zhou took an oath before his battle with king Shang in Muge. The basic style is similar to that of the Tang Oath, but it is more of a description of how King Wu of Zhou gathered various princes at that time.
Hong Fan
King Wu of Zhou asked Jizi about the government, and through the mouth of Jizi, he told the secret of the so-called "Nine Chapters of Dafa" rule. It is a collection of political theories governing the country in the pre-Qin period, and contains a large number of philosophical, astronomical, superstitious, and wei theories and knowledge. It provides an important material for Confucian quotations.
Golden
The mythological story of Zhou Gongdan, one of the founders of the Zhou Dynasty, established the image of a complete clan minister.
Great
The speech written by the Duke of Zhou, in the tone of King Cheng of Zhou, mobilized the princes to march east, repeatedly emphasizing the Mandate of Heaven and the fact that King Cheng of Zhou did not dare to waste the deeds of his ancestors. It is a proclamation of the civil war and a historical material that records the establishment of the feudal system through military means in the early Zhou Dynasty.
Kang
There are three articles of Kang, all of which are the edict documents of King Cheng of Zhou to appoint Uncle Kang to the Wei state after assessing the rebellion of Wu Gengguan Cai, which is the first part. It tells the story of Zhou Gong's request that Uncle Kang have extensive contact with the sages left behind by Yin Shang in his fiefdom, learn the lessons of Yin Shang's demise, and establish clear standards of reward and punishment at the same time. It prominently depicts the legal system established in the early Zhou Dynasty.
Wine
The middle chapter of the three chapters of Kang Xuan is a prohibition of alcohol issued by the Zhou Dynasty after summarizing the experience of Yin Shang's subjugation of the country, which shows that the early Zhou Dynasty was a relatively abstinent regime, while the end of the Shang Dynasty was a regime of fornication and debauchery, and from this perspective explains the Puritan-like life demanded by Confucianism.
Catalpa wood
In the next chapter of Kang Xuan, He teaches Uncle Kang to forgive the remnants of Yin Shang. From the overall point of view of the three articles of Kang, the strategy of the Zhou Dynasty expedition to establish feudal princes included
Establish a united front and win over local sages and magnates
Establish a strict system of decrees to fully demonstrate the majesty of the new regime and combat the stubborn opposition
Change the local social customs to make the local area more receptive to the unified patriarchal values
In the process of establishing feudal power, it is necessary to be fully gentle and not to be tough and to consolidate rule step by step
Summons
King Chengwang's speech when he established the eastern capital Luoyi told the process of building the capital and the significance of the capital, and still summed up the experience of the Zhou Dynasty in replacing Yin Shang.
Toaster
Zhou Gongdan's speech to the conquered Yin shang nobles was when the remnants of the Yin merchants were relocated after the establishment of the new Eastern Capital Luoyi. Because the merchants were a people who believed in ghosts and gods, when explaining that the Zhou Dynasty replaced the Yin Merchants, the Zhou Gong made a large number of claims that this was the will of heaven. In the second half of the zhou dynasty, the Duke of Zhou stated that he would not exterminate the remnants of the Yin merchants but would use the sages among them, giving the Yin merchants a way to live. Overall, it was a policy statement for those who surrendered.
No escape
Zhou Gongdan's teachings on King Zhou Cheng's governance of the country after the successful establishment of the sub-fief were summed up in the sense that we should think of danger in times of peace and not covet pleasure. It is still the material of confucianism in order to highlight the image of such a complete sage as Zhou Gong.
Junyi
The Duke of Zhou explained the Zhou Dynasty's mandate to overthrow Yin Shang's speech. It can be seen as the Zhou people's words about the seizure of power, and it can also be seen as the mythological origin of the Confucian recognition of the Zhou Li ruling the world.
Multi-party
The first half is basically the same as the Junyi to explain the concept of the Mandate of Heaven, and the second half is a political teaching and intimidation of the Yin Shang tribes that have just been governmentd, and if it is really the Confucian revised Shangshu, it can be seen that the Confucians are not completely negative of the harsh laws of the Dharma.
Establishment of the government
It summarizes the institutional construction and demise of the Xia and Shang dynasties, explains the bureaucratic system of the Zhou Dynasty, puts forward the concept of judicial independence, and preliminarily discusses the criteria for selecting officials in the Zhou Dynasty. It should be an institutional document for the establishment of the state in the early Zhou Dynasty.
Take care of your life
The records of King Tuogu of Zhou Cheng and King Kang of Zhou, which depict a large number of rituals and rituals in the process of King Zhou Kang's succession, are a fragment of the royal life of the early Zhou Dynasty, and are the starting point for later generations to study Zhou Li. It can be seen that under the productivity level of the Zhou Dynasty, the Chinese people have done a full sense of solemnity in the various ceremonies of the royal family, which is a unique etiquette culture that can only be developed by a precocious nation.
Lü Punishment
Describing the cruel criminal law of the ancient period and the criminal law standards established after that, it proposes appropriate criminal laws to guide the people to achieve the purpose of moral rule, and at the same time proposes different disciplinary standards for whether it is a deliberate crime. This article also discusses a lot of details of the trial of cases, which can be seen as guidelines for court work in the pre-Qin era. The ultimate goal is to subdue people with virtue.
The order of Wen Hou
The document that King Ping of Zhou divided the title of Marquis Wen of Jin as Hou Bo shows that the Zhou Dynasty at this time had declined and needed to rely on the help of the princely states to avoid the fall of the country, and the tone of the princely states changed from the teaching of the early appointment documents to the compliments relied on them at this time. Judging from the final reward, just a few bows and some arrows, maybe the Zhou Dynasty was really poor.
Oath of Charge
Lu Gongzheng swore an oath to Huaiyi and Xu Rong. Compared with the oath of the previous Xia Shang Zhou Dynasty, Lu Gong paid more attention to details, and even had some mothers-in-law, which was indeed not as powerful as the monarchs of the Three Ancient Dynasties.
Qin Oath
Qin Mugong's self-criticism after the failure of the military operation. It expressed trust in the old minister, and can also be said to be a speech that comforted the backbone elders of the DPRK and China.