97 A4. Zhou Dynasty

A4

Sima Qian: Historical Records 4 Zhou Dynasty 

Hou Ji of Zhou was named Qi (弃). His mother was a daughter from the Youtai clan, named Jiang Yuan. Jiang Yuan was the principal wife of Emperor Ku. Jiang Yuan went out in the wild and saw giant footprints. She was delighted and wanted to step on them. When she stepped on them, something inside of her body moved like she was pregnant. After a while, she gave birth to a son. She thought it was a bad omen, so she abandoned him in a narrow alley. Horses and cattle passing by avoided him and did not step on him. She moved him to a forest. There happened to be many people in the forest at that time, so she moved him again and abandoned him on the ice in a canal, and a flying bird covered him with its wings and cushioned him. Jiang Yuan thought he was amazing like a god, so she took him home and raised him. She wanted to abandon the child at first, so she named him Qi (弃), the Abandonment. 

When Qi was a child, he had the ambition to be a giant. His games included planting hemp and beans, which were beautiful. When he grew up, he became interested in farming. He selected the land for its suitability and planted crops where it was suitable for growing grains. The people followed his example. Emperor Yao heard about this and appointed Qi as a farming teacher. The whole world benefited from his work and he was credited with great achievements. Emperor Shun said, "Before Qi the people were hungry, and then it all changed since Hou Ji sowed the crops." In a sense, Hou Ji means recent agriculture. He granted Qi a fiefdom in Tai and named him Hou Ji, with the surname Ji. Hou Ji’s rising to prominence was during the reigns of the Yao Tang (陶唐), You Yu (有虞), and Xia Hou (夏后), and he was virtuous.

Hou Ji died, and his son Buqiu succeeded him. In Buqiu's final years, the Xia Dynasty declined, and Ji was no longer in power. Buqiu fled to the Rong and Di because he lost his position. Buqiu died, and his son Ju succeeded him. Ju died, and his son Gongliu succeeded him. Although Gongliu was among the Rong and Di, he restored Hou Ji's work, dedicated to farming, deciding what crops to plant based on the actual conditions of the land, and crossed the Weishui River from Qi and Ju to cut wood for use, so those who traveled had money, and those who stayed had livestock, and the people had happy life because of him. The people were grateful to him, and many moved to him. The Zhou Dynasty began to prosper at this time, so poets sang and played music to think of his virtue. After Gong Liu died, his son Qingjie succeeded to the throne and founded the state in Bin.

When Qingjie died, his son Huangpu ascended to the throne. When Huangpu died, his son Chaifu ascended to the throne. When Chaifu died, his son Huiyu ascended to the throne. When Huiyu died, his son Gongfei ascended to the throne. When Gongfei died, his son Gaoyu ascended to the throne. When Gaoyu died, his son Yayu ascended to the throne. When Yayu died, his son Gongshu Zulei ascended to the throne. When Gongshu Zulei died, his son Gugong Danfu ascended to the throne. Gugong Danfu restored the work of Houji and Gongliu, accumulated virtue and practiced benevolence and righteousness, and all the people supported him. Xunyu and other Rongdi tribes came to attack, and wanted to rob money and property, so he just gave it to them. They attacked again and wanted to take land and people. The people were all angry and wanted to fight. Gugong said, "If a king was established by the people, they will benefit from it. Now the Rongdi are attacking, and all they wanted are our land and people. What is the difference between the people being ruled by me and being ruled by them? The people go to war because of me, and to sacrifice other people's fathers and children in exchange for the position of ruler, I can't bear it." So Gugong and his people left Bin, crossed the Qishui River and Jushui River, climbed over Liangshan Mountain, and settled at Qixia, the foot of Qishan Mountain. The people of Bin, carrying their old and young, all came to the foot of Qishan Mountain and to follow Gugong. When other neighboring states heard of Gugong's benevolence, many of them also came back to him. Then Gugong deprecated the customs of the Rong and Di peoples, built cities and houses, and established separate towns for people to live in. And for state affairs, he established five different branches, Situ, Sima, Sikong, Sishi, Sikou. The people all sang and played music to praise his virtues.

The eldest son of Gugong was Taibo, and the second son was Yuzhong. Taibo's wife Taijiang gave birth to the youngest son Jili, who married Tairen. Both Taijiang and Tairen were virtuous wives. Tairen gave birth to Chang, there was a holy auspicious sign. Gugong said, "There will be someone who will accomplish great things among my descendants, maybe Chang?" The eldest son Taibo and the second son Yuzhong knew that Gugong wanted to establish Jili to pass the throne to Chang, so they fled to the Jingman the southern barbaric areas, tattooed their bodies and cut their hair, just to make way for Jili. 

After Gugong died, Jili succeeded to the throne, and this was Gongji. Gongji practiced the way of governing the country left by Gugong, firmly promoted benevolence and righteousness, and the princes followed his lead.

After Gong Ji died, his son Chang succeeded him, and this was Xibo. Xibo was called King Wen, who followed the cause of Houji and Gongliu, and the rules of Gugong and Gongji, practiced benevolence and righteousness, respected the elderly, and loved the young. He treated the virtuous with courtesy, and received scholars every morning, and couldn't find time to eat until the afternoon, and many people came to submit to him. Boyi and Shuqi were in Guzhu State. When they heard that Xibo respected and supported the elderly, they went to submit together. Taidian, Hongyao, Sanyisheng, Yuzi, Xinjia and other ministers also submitted to him. 

Chonghouhu framed Xibo to Zhou the Tyrant by saying that “Xibo has done good deeds and accumulated virtues, and all the princes had submitted to him, which will be bad for you." Zhou the Tyrant then imprisoned Xibo in Youli. Hongyao and others were very worried, so they went to seek the beautiful women of Youshen clan, the fine horses of Lirong, the nine-horse chariot of Youxiong, and other rare treasures, and presented them to Zhou the Tyrant through Fei Zhong, a favorite minister of Zhou the Tyrant. Zhou the Tyrant was very happy and said, "Any one of these things would be enough for me to release Xibo, let alone so many!" So he pardoned Xibo, rewarded him with bows and arrows and axes, and gave him the power to conquer. Zhou the Tyrant said, "The one who framed Xibo was Chonghouhu." Xibo then offered the land west of Luoshui and asked Zhou the Tyrant to abolish the punishment of burning people alive. Zhou the Tyrant agreed.

Xibo did good deeds discreetly, and the princes asked him to arbitrate all the conflicts. Then whenever people between Yu and Rui had a dispute that could not be resolved, they came to Zhou. When they entered the territory of Zhou, they saw that the farmers gave way to each other in the fields, and the people regarded it as a custom to give way to the elders. Before the people of Yu and Rui saw Xibo, they felt ashamed and said to each other: "What we are arguing about is exactly what the Zhou people despise. Why are we still going? It will only bring shame to ourselves." So they returned and gave way to each other. After hearing this, the princes said, "Xibo is probably a monarch who accepts the mandate of heaven."

A year later, Xibo attacked the Quanrong. Another year later, Xibo attacked the Mixu. And another year later, Xibo defeated the Qi State. When Zu Yi of Yin heard about this, he was terrified and told all these things to Emperor Zhou the Tyrant. Zhou the Tyrant said, "Wasn't I born with the protection of heaven! What can he do?" Another year later, Xibo attacked the Bi State. Another year later, Xibo attacked Chonghouhu. And he built Fengyi at the same time and moved the capital from Qixia to Fengyi. A year later, Xibo died and the crown prince Fa ascended the throne, who was King Wu.

Xibo reigned for about fifty years. When he was imprisoned in Youli, he increased the eight hexagrams of the Book of Changes to sixty-four hexagrams. The poet praised Xibo, most probably because he adjudicated the dispute between Yu and Rui in the year when Xibo accepted the mandate of heaven and became king. Ten years later, Xibo died and was posthumously named King Wen. He revised the laws and established the calendar. He honored Gugong as King Tai and Gongji as King Ji. And probably the auspicious signs of becoming a king started with King Tai.

When King Wu ascended the throne, Senior Duke Wang served as the Grand Tutor, Duke Zhou Dan was King Wu's assistant, and Duke Zhao, Duke Bi and others assisted King Wu and inherited King Wen's legacy.

In the ninth year, King Wu offered sacrifices to King Wen in Bi. Then he went east to inspect the troops and arrived at Mengjin. He made a wooden altar for King Wen as a deity, loaded it on a cart, and offered it to the troops. King Wu called himself Prince Fa, indicating that he was following King Wen's orders to conquer and did not dare to act arbitrarily. So he warned the Sima, Situ, Sikong, and other commanders: "All people being serious is being truely creditable! I don't know much, but my ancestors had ministers with great virtues, so I inherited the merits of my ancestors, and the court has clearly defined rewards and punishments to recognize the merits of my ancestors.” Finally, he set the troops forth to the conquest. Grand Tutor Shangfu ordered: "Gather you all, you will be given boats, and those who are late will be beheaded!" King Wuwang started to cross the Yellow River. When the boat was in the midstream of the river, a white fish jumped into King Wu's boat. King Wu leaned over and picked up the fish and did a sacrifice ceremony. After crossing the river, a ball of fire fell from the sky and landed on King Wu's roof, and it turned into a crow of red color, and made a rumbling sound when landing, shuddered clouds. At that time, the princes came to Mengjin for a gathering unexpectedly amounted to eight hundred. They all said, "It is time to attack Zhou the Tyrant." King Wu said, "You do not know the will of heaven. It is not possible yet." So he returned.

