Why did the capital move frequently in the early Shang Dynasty?

From the early Tang Dynasty to the late Zhou Dynasty, * * * spread for nearly 600 years, with 17 generations and 31 kings. About16th century BC to 1 1 century BC. There is a remarkable phenomenon in the history of Shang dynasty, that is, the capital moved to the capital repeatedly. It was built in Bo (now Shangqiu City, Henan Province) in the early Tang Dynasty. Then five moves: Zhong Ding moved the capital to J (now south of Aoshan, Xingyang, Henan); He moved the capital (now west of Anyang City, Henan Province) and Zu Ti moved the capital to Xing (now east of wen county City, Henan Province); Nangeng moved its capital to Yan (now the east of Qufu, Shandong Province) and Pan Geng moved its capital to Yin (now the northwest of Anyang, Henan Province). Pan Geng's move to Yin is of epoch-making significance in the history of Shang Dynasty. Prior to this, from the Tang Dynasty to the Yang family, the King of 19 was spread in ten generations, about 300 years ago, that is, in the early Shang Dynasty. After that, it spread from Pan Geng to Zhou Dynasty to the Twelve Kings of Eight Dynasties, with a period of 273 years, which was the early and late Shang Dynasty. It can be seen that the capital moved repeatedly, specifically, it should refer to the early Shang Dynasty.

Why did the capital move many times in the early Shang Dynasty? Scholars in ancient and modern times have different opinions on this issue, mainly including the following views: 1 Flood theory; Second, nomadic and nomadic farmers, third, extravagance and thrift, and fourth, the struggle for the throne.

Flood said: trying to find the reason why businessmen move repeatedly from natural disasters. But there is no conclusive material to prove that the flood forced businessmen to move the capital. On the contrary, from the Tang dynasty to the six dynasties and eleven kings, at least 150 troops were brought. Has there been a disaster in the river for so long? Moreover, from Wuding to Oracle Bone Inscriptions, it has been recorded for many times that the flooding of Huan water endangered the capital of Yin, and the Yin people did not move the capital. Why can't floods force people to move their capital after the scale, but they can force people to move their capital before Pan Geng? In addition, several capitals in the Southern Dynasties were located on both sides of the Yellow River, especially Zhong Ding moved from Bohai to J, and Pan Geng moved from Yan to Yin, and the more they moved, the more they moved to the riverside. This phenomenon cannot be explained by floods.

Nomadic and nomadic farmers said: trying to find the reasons why businessmen move repeatedly from the perspective of social production. According to the nomadic theory, merchants were nomadic people who migrated infinitely before Pan Geng moved to Yin. Only in Pan Geng did they have a preliminary agriculture, and they changed from nomadic economy to agricultural economy, so they tended to settle down. However, Oracle Bone Inscriptions and archaeological data of Shang Dynasty prove that agriculture was the most important production sector as early as the early Shang Dynasty, so this statement is not in line with historical reality.

You Nong said that agriculture in Shang Dynasty was primitive. Its primitiveness is manifested in the clumsiness of production tools and primitive farming methods. Businessmen used the method of burning fields instead of clumsy production tools to open up Yuan Ye. After burning the Lin Mang Plain, they planted seeds on dusty soil. They know neither irrigation nor fertilization. Once the natural force of the land is exhausted, they need to change farmland and have to migrate frequently. Small-scale peasant economy is the reason for the repeated flow of merchant capital. However, archaeological data prove that the stone sickle and axe unearthed in Zhengzhou and Xiaotun Shang culture are very similar. These two places just represent the early Shang Dynasty and the late Shang Dynasty. A small number of bronzes were used in agricultural production in Shang Dynasty. At present, several bronze farm tools unearthed are roughly the same in the early and late Shang Dynasty. This shows that the agricultural production tools in the early and late Shang Dynasty did not change obviously, and they were rather clumsy. With regard to farming methods, Mr. Hu Houxuan pointed out in "On Burning Fields in Yin Dynasty" that burning fields was a hunting method of Yin people and had nothing to do with agriculture. As for businessmen who don't know how to fertilize, it is inconsistent with historical facts. "The Book of Klang" says: There is drought in soup, and the shade is used as a regional field to teach people to plant manure and water crops with negative water. Oracle Bone Inscriptions's word urine is shit. There are a large number of records of urine fields in Oracle Bone Inscriptions, and it is possible that dung species were known as early as Shang Dynasty. Younong's argument can't stand scrutiny. Besides, like the flood theory, it can't explain the historical fact that commercial capital was stable before Zhong Ding and after Pan Geng. Therefore, what you said is hard to believe.

