Zheng (State)

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Zheng ( Chinese  鄭  /  郑 , Pinyin Zhèng ) was a state in the time of the Western Zhou Dynasty , the time of the spring and autumn annals and the time of the Warring States during the Zhou in central China in an area that is now part of Henan Province . He was the first of the feudal states of Zhou to gain dominance over the other feudal states during the spring and autumn annals. However, Zheng's power was short-lived.

history

In 806, Zheng's first ruler, Duke Huan of Zheng , a younger brother of Zhou King Xuan , received a fief near present-day Huaxian ( Shaanxi Province ). There he established a state that was located within the royal territory. Under Xuan's successor, You , Duke Huan served as minister, during which time the Zheng clan became one of the pioneers in opening up eastern China for Zhou. The Zheng fiefdom was moved to the east at this time and was located near today's Xinzheng ( new Zheng ) in Henan Province . The following three generations of the Zheng dukes also served in the highest ministerial positions at the Zhou court.

The residents of the State of Zheng made in their new territory swampy land arable, while on the help of strangers, some non-Chinese peoples such as the Shang , Man , Rong and Di resorted. In doing so, Zheng developed a pioneering spirit that the then established states no longer had. This quickly made Zheng one of the main pillars of the Zhou house. Under the third Zheng ruler, Duke Zhuang of Zheng , Zheng repulsed attacks by Rong. In addition, Zheng took part in actions against states that did not or no longer wanted to submit to the Zhou court. However, Zheng was not on the outskirts of the Zhou Empire, so that territorial expansion that did not come at the expense of another Zhou borrower was limited.

Under Duke Zhuang, Zheng broke some traditional customs. Attacks on other feudal states by Zhou had been unheard of up until then, which made even Zhou King Ping feel threatened. When Ping appointed a nobleman from Guo State to be minister alongside Duke Zhuang in order to balance Zheng's power, Zhuang forced the king to exchange hostages with him : Ping's son went to Duke Zhuang's court, while Zheng's heir to the Zhou court was posted. This exchange of hostages between feudal lords and takers was another breach of feudal ethics and shows both the weakness of the house of Zhou and the power of the state of Zheng.

After King Ping's death, his successor Huan appointed another Guo nobleman to be minister. Duke Zheng retaliated by devastating plantations in the Zhou king's territory. In response, King Huan had troops from the states of Chen , Wey and Cai deployed to put Zheng in his place. In the ensuing armed conflict, the royal troops were defeated by Zheng, and King Huan was injured in the shoulder by an arrow from Zheng. After this battle, the Zhou king was only nominal head of the Zhou dynasty, as the injury from an enemy arrow was interpreted to mean that the Zhou kings had lost the mandate of heaven . Zheng was now the leader of the Zhou feudal states. Those states that refused to bow to Zheng's supremacy had to expect attacks from Zheng and his allies.

In 701, Duke Zhuang died, leaving two sons. A succession dispute broke out between these two sons, which resulted in a civil war in which other feudal states such as Song were also involved. As a result of this 20-year conflict, Zheng lost his supremacy. The following succession to the throne was also so poorly clarified that it resulted in civil wars. In the middle of the 7th century BC Zheng, like its neighbors Song, Lu and Wey, had largely lost its importance. During the hegemony of Jin State it was closely allied with Jin, and as such it was threatened by Chu and in 627 BC Attacked by Qin ; however, Jin's army defeated the Qin forces. It was thus only a buffer state between Chu and Jin; in the Warring States Period he disappeared.

In 1923, a large grave of a Zheng ruler was discovered in the village of Lijialou near Xinzheng . This was the starting point for a systematic archaeological study of the period of the spring and autumn annals. It contained 46 bronze vessels and 23 bells and is one of the most important finds from the era; However, nothing is known about the structure of the tomb.

Ruler of Zheng

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Cho-yun Hsu : The Spring and Autumn Period . In: Michael Loewe and Edward L. Shaughnessy (Eds.): The Cambridge History of Ancient China . Cambridge University Press, 1999, ISBN 978-0-521-47030-8 , pp. 551 .
  2. ↑ Cho-yun Hsu: The Spring and Autumn Period . In: Michael Loewe and Edward L. Shaughnessy (Eds.): The Cambridge History of Ancient China . Cambridge University Press, 1999, ISBN 978-0-521-47030-8 , pp. 554 .
  3. ↑ a b c Cho-yun Hsu: The Spring and Autumn Period . In: Michael Loewe and Edward L. Shaughnessy (Eds.): The Cambridge History of Ancient China . Cambridge University Press, 1999, ISBN 978-0-521-47030-8 , pp. 552 .
  4. ↑ Cho-yun Hsu: The Spring and Autumn Period . In: Michael Loewe and Edward L. Shaughnessy (Eds.): The Cambridge History of Ancient China . Cambridge University Press, 1999, ISBN 978-0-521-47030-8 , pp. 568 .
  5. ↑ Cho-yun Hsu: The Spring and Autumn Period . In: Michael Loewe and Edward L. Shaughnessy (Eds.): The Cambridge History of Ancient China . Cambridge University Press, 1999, ISBN 978-0-521-47030-8 , pp. 559 .
  6. ↑ Cho-yun Hsu: The Spring and Autumn Period . In: Michael Loewe and Edward L. Shaughnessy (Eds.): The Cambridge History of Ancient China . Cambridge University Press, 1999, ISBN 978-0-521-47030-8 , pp. 568 .
  7. ^ Mark Edward Lewis : Warring States Political History . In: Michael Loewe and Edward L. Shaughnessy (Eds.): The Cambridge History of Ancient China . Cambridge University Press, 1999, ISBN 978-0-521-47030-8 , pp. 597 .
  8. ^ Lothar von Falkenhausen : The Waning of the Bronze Age: Material Culture and Social Developments, 770-481 BC In: Michael Loewe and Edward L. Shaughnessy (eds.): The Cambridge History of Ancient China . Cambridge University Press, 1999, ISBN 978-0-521-47030-8 , pp. 453 .
  9. ^ Lothar von Falkenhausen: The Waning of the Bronze Age: Material Culture and Social Developments, 770-481 BC In: Michael Loewe and Edward L. Shaughnessy (eds.): The Cambridge History of Ancient China . Cambridge University Press, 1999, ISBN 978-0-521-47030-8 , pp. 479 .
  10. ^ Edward L. Shaughnessy : Calendar and Chronology . In: Michael Loewe and Edward L. Shaughnessy (Eds.): The Cambridge History of Ancient China . Cambridge University Press, 1999, ISBN 978-0-521-47030-8 , pp. 25-29 .