Two years later, after heard that Zhou the Tyrant became even crazier and more tyrannical than before, killed his Prince Bigan and imprisoned his uncle Jizi, and that Grand Tutor Zi and Junior Tutor Qiang both came to Zhou each with their musical instruments, King Wu made this announcement to the princes at that time: "King Zhou the Tyrant of Yin has committed a grave crime. It's impossible for us not to wipe him out." So everyone followed King Wen's will and led 300 chariots, 3,000 tiger fierce soldiers, and 45,000 soldiers in armor to attack the east. On Wuwu (戊午) the earth-fire day in the sexagenary cycle, of the twelfth month, of the eleventh year, all the troops crossed Mengjin and all the princes arrived. King Wu said: "You must work hard and never slack off!" King Wu then wrote "Tai Shi" and announced to everyone: "Now Zhou the Tyrant only listened to his wives and concubines. He cut off his destiny, violated the movement of the sun, moon, and the polar star, and alienated his fellow brothers.He abandoned the music of his ancestors and arbitrarily adopted lewd music to tamper with the elegant music. He did this to please his wives and concubines. So today I will respectfully execute the punishment on the behalf of Heaven. Work hard, the respectable nobles, this will not happen a second time, let alone a third time!"

On the morning of the Jiazi day of February, King Wu arrived at the outskirts of Shang and swore an oath to his troops. He held a yellow axe in his left hand and a white flag ornamented with ox tail in his right hand, and used them to command. King Wu said, "You have worked hard on the journey, my soldiers from the west!" King Wu continued, "Ah! My friendly monarchs, Situ the Minister of Education, Sima the Minister of War, Sikong the Minister of Works, and other Ministers, and the Chief of Thousands, the Chief of Hundreds, as well as the Yong people, the Shu people, the Qiang people, the Mao people, the Wei people, the Lu people, the Peng people, and the Pu people, please raise your halberds, line up your shields, and hold up your spears. And let us swear an oath together." King Wu said, "The ancients often said, 'A hen does not crow at the dawn. A hen’s dawn leads to a family ruined.' Now Zhou the Tyrant only listens to whatever his concubine says, he has given up the sacrifices to his ancestors and no longer cares about them. He has abandoned the affairs of state and does not employ his brothers. Instead, he has summoned criminals and fugitives from all countries, and he respects them, values ​​them, trusts them, employs them, and indulges them. He was rampant among the people, and as a result, the politics of the Shang was controlled by treacherous and cunning people. Today, I will respectfully carry out the punishment from heaven. Today we go to attack Zhou the Tyrant. Every six or seven steps forward, we must stop and reorganize the team. Try hard, soldiers! Each stab must not exceed four, five, six, or seven times. You must stop and reorganize the team. Try hard, soldiers! I hope everyone will be brave and powerful, just like tigers, bears, jackals, and chi. We will be fighting in the suburbs of Shang, and don't attack those who come to surrender, have them obey the orders of us who come from the west. Try hard, soldiers! If any of you don't, the punishment of death will be waiting for you. " After the oath, the princes' army that came to meet had 4,000 chariots and all lined up together in Muye.

When Emperor Zhou the Tyrant heard that King Wu was coming, he too sent out 700,000 troops to meet up. King Wu sent his teacher Shangfu and a hundred men to lead the army, and sent a large number of soldiers to rush to Emperor Zhou the Tyrant's army. Although the army of Zhou the Tyrant was large, but none of them had the heart to fight, and they all wanted Wuwang to rush in. All of the Tyrant's soldiers turned their weapons around and attacked the Tyrant instead, clearing the way for King Wu's army. King Wu marched forward in a great gallop, and the Tyrant's army was immediately defeated and rebelled on spot. The Tyrant run back to the top of the Deer Tower, covered himself with pearls and jade, and set himself on fire and died. King Wu held a large white flag to command the princes, and the princes all bowed to King Wu. Then King Wu bowed to the princes, and the princes all bowed to the King Wu in return. King Wu arrived at the Shang State, and the people of Shang were waiting in the suburbs. So King Wu sent his ministers to tell the people of Shang: "May Heaven give us peace!" The Shang people all bowed and bowed again, and King Wu also bowed in return. Then he went in and got to the place where Zhou the Tyrant died. King Wu shot arrows at the Tyrant by himself, and after three shootings, he got off the chariot and hit the Tyrant with a sword lightly, and then cut off his head with a yellow axe, and hung it on a large white flag. Afterwards he came to the chambers of two concubines of the Tyrant, both of whom had committed suicide. King Wu shot three more arrows at them, hit them with a sword, beheaded them with a black axe, and hung their heads on the small white flag. King Wu then went out back to his army.

On the next day, the roads were cleared, and the altar and the palace of Zhou the Tyrant of Shang were fixed. When the time came, hundreds of men held banners and led the way. Uncle Zhenduo, King Wu's younger brother, served the carriage for the ceremony, Duke Zhou Dan held the big axe, and Duke Bi held the small axe, flanking King Wu. San Yisheng, Tai Dian, and Hong Yao all held swords as King Wu's guards. After entering, King Wu stood to the left of the big arrays of soldiers in the south end of the altar, with the ministers following him to the right. Uncle Mao solemnly serviced moonlit water, Uncle Kang of Wei laid down the grass mat, Duke Zhao Shi held the colored silk, and Grand Tutor Shangfu led the sacrificing cattle. One of the ministers Yinyi read the sacrifice scripture: "Zhou the Tyrant, the last successor of Yin, destroyed the bright virtues of the previous kings, insulted the gods and did not worship them, and was tyrannical and cruel to the people of Shang, and his deeds were clearly known to the God of Heaven." Then King Wu bowed again and said, "I have received a great mandate to overthrow Yin and a bright future is commissioned by the Heaven." King Wu bowed again and made his leave.

The remaining peoples of Zhou the Tyrant were enfeoffed to his son Lufu. Considering the world had not settled down, peace and stability needed some more work, King Wu sent his two younger brothers, Uncle Guan Xian and Uncle Cai Du, to assist Lufu in the governance of Shang. Then King Wu ordered Duke Zhao to release Jizi from prison. He ordered Duke Bi to release the other imprisoned from the prison, and honored Shang Rong at the door of his house. King Wu ordered Nangong Kuo to distribute the treasures gathered in Lutai and the grains in Juqiao to the poor people who needed help. King Wu ordered Nangong Kuo and Shi Yi to move the nine tripods and precious jades of the Shang. He ordered Hongyao to build and seal the tomb of Bigan. He ordered Zongzhu to offer sacrifices to the souls of the fallen soldiers in the army. Then King Wu withdrew his troops and returned to the west. King Wu inspected the territories of various princes, recorded their governance, and wrote "Military Mission Accomplished". He enfeoffed the princes, bestowed ancestral artifacts upon them, and wrote “The Distribution of Yin’s Artifacts”. King Wu, in memory of the previous sage kings, conferred titles on the descendants of Shennong in Jiao, the descendants of Huangdi in Zhu, the descendants of Emperor Yao in Ji, the descendants of Emperor Shun in Chen, and the descendants of Yu in Qi. He then conferred titles on the meritorious officials and counselors, with Tutor Shangfu as the first. He conferred the title on Shangfu in Yingqiu, which was called Qi. He conferred the title on his younger brother Duke Zhou Dan in Qufu, which was called Lu. He conferred the title on Duke Zhao Shi in Yan. He conferred the title on his younger brother Uncle Xian in Guan, and on his younger brother Uncle Du in Cai. And the rest were conferred titles in order.

King Wu summoned the rulers of the nine states, and climbed the hill of Bin to overlook at the city of Shang. When King Wu arrived at Zhou, he could not sleep at night. Duke Zhou Dan came to where the King Wu stayed at and asked, "Why can't you sleep?" The King Wu said, "I tell you, Heaven did not favor the Yin Dynasty. Ever since I was born sixty years ago, the wild deers had been grazing and wild geese had been flying all over the fields. If it wasn't that Heaven has not favored Yin, all my accomplishment wouldn't be done as of today. Heaven has established the Yin Dynasty and enlisted 360 talented people. Though they didn't not make much achievements, but they kept Yin to this day. And I have not yet secured the protection of Heaven, so how could I have time to sleep!" King Wu continued, "To secure the protection of Heaven, one must follow the will of Heaven and sort the evils out and demolish them all, just like what happened to King Zhou the Tyrant of Yin. I have to work hard day and night to ensure the peace and stability of my western land. And all kinds of things have to be done until our morality can be manifested everywhere. From the bend of Luoshui River to the bend of Yishui River, the terrains fit to be settled down and no sweat, and this is where the Xia people used to live. I looked southwards and saw the Sandu Mountains. To the north, I saw the Taihang Mountains. Looking back, I saw the Yellow River. I also observed the Luoshui River and the Yishui River. They were all not far from the Heaven.” So he ordered to build Zhou in Luoyi, and then left. He also ordered the war horses to be released to the south of Huashan Mountain, and the cattle used to pull carriages to be released to the area of Peach Trees. He also ordered the weapons to be put away, reorganize the troops and implement the demilitarization, to show the world that arms will be no longer used.

