Chapter 20 2. Yellow River, Yangtze River

May wish to look at the Spring and Autumn Period Zhuba again. The spring and autumn tyrants have three characteristics.First, except for the surname of Ji in the state of Jin, the rest are not surnamed Ji.Qi's surname is Jiang, Song's surname is Zi, Qin's surname is Ying, and Chu's surname is Mi (pronounced like a fan).The state of Wu is called Ji, and the state of Yue is called Si (pronounced as four), but in fact there is no surname.Second, except for Jin and Song in China (Central Plains), the rest are on the fringe.Qi is in Dongyi, Qin is in Xirong, Chu is in Nanman, Wu and Yue are in Baiyue.Third, the order of hegemony is first the Yellow River and then the Yangtze River.Specifically, it was first in the lower reaches of the Yellow River (Qi), then in the middle reaches of the Yellow River (Jin and Song), then in the upper reaches of the Yellow River (Qin), then in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River (Chu), and finally in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River (Wu and Yue).

This can be called "across the galloping Yellow River and Yangtze River". It is Jin and Chu that connect the Yellow River and Yangtze River.In fact, from Duke Wen of Jin to King Ling of Chu, the position of overlord was basically held by Jin and Chu in turn.The history of this hundred years can be divided into five stages: the dominance of Jin, the decline of Jin and the strength of Chu, the struggle between Jin and Chu, the revival of Jin and the co-hegemony of Jin and Chu.In the meantime, because the Chu people went north to fight for hegemony, Jin's hegemony could only be gained and lost, and lost and regained.Similarly, due to Jin's southward alliance with Wu, Chu's expansion was hindered, and its ambitions were difficult to realize.Only then did the military elimination meeting in the twenty-seventh year of Duke Xiang of Lu (546 BC), temporarily achieve peace in the Central Plains.The stage of history moved south from the Yellow River Basin to the Yangtze River Basin.The drama performed also changed from Qi, Song, Jin, Qin, and Chu's "Five Lords Struggle for Hegemony" to Chu, Wu, and Yue's "Three Kingdoms".

Therefore, it is of great significance that the people of Chu went north to fight for hegemony, and the state of Jin went south to unite with Wu. The significance is not only political and military, but also cultural.We know that, as the only big country with the Ji surname among the tyrants of the Spring and Autumn Period, Jin people are actually representatives of the two-week civilization, Chinese authenticity and traditional culture.Although Wu Guo claimed to be the Queen of Ji Zhou, he was actually a barbarian.In fact, it was very suspicious to say that the Wu people were descendants of Ji Zhouzhou, because no one could produce any evidence.On the contrary, it is true that they "cut off their tattoos and wear them naked as decorations".

It can be seen that even if Taibo and Zhongyong, the ancestors of the Wu people, were Ji Zhou, they were assimilated by the barbarians long ago, so they "abandoned on the seashore and did not communicate with Ji".The problem is that hundreds of years have passed, they have not communicated with Ji, why are they now?Because he knew that he would be beaten if he fell behind, he determined to learn from the Central Plains Zhu Xia.Jizha, the fourth son of Wu Wang Shoumeng, even made a special trip to the state of Lu, which has the most complete preservation of rites and music for two weeks.So by the time of Helu, the level of civilization of Wu State had already "compared with all Hua", and it was among the forests of the Chinese nation.

The rise of Wu State was not without reason. Here, we see a developing ethnic group yearning for advanced culture, and understand why they call themselves Ji Zhouzhou descendants.That is not so much the ancient memory of his own history, but rather the identity of the Chinese civilization.Similarly, we can also understand why Zhu Ji, Zhu Xia, and Zhu Hua agreed with Wu people's statement, which is actually their confidence and pride in their own culture and civilization. A secret is also partially revealed. Yes, Chinese civilization has three uniquenesses in the history of world civilization.One of them is the only one among the first civilizations that has continued uninterrupted to this day.The so-called "first-generation civilization" refers to those directly produced from primitive society, including Sumer, Egypt, Indus, Xia, Crete, and Olmec, known as the "six ancient civilizations."Of these six major civilizations, the remaining five are annihilated and fallen.Only the Xia civilization developed into Shang, developed into Zhou, developed into Huaxia, developed into Han and Tang, and developed into Chinese civilization.Where is the mystery in it?

There are three key words: Hua, Xia, and China. The earliest cultural relic evidence of the word "China" is in He Zun; the earliest documentary evidence is in "Shangshu" and "Shangshu".He Zun is a bronze vessel from the period of King Zhou Cheng.The "China" mentioned by He Zun refers to Chengzhou (Luoyang). The "Shangshu" and the "China" mentioned include Shang, Zhou, and the countries of the Central Plains that abide by Zhou rituals.It can be seen that the word "China" at that time had three meanings: first, in the world; second, the most civilized state and ethnic group; third, the location of traditional culture.

The concept related to this is Huaxia.Xia refers to regions or states, called Zhuxia; Hua refers to people or ethnic groups, called Zhuhua, also called Huaren and Huazu.Together, Huaxia is called China. To define whether a region or state is Xia, and whether a people or ethnic group is Hua depends on the degree of civilization.Those with a high degree of civilization are good, but those with a low level of civilization are not.The standard of measurement, in the Spring and Autumn Period, is Zhou Li and Zhou Le.Therefore, the princes of the Central Plains who obeyed the Zhou ritual called themselves China, and regarded Chu, Wu, and Yue outside the Zhou civilization circle as barbarians (Chu, Wu, and Yue called the former China or Shangguo).Even Qin, although occupying the old land of Zong Zhou, was regarded as Rong Di.

However, the War of Hegemony broke this stereotype.In the symphony of the Yellow River and the Yangtze River, China transforms the barbarians, and the barbarians also affect China.In the end, Qin, Chu, Wu, and Yue, including other barbarians Rong and Di who were annexed and transformed by them, all joined the same ranks.China's scope has expanded, and Huaxia's team has also grown.The result of all the rivers returning to the sea is the expansion of civilization, and it is the continuation and advancement.Perhaps, this is where the secret lies? At the same time of integration, there is disintegration.

Disintegration is also inevitable.The first to bear the brunt is the feudal system or the state system.The core of this system is not only the feudal state and the founding of the country, but also "the conquest of ritual and music comes from the emperor", which is called "the world has the right way".But this is the age of kingship.In the era of hegemony, all conquests come from the princes, which in itself is breaking the rules.What's more, barbarians like Chu neither respect the king nor fight against the barbarians, but only strive for hegemony.In the struggle for hegemony, it is impossible to be gentle, courteous and frugal.In the struggle for hegemony, you can no longer stick to the rules.Can the four major systems of wellfield, patriarchal clan, feudalism, and ritual and music continue to be maintained?Can the international order and game rules of the Western Zhou and Eastern Zhou be maintained?

In fact, the sequential hegemony of the three barbarian tribes of Chu, Wu, and Yue meant that the system and cultural scene of the two weeks were gone.All traditions are challenged and must be refreshed.Therefore, first the royal family of Zhou was declining, and then the royal family of Jin collapsed, and various political forces re-gambled in the spring wind and autumn rain.The Huaxia that is too old has insufficient energy, and the barbarians that are too new have insufficient confidence, and they will be eliminated one by one.The ones who won in the end could only be the barbarians who took the lead in Huaxia - Qi, Qin, and Chu.

Then see how they shuffle.

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