The origin of Chinese civilization is still a controversial issue. The existence of Xia Dynasty, the first dynasty in Chinese ancient books and documents, has not been recognized by international mainstream historians. Although there may have been civilizations before the Shang Dynasty, they are at most immature and lack of continuity. The first mature civilization that archaeology can confirm at present is what we can see from the relics of Yin Ruins. Perhaps, the culture embodied in these bronzes, oracle bone inscriptions and Shang Dynasty buildings is the origin of Chinese traditional culture for thousands of years.
Among them, the position of an emperor is particularly prominent. Before describing him, let's look at the development of Shang Dynasty. Since the founding of Shang Dynasty, the Shang Dynasty has experienced a period of stable development, but since the era of Zhongding, the ruling class of the Shang Dynasty has experienced many incidents of "disciples or competing to stand for each other", which is known as the "chaos of the nine generations". When pan Geng succeeded to the throne, he decided to move the capital to resolve the political crisis. He chose Yin (now in the suburb of Anyang, Henan Province) as the new capital. From then on, the capital of Shang Dynasty was fixed and entered the "Yin Ruins era" in history.
After the brief rule of Pan Geng, Xiao Xin and Xiao Yi, Shang Dynasty entered the peak of its history -- Wuding era (historically known as "Wuding Zhongxing", but in fact, the achievements of this era far exceeded any previous era). Wuding, the king of the Shang Dynasty and the temple name Gaozong, was in power for 59 years (which was a miracle in the Shang Dynasty, when the average life span was not high). When he was young, he was sent by his father Xiaob to work among the people to experience life and understand the hardships of the people. He succeeded to the throne in 1250 B.C., but he ignored the government for the first three years after he ascended the throne.
In 1247 BC, it is said that Wuding was inspired by a dream. He found a slave who built a wall among the people and appointed him prime minister. This man is the famous Fu Shuo in history. With the help of Fu Shuo, Gan pan and other virtuous officials, Wu Ding made great efforts to govern the Shang Dynasty. In the age of Wuding, it began to form a huge bureaucracy and formed a relatively fixed and huge army.
After the internal affairs were consolidated, Wuding began to conquer on a large scale. First of all, it forced the neighboring small states who betrayed and obeyed to submit completely. Then it attacked the small states in the southwest of Jinshan mountain and the western part of Henan Province, such as Xiao Bangfu, Xian, rang, and so on, expanding the territory. At this time, the Gui Fang, Qiang Fang, and Tu Fang, the minority nationalities in Northwest China, became more and more powerful, which became the inner trouble of the Central Plains Dynasty, and also the focus of foreign military use of Wuding. The war against Gui Fang lasted for three years. After years of war, these countries were defeated and the threat was lifted. Wuding also explored Southern Xinjiang and conquered Yi, Ba and Hu in Jingchu area. By the end of Wuding, the Shang Dynasty had become a great country with many tribes, starting from Gansu in the west, to the seashore in the East, to the desert in the north, and to the Jianghan in the south. In fact, it established the territory of the Huaxia people before the first emperor of Qin Dynasty.
In order to control the vast conquered areas, Wuding enfeoffed his wife, son, meritorious officials and the leaders of the minority nationalities. The enfeoffees were called Hou or Bo, which started the enfeoffment system of the Zhou Dynasty. Among them, the ancestors of Zhou people were conquered in Wuding era and accepted the title of Shang.
The oracle inscriptions of Wuding's early expedition
Ancestor worship, a prominent feature of Chinese culture, has taken shape in this era. And the superstition of oracle inscriptions also developed to the extreme. In this era, it is popular to use living people to sacrifice (the main source may be prisoners of war). There are many records of using hundreds of people to sacrifice in a sacrifice ceremony.
Most of the oracle bone inscriptions and bronzes of Shang Dynasty found in Yin Ruins are from Wuding period. Simuwu square tripod is a masterpiece of Wuding period. Among these antiquities, a legendary woman, the good woman, has a great weight. She was the first queen of Wuding. She led the army many times and conquered more than 20 small countries. She was the number one meritorious official in the era of Wuding. In his later years, Wuding had many concubines, which led to civil strife in the court. His son Xiaoji was also forced to die in the court struggle. In 1192 BC, Wu Ding died and was succeeded by his son Geng. Before Wuding, the succession to the throne in Shang Dynasty was dominated by the death of the elder brother and the succession of the younger brother
In Chinese literature, Wuding was only an important king in the late Shang Dynasty. But up to now, Yanhuang, Yao, Shun, Yu and Tang are all just figures in ancient books. Pan Geng moved to Yin for the first time and established a long-term capital. By the time of Wuding, oracle bone inscriptions were mature, and the Bronze Age entered its heyday. Wuding established a set of formed bureaucracy and a stable army. His southern and Northern battles initially established the territory of China, and on this basis, improved the enfeoffment system. The stable rule of Wuding for 59 years is the political foundation of this prosperous era. The historical materials found so far have shown that the Wuding era is a key period in Chinese history and the source of many characteristics of Chinese civilization. With the increase of archaeological discoveries, the importance of this era is more and more recognized. Wuding is the most influential emperor in Chinese history, at least before Qin Shihuang. He is 69th in the list.
Tips: in the age of King Wuding of Shang Dynasty, not only the first long-term fixed political, economic and cultural center in Chinese history was established, and the system of enfeoffment was improved, but also one very important point: with the mentality of a Central Plains Dynasty, a planned and purposeful war of conquest was launched against the surrounding ethnic minorities. This is the unchangeable commonness of the Central Plains dynasties in China for thousands of years.
① There is a saying that the reason for his "three years of silence" is mourning for his father, but this is not credible.