After King Wu conquered Yin, two years later, he asked Jizi why the Yin Dynasty had fallen. Jizi could not bear to speak ill of Yin, so he only talked about how the survival and the destruction of a country would like. King Wu felt the shame, so he asked about the Way of Heaven.

King Cheng became ill, the whole country has not come altogether yet, and the princes and ministers were all afraid. So they held a divination with reverence, and Duke Zhou then performed purification and fasting, and made himself a hostage in place of King Wu. King Wu recovered, but died later, then the Crown Prince Song succeeded him, and became King Cheng.

At the beginning of Zhou as the ruler of the world, King Cheng was young, Duke Zhou was afraid that the princes would rebel against Zhou Dynasty, so he took over the state affairs of the country. Uncle Guan, Uncle Cai, and other younger brothers, together they suspected Duke Zhou and rebelled with Wu Geng against Zhou Dynasty. Duke Zhou followed the order from King Cheng, and attacked and killed Wu Geng and Uncle Guan, and exiled Uncle Cai. Weizi Qi was made the official decedent of Yin as the replacement and established a fiefdom in Song. Duke Zhou also gathered many of Yin's survivors and had King Wu's youngest brother enfeoffed as Uncle Kang of Wei. Uncle Tang of Jin obtained the auspicious wheat with double ears, and presented it to King Cheng, who in turn sent it to Duke Zhou, who was stationed with his troops. Duke Zhou received the two ears wheat in the east and praised the destiny of King Cheng as the son of Heaven. At first, Uncle Guan and Uncle Cai rebelled against Zhou Dynasty, and Duke Zhou put up a fight against them. After three years, he finally put down the rebellion. Therefore, he first wrote "Great Edict", and then "Destiny of Weizhi", and later "Gift Wheat" and "Auspicious Wheat", and later "Kang Edict ", "Wine Edict" and "Fine Material". And all these related were recorded in the article written by Duke Zhou. After Duke Zhou had been in charge of state affairs for seven years, King Cheng finally grew up. So Duke Zhou gave the power back to King Cheng and returned to the ranks of ministers facing North again.

King Cheng lived in the city of Feng and ordered Duke Zhao to rebuild the city of Luo in order to comply with King Wu's last wish. Duke Zhou also held a divination and surveyed the terrain, and finally built a city and placed the Nine Tripod Cauldrons there. He said: "This is the center of the world, and it has an equal distance from each direction to come here to pay tribute." He so wrote "Zhao’s Edict" and "Luo Edict". After King Cheng moved the remnants of Yin people there, Duke Zhou told them King Cheng's orders and wrote "Many Consultants" and "No Hermit". Duke Zhao served as the Grand Protector and Duke Zhou as the Grand Tutor. They conquered the Yi people by the Huaishui River in the east, destroyed the Yan State, and moved the lord of the Yan State to Bogu. After King Cheng returned from the Yan State, he was in Zhou and wrote "Various Princes". After Zhou has ended Yin, conquered the Yi people of Huaishui River, King Cheng returned to the city of Feng and wrote "Zhou’s Administrative". The rituals and music were formulated and promoted, and the laws and systems were modified. The people were friendly and peaceful, and there were praises all over. After King Cheng conquered the Yi people of the east, Xishen came to express their congratulations. And at King Cheng’s order, Rongbo, one of the ministers, wrote "The Fortune Given to Xishen".

Before King Cheng died, he was worried that his Crown Prince Zhao would not be able to do the job, so he ordered Duke Zhao and Duke Bi to lead the princes to assist the Crown Prince in governing the country. After King Cheng died, the two dukes led the princes and took Crown Prince Zhao to visit the ancestral temple of the previous king, and kept telling him how difficult it was for King Wen and King Wu to establish their foundations, asking him to be frugal, not to have too many desires, and to govern the world with sincerity and honesty, and "Guardian" was written. Prince Zhao then ascended the throne, and this was King Kang. After King Kang ascended the throne, he notified the princes of the world and constantly admonished them with the achievements of King Wen and King Wu, and wrote "Kang’s Edict". Therefore, during the reigns of King Cheng and King Kang, the world was stable and peaceful, and no punishment was used for more than 40 years. King Kang issued a written edict to Duke Bi, ordering him to divide and rule the remnants of Yin people and stabilize the suburbs of the Zhou capital, and so "Bi’s Edict" was written.

After King Kang died, his son King Zhao Xia ascended to the throne. During King Zhao's reign, the way of king was slightly weakened. King Zhao went on a hunting trip to the south and never returned, and died on the river. There was no report on his death, which was a taboo. King Zhao's son, Prince Man, was enthroned as King Mu. When King Mu ascended the throne, he was already fifty years old. The way of king was weakened, and King Mu felt that it was weakened in the way of both civil and military affairs, so he ordered Bo Yu to admonish Taipu the royal servant about state affairs, so “The Order of Yu” was written. And the Peace was restored.

When King Mu was about to conquer Quanrong, Duke Jigong Moufu advised him against it, saying, "Don't do that. What the ancient kings displayed was the manifest of virtues not the exhibit of brutal forces. The army should lie low and only go out when necessary. When it goes out, it must show its power. Showing off military force would be a blasphemy against the army, which has absolutely no power of deterrence on the enemy. Therefore, the eulogy of Duke Wen of Zhou says: ‘I have put away my weapons, I have laid aside my bows and arrows, I want to seek virtue, and have it spread around throughout the time, so the kingdom will be forever preserved.’ The ancient kings treated their people by fostering their virtues and enriching their natures, by enriching their wealth and making their tools useful. They made it clear that where the benefits and harms were and cultivated them with culture, so that they would pursue benefits and avoid harm, cherish virtue and respect power. Thus they were able to preserve the country and make it prosperous. In the past, our ancestors served as Hou Ji for generations to serve Yu Shun and Xia Yu. When the Xia Dynasty declined, and the post of Hou Ji was abandoned, and agriculture was no longer valued. Our ancestor Buzhu lost his official position and fled to the Rongdi area. He did not dare to slack off in agriculture, often promoted the virtues of Hou Ji, followed and inherited his cause, practiced his teachings and laws, was respectful and diligent from morning till night, and always followed his principles with a loyal and honest attitude. The virtues of the past generations should not be disgraced. During the reigns of King Wen and King Wu, they carried forward the brightness of the past virtues with additional peace and kindness, worshipped the gods and protected the people, and no one in the world was not happy. King of Shang the emperor Xin Zhou the Tyrant committed heinous crimes against his people. The people could not bear it anymore but happily supported King Wu. So there was an war in Muye, a suburb of Shang. Therefore, the ancient kings did not advocate the use of force, but diligently sympathized with the sufferings of the people and eliminated harm for them. According to the system of the ancient kings, the area within the state capital was called Dianfu, the area outside the state capital was called Houfu, the area guarded by the princes was called Binfu or Suifu, the area where the barbarians lived was called Yaofu, and the area where the Rongdi people lived was called Huangfu. Those princes as Dianfu had to offer sacrifices to the emperor's father and ancestors, those as Houfu had to offer sacrifices to the emperor's great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather, those as Binfu had to offer sacrifices to the emperor's distant ancestors, those as Yaofu had to offer tribute regularly, and those as Huangfu had to come to pay homage to the emperor. There were daily sacrifices by Dianfu princes, monthly sacrifices by Houfu, seasonal offerings by Binfu, annual tributes by Yaofu, and the Huangfu being an audience with the king once in a lifetime. According to the teachings of the ancient kings, the Dianfu princes should reflect on their thoughts if they do not offer sacrifices, the Houfu princes should reflect on their words if they do not offer sacrifices, the Binfu princes should revise their system if they do not offer sacrifices, the Yaofu princes should have their status corrected if they do not offer sacrifices, the Huangfu princes should reflect on their virtues if they do not to come to the emperor for audience, and if all of these are done but the princes still fail to fulfill their duties, they should be punished. Then the royal family can punish the princes in the Dianfu who do not offer sacrifices, attack the princes in the Houfu who do not offer sacrifices, conquer the princes in the Binfu who do not offer sacrifices, rebuke the princes in the Yaofu who do not offer tribute, and warn the princes in the Huangfu who do not pay homage to the king. Hence there are regulations about punishments, there are armies for attacking, there are weapons for conquering, there are commands for reprimanding, and there are vocabulary for proclamations. If issuing written orders still fails to make the princes perform their duties, we must further reflect on our moral conduct and not wear the people out on expeditions. Therefore, there was not a single neighboring prince who did not obey, and not a single one in the distance who did not submit. Now, since the death of Dabi and Boshi, the Quanrong clan has fulfilled their duty and come to the King for the audience, the Son of Heaven said, ‘I must conquer them for not offering sacrifices, and show off my military strength to them.’ Isn't this abandoning the teachings of the previous kings? Isn't the King about to get into trouble? I heard that the Quanrong clan advocates a culture of honesty and follows the virtues of their predecessors. If they can persist in this way, they will have enough power to resist us. " In the end, King Mu still sent the conquering troops, and only captured four white wolves and four white deer. From then on, the barbaric tribes stopped coming to pay homage to the emperor.

