On the Political Situation from the Western Zhou Dynasty to the Early Spring and Autumn Period and the Rise of Zheng Wugong's Hegemony——Also on the Gains and Losses of"Zhengzhuang Xiaoba"
After King You of Zhou abolished his eldest son's legitimate succession position,a joint army consisted of local lords(zhuhou)and the northwest Rong people destroyed the Western Zhou Dynasty.Since then,a political-geographical crisis emerged,and a process of which local lords(zhuhou)vied for hegemony started.As the loss of the Qifeng headquarters and the decline of King Ping of Zhou's authority,a gap has appeared on the Western Zhou Dynasty's monarchy.The national political system began to transform to the Spring and Autumn period's hegemony pattern.On the one hand,within the political disorder,a new seigneur network surrounded Luoyi was constructed,objectively,this situation provided geographical advantages for the rise of the Zheng State.On the other hand,due to his contributions to King Ping of Zhou's eastward migration,Zheng Wugong has became the second powerful man with his dual political identities of Wangguanbo and Fangbo.At that time,major states such as Qin or Jin were trapped into their own internal and external troubles.During this blanking period,Zheng Wugong vigorously promoted the"zunwang"initiatives and gained the opportunity to become"Zheng dong fang zhi zhuhou".He actively implemented an alliance strategy,actually begun the hegemony politics.By the time of his son(Zheng Zhuanggong),after the seizure of power events of King Huan,Zheng lost its traditional royal position as a Wangguanbo.Then Zheng State initiated its identity transformation to a Fangbo,did lots of efforts such as seeking strong allies,attacking weak enemies,defeating the barbarians,even"zhu wang yu ge".All these efforts have made Zheng a"small"hegemony among numerous states.However,since the hegemony of Zheng Zhuanggong was achieved by provoking the royal authority and destroying old tradition,it was difficult to be recognized by other local lords.Eventually,along with the internal turmoil happened after Zheng Zhuanggong's death,the hegemony of Zheng didn't last too long.From then on,the political system of the Spring and Autumn period entered a higher stage,a hegemony state should possessed both power and virtue,undertook both of the two responsibilities:"zun wang"and"rang yi".
Zheng WugongZheng ZhuanggongWangguanbo—FangboHegemony of the Spring and Autumn PeriodTsinghua Bamboo Slips
万方数据
