The survivors of the Yin and Shang Dynasties: the source of the tragedy of the Song Dynasty

After King Zhou Ping moved eastward, the Emperor of Zhou gradually lost his status as the ruler of the world. Countries all tried to dominate the country, creating the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, a time of conflict and chaos with unique charm. But there is such a country. It is a first-class duke and the country is quite powerful, but it does not want to make progress. The only two acts of dominance have become a joke for the ages. This is the Song Dynasty. The first Tuba

Song Xianggong was one of the five hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period. However, Song Xianggong’s so-called hegemony is actually not worthy of the name. It is said that Duke Xianggang of Song Dynasty admired Duke Huan of Qi's hegemony, and he also wanted to follow the example of the gourd, hold high the banner of benevolence and righteousness, and command the princes of the world. He first escorted Prince Zhao back to the country to succeed him when Qi was in civil strife, and then formed an alliance with Qi and Chu in Ludi and regarded himself as the leader of the alliance, which naturally aroused the dissatisfaction of the king of Qi and Chu. Later, Song Xianggong planned to gather the princes in Yudi, but he was unexpectedly set up by King Chu Cheng. When the two had a dispute over the position of alliance leader, the King of Chu actually sent troops to kidnap him. However, Duke Xianggong of the Song Dynasty regarded himself as "benevolent and righteous" and did not lead any troops at all when meeting the alliance. Although the people of Chu were unfaithful, Duke Huan of Qi was also kidnapped and threatened by Cao Mo of Lu during the alliance meeting. In the end, Duke Huan's credibility was gained. In the final analysis, the strength of the Song Dynasty was not recognized by the princes, and its attempt to seek hegemony would only bring humiliation to itself. However, after suffering a big loss, Song Xianggong still dreamed of becoming a hegemon. Later, the Song Dynasty fought the Battle of Hongshui with the Chu army. At that time, the Chu army outnumbered the Song army. However, Song Xianggong did not listen to the advice of his son Mu Yi to take advantage of the Chu army's "half-crossed attack" or "attack before the formation", and insisted on waiting. After the Chu soldiers set up their military formations, they beat drums and marched, claiming to be "benevolent and righteous" ("A gentleman will not trap others in trouble, and without drums, he will not form a line"), but he returned with a great defeat. Song Xianggong talked about benevolence and righteousness without any self-awareness, which became a joke at that time and in later generations.

Song Xianggong held high the banner of "benevolence and righteousness" for the second time to dominate the country

Throughout the Spring and Autumn Period, the Song State was tired of dealing with the harassment from neighboring countries such as Zheng, Chen, Cai, Cao and others. , and suffered from wars due to being caught between Jin and Chu who were competing for hegemony. During the Warring States Period, the Song State did not seem to be too interested in striving for hegemony and power, and had no sense of existence throughout the Warring States Period. It was not until the last king of the Song State, King Song Kang, that the Song State seemed to be showing signs of rising again. "Conquer Qi in the east and capture five cities. Defeat Chu in the south and expand the territory for more than 300 miles. Defeat the Wei army in the west and capture two cities. Defeat Teng and gain territory." At that time, it was known as "the powerful Song Dynasty with five thousand chariots". However, this is just an illusion. King Kang of Song Dynasty, who was sandwiched between Qi, Chu and Wei, did not practice benevolent governance at home, ruled tyrannically, and used troops indiscriminately externally, offending the great powers. It seems powerful, but in fact it is already in danger. The princes called the Song Dynasty "Jie Song" and believed that "the Song Dynasty was restored to Zhou's actions and must be punished." Finally, Qi State united with Chu State and Wei State to attack and destroy Song State and carve up its land.

The source of tragedy during the reign of King Kang of Song Dynasty.

Throughout the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, why was the Song Kingdom so weird? In fact, the tragedy of the Song State has been doomed since its establishment. After King Wu defeated Shang, in order to appease the remnants of the Yin and Shang Dynasties, he allowed Wu Geng, the son of King Zhou of Shang, to continue to rule the old land, and set up the "Three Supervisors". King Wu's younger brothers Guan Shu, Cai Shu, and Huo Shu were sent to monitor Wu Geng and Yin. people to prevent chaos. Unexpectedly, after King Wu died, Uncle Guan, Uncle Cai and Wu Geng united to rebel because they were dissatisfied with Duke Zhou's regency. It took Duke Zhou three years to completely quell this turmoil. The Zhou royal family realized that the power of the remnants of the Yin and Shang could not be ignored, but it was impossible to kill them all, so they took divisive measures and granted the land of Chaoge to King Wu's other brother Kang Shu to establish the Wei Kingdom, and moved some of the Yin and Shang nobles to Chengzhou Luoyi conducted direct surveillance, and another part of the Yin people followed Wei Ziqi, the brother-in-law of King Zhou of the Shang Dynasty, to establish the Song Dynasty in Shangqiu, the hometown of the Yin Shang Dynasty, to continue the Yin Shang ancestral worship. Coupled with the Yin people who followed Jizi to the Korean Peninsula, the entire remaining Yin Shang forces were torn apart. Around the Song Kingdom, a large number of princes surnamed Ji were enfeoffed, called the "Gongwei Royal Family". In fact, they were also monitoring the Song Kingdom and the Dongyi and Huaiyi countries. King Zhou Cheng specially wrote "The Ming of Wei Zi", in which he praised the benevolence of Tang, the ancestor of Shang Dynasty, but in essence warned Wei Zi to "be careful to obey orders" and "law is to govern the people".

Map of the Spring and Autumn Period

The Zhou royal family probably hoped to slowly cultivate the Yin and Shang remnants into docile subjects of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and would never allow any further rebellion. It is not difficult to imagine that throughout the Western Zhou Dynasty, the Song Dynasty should have been in an environment of surveillance and brainwashing. This transformation should be said to be so successful that by the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period more than two hundred years later, when the princes began to strive for power, the Song people, who had been taught by Zhou Rites into docile and good people, were a little uncomfortable with such great conflicts. passed away. From the king down, everyone is obsessed with "benevolence and righteous deeds". Needless to say, Duke Xianggong of Song Dynasty, Duke Xuan of Song Dynasty and Duke Mu of Song Dynasty both had good reputations for abdicating their thrones, Duke Jinggong of Song Dynasty had the benevolence of "retreating from temptation", and Duke Wen of Song Dynasty spread benevolence and righteousness before he came to the throne. The whole country prevailed in the worldly way and devoted itself to the development of people's livelihood. Taoqiu, Pengcheng, Shangqiu, etc. in the Song Dynasty became famous commercial cities at that time. The Song Dynasty also produced a group of people with a reputation for benevolence. Confucius, Mozi, Zhuangzi, Hui Shi, and Ji Ran were all Song people. It can be said that the people of the Song Dynasty inherited the benevolence and intelligence of their ancestor Shang Tang, but lost the bravery of the "Dayi Shang" in conquering the princes. Perhaps Song Xianggong's brother-in-law, Mu Yi, had already understood all this, so he tried his best to dissuade Song Xianggong from seeking hegemony. "Heaven has abandoned Shang for a long time." Even if "rituals collapsed and music collapsed," the people of the Song Dynasty would never be able to revive the glory of their ancestors.

Zhuangzi and Huizi