There was disharmony among the princes, and Marquess Fu Hou the prime minister told King Mu about this situation, so King Mu set up various criminal laws. King Mu said: "Ah, come to me! Those who are granted the state land, I will tell you the complete criminal law. Now you want peace and stability in the people of your land, why should you choose the incompetent people as officials? Why should you respect unreasonable criminal laws? And why should you use them in the inappropriate places? Once the plaintiff and the defendant are both here, and the judge should examine them by hearing both accusation and defense according to the legal provisions of five punishments. If the examination is consistent with the facts, the five punishments are used to convict. If the five punishments are not appropriate, then the five penalties are used to convict. And if the five penalties are not appropriate, the five faults are used to convict. But there are flaws in the cases of five faults, the judicial officers will encounter situations, where even if they have the facts for conviction, but weigh the faults accordingly due to intercession. Whenever a conviction of the five punishments is in doubt to be pardoned, or that of five penalties is in doubt to be pardoned, the officer who is in charge of the reexamination must exercise extra caution before making any decision. The collection of evidence should be in accordance with the people, and there should be evidence during the trial. If there is no sufficient evidence, there should be no doubt, and the authority of heaven must be taken seriously. If there is doubt about the face tattooing penalty and pardon is needed, the fine shall be 100% and the crime shall be investigated and verified. If there is doubt about the punishment of the nose cutting off and it needs to be pardoned, the fine is twice the former, and the crime must be investigated and verified. If there is doubt about the punishment of leg cutting off and it needs to be pardoned, the fine is less than twice the former, and the crime must be investigated and verified. If there is doubt about the punishment of castration and it needs to be pardoned, the fine is 500%, and the crime must be investigated and verified. If there is doubt about the punishment of death and it needs to be pardoned, the fine is 1,000%, and the crime must be investigated and verified. There are 1,000 articles on tattooing, 1,000 articles on nose cutting off, 500 articles on leg cutting off, 300 articles on castration, 200 articles on death penalty, and a total of 3,000 articles on the five punishments. " And this set of criminal law is called "Fu Xing".

King Mu reigned for fifty-five years. After his death, his son Yi Yu succeeded to the throne, becoming King Gong. When King Gong was traveling on the Jing River, and Duke Mi Kang was with him, there were three girls came to follow. Duke Mi Kang's mother said to him, "You must present them to the King. Three animals or more are called a group, and three people or more are called a crowd, and three ladies or more are called a charm. The King does not hunt more than a group in the field, the Dukes and princes do not get off the car when they see a crowd. The King's concubines do not exceed three from the same clan. The so-called charm is a beautiful thing. Everyone gives you beautiful things, but what virtue do you have to deserve it? Even the King is not worthy of it, let alone someone so insignificant like you! If someone insignificant happened having it, then the end will eventually be the death." Duke Mi Kang was unwilling to present them to King Gong. A year later, King Gong destroyed the Mi fiefdom. After King Gong died, his son Jian succeeded to the throne and became King Yih (懿). During the reign of King Yih, the royal family declined, and poets wrote poems to satirize it. After King Yih died, King Gong's younger brother Pifang succeeded to the throne, and this was King Xiao. 

After King Xiao died, the princes supported King Yih's crown prince Xie to succeed to the throne, and this was King Yi (夷). (Translator’s note: The duos, the father (懿) and son (夷), both pinyined Yi, but the Chinese characters are totally different, to distinguish from each other, I’ll refer the father as King Yih, of the Cantonese spelling.)

After King Yi died, his son King Li Hu succeeded to the throne. King Li reigned for 30 years. He was greedy for wealth and was close to Duke Rong Yi. The minister Rui Liangfu advised King Li, "Is the royal family going to decline? Duke Rong Yi loves to accumulate wealth but does not know that a disaster is coming. Wealth is produced by all things and carried by heaven and earth, but he wants to take it for himself, there are too many harms. He wants to obtain all things in heaven and earth, how can he take it all for himself? He has angered too many people, and he does not guard against disasters. If the King being taught in such a way, how can the he rule for a long time? The one who rules should guide wealth and distribute it from top to bottom. Even if you do your best for everything in the world, you still have to be nervous every day and worry about causing dissatisfaction. Therefore, the Song sings: ‘Remembering Hou Ji’s literary virtues, his outstanding achievements are worthy of heaven, and the people of the world are kept safe, and all of them take him as a perfect example.’ Daya the Grand Elegance says: ‘To make benevolence widely shown, and the Zhou Dynasty is carried on going.’ Doesn’t this mean that one should give away wealth and watch out for disasters? That is why the Zhou Dynasty has continued to this day. Now the king is learning to accumulate wealth, how would it be possible? An ordinary person who accumulates wealth is still called a thief, and if the king does this, there must be very few people willing to submit to him. If Duke Rong is given an important position, the Zhou Dynasty will surely decline. " King Li did not listen to his advice, and finally appointed Duke Rong as a minister to manage state affairs.

King Li was cruel and tyrannical, extravagant and arrogant, and the people criticized him. Duke Zhao advised him, saying, "The people can't stand it anymore." King Li was agitated and found wizards from the State of Wei to monitor those who criticized him and had them executed. As a result, there were fewer criticisms, and the princes stopped coming to the king’s court. In the thirty-fourth year of his reign, King Li's control became even tougher over the people. People dared not speak casually and only made eye contact with each other on the street. King Li was very happy. He told Duke Zhao, "I’m made the criticisms disappeared now. They dare not speak." Duke Zhao said, "This only blocks their mouths. Blocking people's mouths is more dangerous than blocking a flood. A flood blocked will hurt many people when breaking through, and the same holds true for blocking people's mouths. Therefore, those who control floods should clear the blockages and drain the water. Those who govern the people should open up channels for them to express their opinions. Therefore, when the emperor handles government affairs, he should let the ministers and even the nobles offer poems, let the blind musicians offer music, let the historians offer books, let the grand tutor give admonitions, let the blind musicians without pupils sing the poems, let the blind musicians with pupils recite admonitions, let all the craftsmen come to give advice, let the common people discuss among themselves, let the close ministers give advice with all their heart, let the relatives make up for the mistakes, let the blind musicians and historians teach together, let the sages give instructions, and finally, let the king think thoroughly and carefully, so that the governance can be implemented without violating any reasoning. The people have mouths, just like the land has mountains and rivers, and wealth is generated from them; just like the plains have fertile soil, and food and clothing are generated from them. Let the people speak out, and the success or failure of governing the country can be foreseen. Doing good things and preventing bad things from happening, the principles of which are the same as that of generating wealth and food and clothing. What the people think in their hearts is what they say with their mouths, so that things can be done well. If you block the mouths of the people, how long could you last? " King Li did not listen to the remonstrance. So the people dared not speak, and three years later, the people rebelled together and attacked King Li. King Li fled to Zhi.

Prince Jing of King Li was hiding in the house of Duke Zhao. When the people heard about it, they surrounded Duke Zhao's house. Duke Zhao said, "I have advised the king many times before, but the king did not listen, which led to today's disaster. If I kill the king's prince now, the king may think that I am venting my anger because of a grudge. When serving the monarch, one should not bear grudges even in danger, and should not vent resentment, let alone serve the king!" So he replaced the prince of King Li with his own son, and the prince finally escaped.

The two ministers, Duke Zhao and Duke Zhou, jointly managed the state affairs, which was called "Republic". In the 14th year of the Republic, King Li died in Zhui. Prince Jing grew up in the home of Duke Zhao, so the two ministers jointly supported him to become the king, and this was King Xuan. When King Xuan was in throne, the two ministers assisted him in reforming politics, following the legacy of King Wen, King Wu, King Cheng, and King Kang, and the princes once again regarded Zhou as their suzerain. In the 12th year of King Xuan’s reign, Duke Wu of Lu came to pay homage.

King Xuan did not personally cultivate the land in Qianmu. Duke Wen of Guo advised him not to do so, but King Xuan did not listen. In the 39th year of his reign, the royal army was defeated in the battle of Qianmu by the Jiang clan, the descendants of Siyue.

After King Xuan lost his army in the southern expedition, he counted the population in Taiyuan. Zhong Shanfu advised him not to do so, saying, "The king cannot directly count the population." King Xuan did not listen and eventually counted the population.

In the 46th year (782 BC), King Xuan died and his son Gongsheng succeeded to the throne as King You. In the second year of King You (780 BC), an earthquake occurred in the Sanchuan area near the Zhou capital. Bo Yangfu said: "The Zhou Dynasty will perish. The two energies of heaven and earth cannot lose their order; if they lose their proper order, the people will be disturbed. The yang energy is latent and cannot come out, and is suppressed by the yin energy and cannot evaporate, so an earthquake occurs. Now the earthquake in the Sanchuan area is because the yang energy has lost its position and is suppressed by the yin energy. If the yang energy loses its position and is suppressed by the yin energy, the water source will definitely be blocked; if the water source is blocked, the country will definitely perish. Only when the water and soil are unobstructed then the people can get money. If the underground water can’t flow unobstructed, the people will lack money, and the country will perish in no time. In the past, the Xia Dynasty perished when the Yi River and the Luo River dried up, and the Shang Dynasty perished when the Yellow River dried up. Now the virtue and the fortune of Zhou Dynasty are just like the end of the previous two dynasties. The water sources of the rivers have been blocked, and if they are blocked, they will definitely dry up. The establishment of a capital must rely on high mountains and large rivers. The collapse of high mountains and the drying up of large rivers are signs of the destruction of the country. The drying up of large rivers will definitely cause the collapse of high mountains. If a country is destroyed, it will not exceed ten years, because the numbers are based on decimals. What the heaven abandons will not exceed this number. " This year, the three rivers dried up and Mount Qi collapsed.

