The historical debate over whether Duke Zhou 周公 was ever considered a king has persisted for centuries and continues to this day.By examining early Zhou Dynasty records and inscriptions,we find that divergent perspectives on whether Duke Zhou was acknowledged as a king already existed at the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty.These differences can be traced in both transmitted texts and Western Zhou bronze inscriptions.Through an in-depth analysis of early documents,we identify that the root cause of this phenomenon lies in internal conflicts among various political factions during the early Zhou period.The first faction,centered around Duke Shao 召公 and King Cheng 成王.the second,led by the"Three Uncles"三叔,and the third,consisting of the Yin remnants under Wugeng 武庚,uniformly refused to recognize Duke Zhou as king,referring to him only as"Duke"公 or"Duke Zhou"周公.The fourth faction,however,led by Duke Zhou himself,upheld his regency as a royal role,recording his statements as"The King says"王曰or"Thus says the King"王若曰.Thus,the later debates over whether Duke Zhou was considered a king can find their basis in early pre-Qin texts,making the question of Duke Zhou's kingship a persistent historical enigma.
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