Duke Zhou was a statesman and thinker in the early Western Zhou Dynasty. It can be said that he was the first philosopher in ancient China. Some people respected him as a great sage in the slave society.Confucianism later became the backbone of ancient Chinese theories and an important content of traditional Chinese culture. The Duke of Zhou is known as the ancestor of Confucianism. The Duke of Zhou was surnamed Ji, named Dan, also known as Shudan. Because Zhoudi (now north of Qishan, Shaanxi) was his fief, he was also called Zhougong.The date of birth cannot be tested, but the date of death is about 1095 BC.He was the younger brother of King Wu Jifa, founder of the Zhou Dynasty.King Wu died two years after destroying Yin and Jianguo. His son Cheng Wang Ji Song succeeded to the throne. Because of his young age, his uncle Zhou Gong assisted in regent.After King Wu defeated Zhou and destroyed Shang Dynasty, he granted Zhou's son Wu Geng to Yin, and ordered his younger brothers Guan Shu and Cai Shu to supervise his country.After the death of King Wu, Uncle Guan, Uncle Cai, and Uncle Huo were very dissatisfied with Duke Zhou's regent, so they colluded with Wu Geng to rebel against Zhou.Duke Zhou then marched eastward, "relegated the third uncle" and killed Wu Geng.After that, the eastern capital was established in Luoyi (now Luoyang, Henan).Successively enfeoffed Song, Wei, Lu, Qi, Yan, etc., and feudalized 71 small countries, effectively consolidating the rule of the Zhou Dynasty.Therefore, it can be said that the Duke of Zhou was the actual founder of the Zhou Dynasty.

Duke Zhou's teaching and assistance to King Cheng were effective.After King Cheng came to power, he was able to govern the country according to the rules and regulations stipulated by the Duke of Zhou, attached great importance to the development of agriculture and handicrafts, and carried out trade activities in the Central Plains and coastal areas, making commerce flourish.King Cheng was in power for 37 years, and his successor, King Kang, was in power for 26 years. The prosperous scene of "Cheng Kang's rule" appeared, which was the heyday of the development of slavery in our country.The Duke of Zhou devoted his whole life to the cause of the Zhou Dynasty.In his later years, he returned to the place where he was sealed.Later, when he got sick, he asked before he died: "After you die, you must bury me in Chengzhou's place to show that I dare not leave Chengwang."

After the death of Duke Zhou, King Cheng buried him in Biyuan (now northwest of Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province) with the most solemn etiquette of the son of heaven, where there are the tombs of King Wen and King Wu.Burying Duke Zhou, King Wen and King Wu together shows that Duke Zhou has made great contributions and completed the unfinished business of King Wen and King Wu. In order to consolidate the rule of the Zhou Dynasty, the Duke of Zhou adopted a series of political measures and put forward a set of ruling ideas.In philosophy, it is said that he wrote line speeches for line 384 of the 64 hexagrams in "Book of Changes".Legend has it that Yao, Shun, Yu and the three generations of Xia, Shang, and Western Zhou were the period when ancient Chinese philosophy took place. The Duke of Zhou summarized and improved it, reaching the highest level that could be achieved at that time.

Confucius admired Duke Zhou very much and considered him the greatest saint in ancient times.Confucius repeatedly said: "If there is the beauty of the Duke of Zhou's talent, if you are arrogant and stingy, the rest will be worthless." In his later years, Confucius also lamented, "It's too late for me to decline! After a long time, I will no longer dream of the Duke of Zhou!" Later Like Confucius, Confucians regarded Duke Zhou as the greatest saint in ancient times.