In his third year (779 BC), King You favored Bao Si. Bao Si gave birth to a son, Bo Fu, and King You wanted to depose the crown prince. The crown prince's mother was the daughter of Lord Shen and the queen. Later, King You got Bao Si and loved her very much. He wanted to depose Queen Shen and Crown Prince Yi Jiu, and make Bao Si the queen and Bo Fu the crown prince. Zhou Taishi Bo Yang read the historical records and said, "The Zhou Dynasty is about to perish." When the Xia Hou clan was declining, two dragons landed in the courtyard of the Xia emperor and said, "We are the two monarchs of Bao." The Xia emperor divined whether to kill them, drive them away, or keep them, but did not get a good omen. The diviner asked to collect the dragon's saliva, and got a good omen. So the Xia emperor prepared silk and wrote a prayer on a bamboo slip. After the dragon flew away, it left saliva. The Xia emperor ordered people to collect it in a wooden box and keep it. After the fall of the Xia Dynasty, this artifact was passed on to the Shang Dynasty. After the fall of the Shang Dynasty, the artifact was passed to the Zhou Dynasty. For three consecutive dynasties, no one dared to open it. It was not until the end of King Li's reign that it was opened for viewing. The dragon's saliva flowed into the courtyard and could not be cleaned. King Li asked women to shout loudly in the courtyard naked. The dragon's saliva turned into a black lizard and entered King Li's harem. The lizard was encounted by a slave girl in the harem at the teeth-changing age and she became pregnant a few years later when she turned fifteen. She gave birth to a baby girl without a husband, and out of fear she abandoned the baby. During the reign of King Xuan, there was a child song went around. "There will be a couple who sell bows and arrows made of mulberry wood, and they are the ones who will destroy the Zhou Dynasty.” When King Xuan heard about it, he put an order out, that if a couple found selling these bows and arrows would be arrested and executed. Then on their way of escaping, the couple saw the baby girl abandoned by the harem slave on the roadside. They heard the baby crying at night, and adopted her out of pity. The couple then fled to Bao. Years later when a man from Bao committed a crime, he offered the abandoned girl, now grown, to the king to atone for his sin. The girl was from Bao, so she was called Bao Si. When King You had reigned for three years, he came to his harem and saw Bao Si and fell in love with her. Then she gave birth to a son, Bo Fu. King You even wanted to depose Queen Shen and the crown prince, and make Bao Si the queen and Bo Fu the crown prince. The historian Bo Yang said, "The disaster has already happened, there is nothing we can do about it!"

Bao Si didn't like to laugh, so King You tried every way to make her laugh, but she still didn't laugh. King You set up beacons and drums in various places, and lit the beacons when there was an enemy attack. Once King You lit the beacon, the princes all came, but they didn't see the enemy, so Bao Si laughed. King You was very happy, and he lit the beacon for Bao Si many times. Later, the princes no longer believed in King You, and they didn't come when they saw the beacon.

King You appointed Guo Shifu as a minister to manage state affairs, and the people had complaints. Guo Shifu was cunning, flattering and greedy, but King You still put him to use. King You also deposed Queen Shen and drove away the prince. Lord Shen was very angry, and joined forces with the Zheng State and the Western Yi Quanrong to attack King You. King You lit the beacon to summon the princes' armies, but none of the princes' armies came. So they killed King You at the foot of Mount Li, abducted Bao Si, and looted all the Zhou's property before leaving. So all the princes went to Lord Shen and jointly supported Yi Jiu, the former crown prince of King You, as King Ping, who inherited the Zhou Dynasty's sacrificial rites

After King Ping ascended the throne, the capital was moved eastward to Luoyi to avoid the enemies of the Western Rong. During King Ping's reign, the Zhou royal family gradually declined, the strong among the princes annexed the weak, Qi, Chu, Qin, Jin began to grow, and the state affairs started coming from the dominant princes.

In the 49th year (722 BC) of King Ping’s reign, Duke Yin of Lu got his position.

In the 51st year (720 BC), King Ping died, and the crown prince Xiefu died early, his son Lin was made the king, this is King Huan. King Huan was the grandson of King Ping.

In the third year of King Huan (717 BC), Duke Zhuang of Zheng came to pay homage, but King Huan did not treat him with courtesy. In the fifth year (715 BC), Zheng had resentment and exchanged Xutian with Lu. Xutian was the land used by the king to worship Mount Tai. In the eighth year (712 BC), Lu killed Duke Yin and supported Duke Huan. In the thirteenth year (707 BC), the royal family attacked Zheng, and the Zheng army shot and wounded King Huan, who fled back.

In the twenty-third year (697 BC), King Huan died, and his son King Zhuang Tuo succeeded him. In the fourth year of King Zhuang (693 BC), Duke Zhou Heijian wanted to kill King Zhuang and replace him with Prince Ke. Xin Bo reported to King Zhuang, and King Zhuang killed Duke Zhou. Prince Ke fled to Yan.

In the fifteenth year (682 BC), King Zhuang died, and his son King Li Huqi succeeded him. In the third year of King Li (679 BC), Duke Huan of Qi began to establish his hegemony.

In the fifth year (677 BC), King Li died, and his son King Hui Lang succeeded him. And sometimes before, King Zhuang's favorite concubine, a woman named Yao, gave birth to a son named Tui, who was favored by King Zhuang. After King Hui got in power, in the second year (675 BC), he seized the gardens of some ministers as his own gardens, then there were five ministers including Bian Bo launched a rebellion and planned to summon the armies of Yan and Wei to join forces to attack King Hui. King Hui fled to Wenyi and soon lived in Li of Zheng. The rebels supported King Li's younger brother Tui as king and held a full set of ceremonies, dances and music, which outraged the monarchs of Zheng and Guo. In the fourth year (673 BC), the monarchs of Zheng and Guo attacked and killed King Tui and welcomed King Hui back. In the tenth year of King Hui (667 BC), Duke Huan of Qi was granted the title of overlord. 

In the 25th year (652 BC) of his reign, King Hui died, and his son Zheng succeeded as King Xiang. King Xiang's mother died early, and his stepmother was called Queen Hui. Queen Hui gave birth to Shu Dai, who was favored by King Hui, and King Xiang was afraid of him. In the third year, Shu Dai and the Rong and Di conspired to attack King Xiang. King Xiang wanted to kill Shu Dai, so Shu Dai fled to Qi. Duke Huan of Qi sent Guan Zhong to pacify the Rong in Zhou, and sent Xi Peng to pacify the Rong in Jin. The king treated Guan Zhong with the courtesy of a senior minister. Guan Zhong declined and said, "I am an official of low status. Now there are Guo and Gao, two senior ministers appointed by the king. If I accept the king's order with the court courtesy of spring and autumn, where my manners will be no matter how I respond? I, the attendant, can’t do nothing but to decline." The king said, "The envoy of my uncle, your merits are appreciated, please do not disobey my order." Guan Zhong finally accepted the courtesy as a junior minister and returned home. In the ninth year, Duke Huan of Qi died. In the twelfth year, Shu Dai returned to Zhou.

In the 13th year (639 BC), Zheng attacked Hua. King Xiang sent Yousun and Bofu to plead for Hua, but the people of Zheng imprisoned them. Duke Wen of Zheng resented that King Hui restored the state but did not give Duke Li of Zheng the courtesy of wine and wine cups, and he also complained that King Xiang handed over the state of Hua to the state of Wei, so he imprisoned Bo Fu. The king was pissed and was going to use Di to attack Zheng. Fu Chen advised, "When our capital of Zhou was moved eastward, we had all the help from Jin and Zheng. When Prince Tui rebelled, it was also with the help of Zheng that we were able to put down the rebellion. How can we abandon Zheng now because of a small grudge?"The king did not listen. In the 15th year (637 BC), the king sent Di troops to attack Zheng. King Xiang was very grateful to the Di people and was going to choose a daughter from Di as his queen. Fu Chen advised him again,, "King Ping, King Huan, King Zhuang, and King Hui all received help from Zheng. Your Majesty, you should not abandon your close friends and get close to the Di people." King Xiang refused to listen. In the 16th year (636 BC), after King Xiang deposed Queen Di, the Di people came to question him and killed Tan Bo. Fu Chen said, "I have repeatedly advised the king but he didn't listen. If I don't go to war, the king will think that I hate him, right?" So he led his people to die in battle.

At first, Queen Hui wanted to establish Prince Dai as the king, so she sent her followers to help the Di people, and the Di people attacked the Zhou capital. King Xiang fled to Zheng State, and Zheng settled King Xiang in Fanyi. Prince Dai was established as king, married Queen Di, who was deposed by King Xiang, and lived together in Wenyi. In the 17th year (635 BC), King Xiang asked Jin State for help, and Duke Wen of Jin accepted King Xiang and killed Shu Dai. King Xiang rewarded Duke Wen of Jin with jade scepter, sacrificial wine, bow and arrow, and appointed him as overlord, and rewarded Jin with the land of Henei. In the 20th year (632 BC), Duke Wen of Jin summoned King Xiang, and King Xiang met with him in Heyang and Jiantu. All the princes came to pay homage to him. To avoid the taboo, Shangshu the Ancient Book put it this way that "the heavenly king went to Heyang for inspection".