The debate between extravagance and thrift and the throne: trying to find out the reasons why businessmen move repeatedly from the social and political aspects. According to the theory of getting rid of extravagance and thrift, restraining extravagance and advocating thrift in order to alleviate class contradictions is the reason why businessmen move repeatedly. This is somewhat reasonable. Because "The Book of History" and "Pan Geng" preserved three speeches made by Pan Geng to his subjects when he moved to Yin. When he wanted to move, he accused the nobles of being greedy for money. After he moved, he warned the officials: Don't collect money, just multiply the industry tirelessly for yourself, but benefit the people and always lead an honest and clean life like a king. However, luxury is the chronic disease and common disease of the exploiting class. It exists not only at the time of migration, but also after migration.

Why can luxury goods make capital move at this time, but not at that time? Although the theory of "going from extravagance to frugality" has seen the phenomenon that some businesses move repeatedly, it has failed to grasp the essence through the phenomenon. Therefore, its explanation for the repeated relocation of merchants is unconvincing. According to Records of Historical Records Yin Benji, since the mid-Ding period, disciples from all walks of life have abandoned their guard and set up another portal, which is more chaotic than the Nine Dynasties. Therefore, according to the records of the warlord Mo Dynasty, there were nine kings from the mid-Ding Dynasty to Yang Jiazheng, and several generations in the pre-Qin classics referred to several kings. It is no coincidence that merchants moved repeatedly during the Nine Dynasties' rebellion. It should be to encourage businesses to move repeatedly. This inference can be found in the novella of Shangshu Pan Geng. Pan Geng recalled the reason why the former king moved the capital: Yin was a big abuser, but the former king ignored it and regarded the people as moving. "Uncle Kong" thinks that the specific meaning of great abuse is: as the saying goes, "you can't live together and don't know God's will", that is, it is also a disaster from heaven. Obviously, the great abuse is not a natural disaster but a man-made disaster, that is, the ninth rebellion centered on the struggle for the throne. The meaning of this sentence is; Political turmoil and disputes have brought endless disasters to the people. The former king did not cherish the foundation they built, and was moved by the interests of the people. Then, why must the social unrest caused by the struggle for the throne be solved by moving the capital? Because the direct consequence of the ninth rebellion was the weakening of the authority of the Shang king and the expansion of the aristocratic forces. The expansion of aristocratic power, manifested in the economy, is the accumulation of wealth; Politically, it was regicide who usurped the throne. If both sides of the struggle want to win, they must rely on the time, place and people. The weather is independent of people's will and enjoys each other. The harmony between people depends on subjective efforts. Only the right place belongs to whoever owns it. Obviously, since the power of the nobility can expand and threaten the kingship, the nobility must occupy a geographical position.

Although the Shang Dynasty has entered the Bronze Age, the development level of social productive forces is still very low. At the level of social development, the role of geographical location is particularly important. It is a strategic move of Shang King to change the geographical advantages of the nobles by moving the capital, thus weakening their strength. This should be the subjective reason for the repeated relocation of businessmen. This is the case in the chapter "Shangshu Pan Geng". Pan Geng's move to Yin was almost opposed by the whole country, and the people complained bitterly, but the main resistance came from nobles, not civilians or slaves. Nobles used floating words to incite people's hearts, while Pan Geng seized the banner of destiny and the former king and preached for the people to win people's hearts. At that time, the destiny and the former king were undoubtedly powerful, which enabled Pan Geng to move Yin. When he was about to move, Pan Geng issued a warning: If there are unlucky people, the more disrespectful they will be. If there is temporary rape, I will annihilate them, leaving no room. In other words, if there are treacherous and disobedient people, I will cut them off and prevent them from spreading and growing in the new city. It can be seen that Pan Geng tried to attack the nobility by moving the capital. After moving the capital, Pan Geng reiterated: No matter how far away, kill the knight with sin, and show the goodness of the knight with virtue, that is, no matter how close to the Shang king, he will be put to death if he commits a crime, and he will be rewarded for his meritorious service; And claiming to have control is short-lived. This shows that by moving the capital and suppressing dissidents, the authority of the Shang king rose.

The lesson of the ninth rebellion is profound. In order to avoid repeating history, the system of succession to the throne has changed. The unified law of Shang and Jude Wong is divided into three stages: the first stage is from Dading to Zuding, and the second stage is from Xiao Ye to Kangding; In the third period, Wuyi passed it on to the eldest son. Pan Geng is in the transition stage from the first stage to the second stage. After moving to Yin, the legal unification of Shang and He appeared a new situation, that is, the younger brother was a direct line and eventually became a descendant. The establishment of the eldest son inheritance system reduced the struggle for the throne and stabilized the interior of the royal family, which led to the fact that the capital did not move again in 273 years after moving to Yin. The theory of the struggle for the throne more reasonably explains the many moves to the capital in the early Shang Dynasty.