In the 24th year (628 BC), Duke Wen of Jin died.

In the 31st year (621 BC), Duke Mu of Qin died.

In the 33rd year (619 BC), King Xiang died, and his son Renchen succeeded to the throne as King Qing. After six years on the throne King Qing died, and his son Ban succeeded him as King Kuang. King Kuang also died after six years on the throne, and his younger brother Yu succeeded him, who was King Ding.

In the first year of King Ding (606 BC), King Zhuang of Chu attacked the Rong people of Luhun and stationed in Luoyi. He sent people to inquire about the size and weight of the Nine Tripod Cauldrons. King Ding sent Wang Sun Man, the grandson of King Xiang, to answer with such words that “it's about virtue, not about tripod” and the Chu army withdrew. In the tenth year (597 BC), King Zhuang of Chu surrounded the capital of Zheng, and Earl Zheng Bo surrendered, and soon the country was restored. In the sixteenth year (591 BC), King Zhuang of Chu died.

In the 21st year (586 BC), King Ding died and his son Yi succeeded him as King Jian. In the 13th year (573 BC), Jin killed its ruler Duke Li and welcomed Zi Zhou from the capital of Zhou, making him Duke Dao.

In the 14th year (572 BC), King Jian died and his son Xiexin succeeded him as King Ling. In the 24th year (548 BC), Cui Zhu of Qi killed its ruler, Duke Zhuang.

In the 27th year (545 BC), King Ling died and his son Gui succeeded him as King Jing. In the 18th year (527 BC), the queen and the crown prince Shou died early. In the 25th year (520 BC), King Jing loved his son Chao and wanted to make him the crown prince, but he died at this time (translator’s note: Shiji mistook it as the 20th). His son Gai and his followers competed with Prince Chao for the throne. The people of the country supported the eldest son Meng as king, so Prince Chao attacked and killed Meng. Meng was King Dao. The people of Jin attacked Prince Chao and made Gai the king instead, who was King Jing.

In the first year of King Jing (519 BC), the people of Jin sent King Jing back to the Zhou capital. But Prince Chao had already declared himself the king, so King Jing could not go back and lived in Zeyi instead. In the fourth year (516 BC), Jin led the princes to send King Jing back to the Zhou capital. Prince Chao became a minister, and the princes built the walls of the Zhou capital. In the sixteenth year (504 BC), Prince Chao's followers rebelled again, and King Jing fled to Jin. In the seventeenth year (503 BC), Duke Ding of Jin finally sent King Jing back to the Zhou capital.

In the thirty-ninth year (481 BC), Tian Chang of Qi killed his lord, Duke Jian.

In the 41st year (479 BC), the State of Chu destroyed the State of Chen. Confucius died.

In the 43rd year (477 BC), King Jing died and his son Ren succeeded him as King Yuan. King Yuan died after eight years of reign, his son Jie succeeded him as King Ding.

In the 16th year of King Ding (453 BC), Zhao, Wei and Han, three families of Jin, together destroyed the Zhibo family of Jin and divided his land.

In the 28th year (441 BC), King Ding died and his eldest son Quji succeeded him, who was King Ai. King Ai reigned for three months, and his younger brother Shu Xi killed King Ai and established himself as King Si. King Si reigned for five months, and his younger brother Wei attacked and killed King Si and established himself as King Kao. These three kings were all sons of King Ding.

In the 15th year of King Kao (426 BC), he died and his son Wu succeeded him as King Weilie.

King Kao granted one of his younger brothers a fiefdom in Henan, and this was Duke Huan of western Zhou, the successor of Duke Zhou’s official position. When Duke Huan died, his son Duke Wei succeeded him. When Duke Wei died, his son Duke Hui succeeded him. And then he appointed his youngest son to serve the king in Gong, with the title of Duke Hui of Eastern Zhou.

In the 23rd year of King Weilie (403 BC), an earthquake struck the capital city where the Nine Tripod Cauldrons were located. King Weilie appointed Han, Wei, and Zhao as vassal states.

In the 24th year (402 BC), King Weilie died and his son Jiao took over the throne as King An. In this year, a thief killed King Sheng of Chu. 

King An reigned for twenty-six years and then died, and his son Xi succeeded him as King Lie. In the second year of King Lie (374 BC), Senior Historian of Zhou Taishi Dan met with Duke Xian of Qin and said: "Initially Zhou and Qin were united and later separated. After 500 years of separation, they will be united again. And after 17 years of unity, a hegemon will emerge." 

In the tenth year, King Lie died and his younger brother Bian ascended to the throne, becoming King Xian. In the fifth year of King Xian (364 BC), he congratulated Duke Xian of Qin and made him the overlord. In the ninth year (360 BC), King Xian sent the sacrificial meat of King Wen and King Wu to Duke Xiao of Qin. In the twenty-fifth year (344 BC), Qin met with the princes in Zhou. In the twenty-sixth year (343 BC), the Zhou granted the title of overlord to Duke Xiao of Qin. In the thirty-third year (336 BC), Zhou congratulated King Hui of Qin. In the thirty-fifth year (334 BC), King Xian sent the sacrificial meat of King Wen and King Wu to King Hui of Qin. In the forty-fourth year (325 BC), King Hui of Qin officially claimed the title of king. From then on, all princes became kings.

In the 48th year (321 BC), King Xian died and his son Ding succeeded him as King Shenjing. King Shenjing reigned for six years and then died. His son Yan succeeded him as King Nan. During the reign of King Nan, the Western and Eastern Zhou dynasties were independent. King Nan moved the capital to the Western Zhou.

Prince Gong of Duke Wu of the Western Zhou died. He had five illegitimate sons and no legitimate son to serve as heir. Sima Jian said to the King of Chu: "Why not use the land to support Prince Ju and ask for the position of Crown Prince for him?" Zuo Cheng said: “No. If the Zhou disagrees, not only will your plan fail, but it will also alienate the relationship between Chu and Zhou. It would be better to ask Lord Zhou to secretly tell Sima Jian who he has in mind for the crown prince. Then let Sima Jian ask for permission for Chu to support him with land." As expected, the Zhou appointed Prince Ju as the crown prince.

In the eighth year (307 BC), Qin attacked Yiyang, and Chu came to rescue. Chu suspected that Zhou had helped Qin, so was preparing to attack Zhou. Su Dai persuaded the King of Chu on behalf of Zhou: "Why do you think Zhou is helping Qin? Those who said that Zhou helped Qin more than Chu wanted Zhou to completely ally with Qin, so there is a saying that "Zhou State helped Qin State." The State of Zhou knew that there was no escape, so it would definitely surrender to the State of Qin. This was a clever plan to help the State of Qin conquer the State of Zhou. I am just thinking for the king. If Zhou State leans towards Qin State, Chu State should treat Zhou State nice. If Zhou State does not lean towards Qin State, Chu State should also treat Zhou State nice. Only in this way can Zhou State and Qin State be alienated. If Zhou cuts off ties with Qin, it will certainly turn to Chu."

The State of Qin intended to borrow a road between the Eastern and the Western Zhou in preparation for attacking the State of Han. The Zhou had its fear, that there would be retaliation from Han if they do; or the retaliation would come from Qin if they don't. Shi Yan said to the Lord of Zhou: "Why don't you send someone to tell Duke Shu of Han: 'Qin dares to borrow the road from Zhou to attack Han because it trusts Eastern Zhou. Why don't you give Zhou some land and send a hostage to Chu?' The Qin State will certainly be suspicious of the Chu State, distrust the Zhou State, and will not attack the Han State anymore. Then he said to Qin, ‘Han State forcibly gave land to Zhou State in order to make Qin State suspicious of Zhou State, so Zhou State dared not refuse to accept it.’ Qin would have no reason to ask Zhou to reject the proposal, and thus it could obtain land from Han without arousing Qin's suspicion.“

The lord of Western Zhou was summoned by Qin, but he was unwilling to go. So he sent someone to tell the King of Han, “Qin summoned Western Zhou because it wanted Western Zhou to attack your Nanyang. Why don’t you send troops to Nanyang? The King of Zhou would use this as an excuse not to go to Qin. As long as Lord of Zhou does not go to Qin, Qin will not dare to cross the Yellow River to attack Nanyang."

When the Eastern Zhou and Western Zhou were at war, Han sent troops to rescue the Western Zhou. Someone persuaded the King of Han on behalf of the Eastern Zhou: "The Western Zhou was originally an angelic country with many valuable artifacts and treasures. If you do not take action, you can show favor to the Eastern Zhou and you will definitely get all the treasures of the Western Zhou." 

King Nan was called Cheng Jun. Chu surrounded Yongshi, and Han asked Eastern Zhou for soldiers and food. The Lord of Eastern Zhou was very scared and summoned Su Dai to tell him about the situation. Su Dai said: “Why do you worry about this? I can stop Han from requisitioning soldiers and food from Eastern Zhou, and I can also allow you to obtain Gaodu." The lord of Zhou said: "If you can really do it, this country will listen to you." Su Dai went to see the Prime Minister of Han and said to him: "Chu State has been besieging Yongshi. It was originally expected to take it down in three months, but now it has been five months and it has not been taken down. This shows that Chu State has suffered serious losses. Now the Prime Minister is calling on Eastern Zhou to send soldiers and food to announce to Chu that Han has also suffered heavy losses.” The Prime Minister of Han said, “You are right. But the messenger has already set out.” Su Dai said: "Why not give Gaodu to Dong Zhou?" The Prime Minister of Han was furious and said, "It is good enough that I do not ask Eastern Zhou for soldiers and food. Why should I give Gaodu to Eastern Zhou?" Su Dai said: "If we give Gaodu to Eastern Zhou, Eastern Zhou will turn to Han. When Qin hears about it, it will be furious and hate Eastern Zhou from then on and cut off ties with it. In this way, we can exchange the damaged Gaodu for a complete Eastern Zhou. Why not do that?” The Prime Minister said, "Okay." As expected, Gaodu was given to the Zhou State. 

In the thirty-fourth year, Su Li said to the Lord of Zhou: "Qin conquered Han and Wei, defeated Xiwu, and seized Lin and Lishi from Zhao in the north. This was all due to Bai Qi's contribution. He is good at commanding battles and had the will of heaven. Now he is going to lead his army out of the border to attack Liang State. Once Liang State was conquered, Zhou State would be in danger. Why don't you send someone to lobby Bai Qi? To tell him that ‘there was a man named Yang Youji in the Chu state who is good at archery. He shot arrows at the willow leaves from a distance of 100 steps, and he hit the target 100 times. Thousands of people were watching, and they all said he was a good archer. There was a man standing beside him and said, "Good, you can be taught archery." Yang Youji was angry, put down his bow and grabbed his sword, saying, "How can a guest teach me how to shoot?" The guest said, "It is not my ability to teach you to bend left or right. You shoot your arrows at the willow leaf from a hundred steps away, and you hit it a hundred times out of a hundred times. But if you don’t rest well, after a while you will run out of strength and become tired. The bow will be crooked and the arrow will be bent. If one arrow misses the target, the previous hundred arrows will be wasted." You have already made great contributions by defeating the armies of Han and Wei, killing Shi Wu, and taking Lin and Lishi from Zhao in the north. Now you are going to lead your troops out of the border again, passing through the east and west, with Han at your back, to attack the State of Liang. If you fail in one battle, all your previous efforts will be wasted. It is better for you to claim illness and not go to the battle. "

In the 42nd year (273 BC), Qin broke the Huayang agreement with Wei (Liang). Ma Fan said to the King of Zhou: "Please send me to persuade Liang to build a city wall for Zhou." He said to the King Liang: "The King of Zhou is afraid that Qin will attack Zhou. If he dies of the fear, then I will also die. I am requesting to present the Nine Tripod Cauldrons of Zhou to you. You are going to look after me when you get them." King Liang said, "Okay." Later, he gave Ma Fan some soldiers, saying that they were going to guard the State of Zhou. Ma Fan then said to the King of Qin, that "Liang is not going to defend Zhou, but is preparing to attack Zhou. You can test it out by sending some troops to the border." So the Qin State indeed sent out its troops. Ma Fan said to King Liang: "The King of Zhou is very ill. Please allow me to report the matter of the Nine Tripod Cauldrons to him later. Now that you have sent soldiers to the State of Zhou, the princes have become suspicious, and you will not be able to convince them when you do things in the future. It would be better to let the soldiers build a city wall for the Zhou State as a cover-up." King Liang said, "Okay." He ordered his soldiers to build a city wall for the Zhou State.

In the forty-fifth year (270 BC), the King of Zhou went to the State of Qin. Someone said to Zhou Zui, "Why don't you praise the King of Qin for his filial piety and give him the land of Ying to the Queen Mother as her burial land. The King of Qin will be very happy and you will have a good relationship with Qin. If the two countries become friends, the King of Zhou will definitely credit it to you. If the two countries become enemies, the one who gets the blame will be the one persuaded the King of Zhou to enter Qin." When Qin was to attack Zhou, Zhou Zui said to the King of Qin: “For your sake, I suggest that you do not attack Zhou. Attacking Zhou will not gain much benefits, but it will give Qin a bad reputation for the world to fear. The whole world will be afraid of Qin moving east to be united with Qi. Once Qin's military strength was damaged in the process of attacking Zhou and the rest of the world would be united with Qi, Qin would not be the king unifying the world. The world wants to weaken and exhaust Qin, so they advise you to attack Zhou. If weakened and exhausted, the Qin State will no longer be able to command the world."

In the fifty-eighth year (257 BC), the Three Jin States united to resist Qin. The King of Zhou sent his prime minister to Qin, but Qin treated him with disdain, and the prime minister prepared to return to Zhou. Someone said to the prime minister: "It is still unclear whether Qin treats you with indifference or respect. Qin wants to know the situation of the three Jins. You might as well ask to see the King of Qin urgently and say, "Please allow me to inquire about the changes in the East for the king." The King of Qin will definitely pay attention to you. If Qin values ​​you, it means that Qin values ​Zhou​, and Qin can make friends with Zhou. If Qi becomes strong, Zhou can try to please Qi, and Zhou can always have a big country to rely on. The Qin State trusted the Zhou State and sent troops to attack the Three Jin States.

In the fifty-ninth year (256 BC), Qin captured Yangcheng and Fushu of Han. Western Zhou was terrified and betrayed Qin. It made an agreement with the princes to unite against Qin and led the world's elite troops to attack Qin from Yique, preventing Qin from reaching Yangcheng. King Zhao of Qin was furious and sent General Jiu to attack Western Zhou. King of Western Zhou went to the State of Qin, kowtowed and apologized, and offered the land of thirty-six cities and 30,000 people. The Qin State accepted this and allowed the King of Western Zhou to return to the Zhou State.

King Nan of Zhou died, and the people of Zhou fled eastward. Qin seized the Nine Tripod Cauldrons and treasures of Zhou and moved the Duke of Western Zhou to Danhu. Seven years later, King Zhuangxiang of Qin destroyed the Eastern Zhou. The Eastern Zhou and Western Zhou were annexed by the Qin State, and the Zhou Dynasty's sacrifices were discontinued from then on.

The Grand Historian said: "Scholars all say that the Zhou people lived in Luoyi after defeating King Zhou the Tyrant. After comprehensive investigation of the actual situation, I found that it is not true. King Wu built Luoyi, and King Cheng ordered Duke Shao to divine whether Luoyi was suitable for living, and placed the Nine Tripod Cauldrons there. After King Cheng, the Western Zhou Dynasty always set its capital between Feng and Hao. It was not until the Quanrong defeated King You that the Zhou Dynasty moved eastward to Luoyi. The so-called "Duke Zhou was buried in Bi", "Bi" is in Du, southeast of Hao. After the Qin State destroyed the Zhou Dynasty, the Han Dynasty rose to power over ninety years later, the emperor would offer sacrifices to heaven on the top of Mount Tai, and then travel eastward to the Henan region to look for the descendants of the Zhou Dynasty. He would grant the descendants of the Zhou Dynasty an area of ​​thirty lis (roughly 90 miles), and call them the Southern Lord of Viscount Zhou, and enjoy the same treatment as the marquises, so as to offer sacrifices to the ancestors of the Zhou Dynasty. 

司马迁·史记卷四·周本纪第四

周后稷，名弃。其母有邰氏女，曰姜原。姜原为帝喾元妃。姜原出野，见巨人迹，心忻然说，欲践之，践之而身动如孕者。居期而生子，以为不祥，弃之隘巷，马牛过者皆辟不践；徙置之林中，適会山林多人，迁之；而弃渠中冰上，飞鸟以其翼覆荐之。姜原以为神，遂收养长之。初欲弃之，因名曰弃。

弃为儿时，屹如巨人之志。其游戏，好种树麻、菽，麻、菽美。及为成人，遂好耕农，相地之宜，宜谷者稼穑焉，民皆法则之。帝尧闻之，举弃为农师，天下得其利，有功。帝舜曰：“弃，黎民始饥，尔后稷播时百谷。”封弃于邰，号曰后稷，别姓姬氏。后稷之兴，在陶唐、虞、夏之际，皆有令德。

后稷卒，子不窋立。不窋末年，夏后氏政衰，去稷不务，不窋以失其官而奔戎狄之间。不窋卒，子鞠立。鞠卒，子公刘立。公刘虽在戎狄之间，复脩后稷之业，务耕种，行地宜，自漆、沮度渭，取材用，行者有资，居者有畜积，民赖其庆。百姓怀之，多徙而保归焉。周道之兴自此始，故诗人歌乐思其德。公刘卒，子庆节立，国于豳。

庆节卒，子皇仆立。皇仆卒，子差弗立。差弗卒，子毁隃立。毁隃卒，子公非立。公非卒，子高圉立。高圉卒，子亚圉立。亚圉卒，子公叔祖类立。公叔祖类卒，子古公亶父立。古公亶父复脩后稷、公刘之业，积德行义，国人皆戴之。薰育戎狄攻之，欲得财物，予之。已复攻，欲得地与民。民皆怒，欲战。古公曰：“有民立君，将以利之。今戎狄所为攻战，以吾地与民。民之在我，与其在彼，何异。民欲以我故战，杀人父子而君之，予不忍为。”乃与私属遂去豳，度漆、沮，逾梁山，止于岐下。豳人举国扶老携弱，尽复归古公于岐下。及他旁国闻古公仁，亦多归之。于是古公乃贬戎狄之俗，而营筑城郭室屋，而邑别居之。作五官有司。民皆歌乐之，颂其德。

古公有长子曰太伯，次曰虞仲。太姜生少子季历，季历娶太任，皆贤妇人，生昌，有圣瑞。古公曰：“我世当有兴者，其在昌乎？”长子太伯、虞仲知古公欲立季历以传昌，乃二人亡如荆蛮，文身断发，以让季历。

古公卒，季历立，是为公季。公季脩古公遗道，笃于行义，诸侯顺之。

公季卒，子昌立，是为西伯。西伯曰文王，遵后稷、公刘之业，则古公、公季之法，笃仁，敬老，慈少。礼下贤者，日中不暇食以待士，士以此多归之。伯夷、叔齐在孤竹，闻西伯善养老，盍往归之。太颠、闳夭、散宜生、鬻子、辛甲大夫之徒皆往归之。

崇侯虎谮西伯于殷纣曰：“西伯积善累德，诸侯皆向之，将不利于帝。”帝纣乃囚西伯于羑里。闳夭之徒患之。乃求有莘氏美女，骊戎之文马，有熊九驷，他奇怪物，因殷嬖臣费仲而献之纣。纣大说，曰：“此一物足以释西伯，况其多乎！”乃赦西伯，赐之弓矢斧钺，使西伯得征伐。曰：“谮西伯者，崇侯虎也。”西伯乃献洛西之地，以请纣去炮格之刑。纣许之。

西伯阴行善，诸侯皆来决平。于是虞、芮之人有狱不能决，乃如周。入界，耕者皆让畔，民俗皆让长。虞、芮之人未见西伯，皆惭，相谓曰：“吾所争，周人所耻，何往为，祇取辱耳。”遂还，俱让而去。诸侯闻之，曰“西伯盖受命之君”。

明年，伐犬戎。明年，伐密须。明年，败耆国。殷之祖伊闻之，惧，以告帝纣。纣曰：“不有天命乎？是何能为！”明年，伐邘。明年，伐崇侯虎。而作丰邑，自岐下而徙都丰。明年，西伯崩，太子发立，是为武王。

西伯盖即位五十年。其囚羑里，盖益易之八卦为六十四卦。诗人道西伯，盖受命之年称王而断虞芮之讼。后十年而崩，谥为文王。改法度，制正朔矣。追尊古公为太王，公季为王季：盖王瑞自太王兴。

武王即位，太公望为师，周公旦为辅，召公、毕公之徒左右王，师脩文王绪业。

九年，武王上祭于毕。东观兵，至于盟津。为文王木主，载以车，中军。武王自称太子发，言奉文王以伐，不敢自专。乃告司马、司徒、司空、诸节：“齐栗，信哉！予无知，以先祖有德臣，小子受先功，毕立赏罚，以定其功。”遂兴师。师尚父号曰：“总尔众庶，与尔舟楫，后至者斩。”武王渡河，中流，白鱼跃入王舟中，武王俯取以祭。既渡，有火自上覆于下，至于王屋，流为乌，其色赤，其声魄云。是时，诸侯不期而会盟津者八百诸侯。诸侯皆曰：“纣可伐矣。”武王曰：“女未知天命，未可也。”乃还师归。

居二年，闻纣昏乱暴虐滋甚，杀王子比干，囚箕子。太师疵、少师强抱其乐器而奔周。于是武王遍告诸侯曰：“殷有重罪，不可以不毕伐。”乃遵文王，遂率戎车三百乘，虎贲三千人，甲士四万五千人，以东伐纣。十一年十二月戊午，师毕渡盟津，诸侯咸会。曰：“孳孳无怠！”武王乃作太誓，告于众庶：“今殷王纣乃用其妇人之言，自绝于天，毁坏其三正，离逷其王父母弟，乃断弃其先祖之乐，乃为淫声，用变乱正声，怡说妇人。故今予发维共行天罚。勉哉夫子，不可再，不可三！”

二月甲子昧爽，武王朝至于商郊牧野，乃誓。武王左杖黄钺，右秉白旄，以麾。曰：“远矣西土之人！”武王曰：“嗟！我有国冢君，司徒、司马、司空，亚旅、师氏，千夫长、百夫长，及庸、蜀、羌、髳、微、纑、彭、濮人，称尔戈，比尔干，立尔矛，予其誓。”王曰：“古人有言‘牝鸡无晨。牝鸡之晨，惟家之索’。今殷王纣维妇人言是用，自弃其先祖肆祀不答，昏弃其家国，遗其王父母弟不用，乃维四方之多罪逋逃是崇是长，是信是使，俾暴虐于百姓，以奸轨于商国。今予发维共行天之罚。今日之事，不过六步七步，乃止齐焉，夫子勉哉！不过于四伐五伐六伐七伐，乃止齐焉，勉哉夫子！尚桓桓，如虎如罴，如豺如离，于商郊，不御克奔，以役西土，勉哉夫子！尔所不勉，其于尔身有戮。”誓已，诸侯兵会者车四千乘，陈师牧野。

帝纣闻武王来，亦发兵七十万人距武王。武王使师尚父与百夫致师，以大卒驰帝纣师。纣师虽众，皆无战之心，心欲武王亟入。纣师皆倒兵以战，以开武王。武王驰之，纣兵皆崩畔纣。纣走，反入登于鹿台之上，蒙衣其珠玉，自燔于火而死。武王持大白旗以麾诸侯，诸侯毕拜武王，武王乃揖诸侯，诸侯毕从。武王至商国，商国百姓咸待于郊。于是武王使群臣告语商百姓曰：“上天降休！”商人皆再拜稽首，武王亦答拜。遂入，至纣死所。武王自射之，三发而后下车，以轻剑击之，以黄钺斩纣头，县大白之旗。已而至纣之嬖妾二女，二女皆经自杀。武王又射三发，击以剑，斩以玄钺，县其头小白之旗。武王已乃出复军。

其明日，除道，脩社及商纣宫。及期，百夫荷罕旗以先驱。武王弟叔振铎奉陈常车，周公旦把大钺，毕公把小钺，以夹武王。散宜生、太颠、闳夭皆执剑以卫武王。既入，立于社南大卒之左，右毕从。毛叔郑奉明水，卫康叔封布兹，召公奭赞采，师尚父牵牲。尹佚筴祝曰：“殷之末孙季纣，殄废先王明德，侮蔑神祇不祀，昏暴商邑百姓，其章显闻于天皇上帝。”于是武王再拜稽首，曰：“膺更大命，革殷，受天明命。”武王又再拜稽首，乃出。

封商纣子禄父殷之余民。武王为殷初定未集，乃使其弟管叔鲜、蔡叔度相禄父治殷。已而命召公释箕子之囚。命毕公释百姓之囚，表商容之闾。命南宫括散鹿台之财，发钜桥之粟，以振贫弱萌隶。命南宫括、史佚展九鼎保玉。命闳夭封比干之墓。命宗祝享祠于军。乃罢兵西归。行狩，记政事，作武成。封诸侯，班赐宗彝，作分殷之器物。武王追思先圣王，乃襃封神农之后于焦，黄帝之后于祝，帝尧之后于蓟，帝舜之后于陈，大禹之后于杞。于是封功臣谋士，而师尚父为首封。封尚父于营丘，曰齐。封弟周公旦于曲阜，曰鲁。封召公奭于燕。封弟叔鲜于管，弟叔度于蔡。余各以次受封。

武王徵九牧之君，登豳之阜，以望商邑。武王至于周，自夜不寐。周公旦即王所，曰：“曷为不寐？”王曰：“告女：维天不飨殷，自发未生于今六十年，麋鹿在牧，蜚鸿满野。天不享殷，乃今有成。维天建殷，其登名民三百六十夫，不显亦不宾灭，以至今。我未定天保，何暇寐！”王曰：“定天保，依天室，悉求夫恶，贬从殷王受。日夜劳来定我西土，我维显服，及德方明。自洛汭延于伊汭，居易毋固，其有夏之居。我南望三途，北望岳鄙，顾詹有河，粤詹雒、伊，毋远天室。”营周居于雒邑而后去。纵马于华山之阳，放牛于桃林之虚；偃干戈，振兵释旅：示天下不复用也。

武王已克殷，后二年，问箕子殷所以亡。箕子不忍言殷恶，以存亡国宜告。武王亦丑，故问以天道。

武王病。天下未集，群公惧，穆卜，周公乃祓斋，自为质，欲代武王，武王有瘳。后而崩，太子诵代立，是为成王。

成王少，周初定天下，周公恐诸侯畔周，公乃摄行政当国。管叔、蔡叔群弟疑周公，与武庚作乱，畔周。周公奉成王命，伐诛武庚、管叔，放蔡叔。以微子开代殷后，国于宋。颇收殷余民，以封武王少弟封为卫康叔。晋唐叔得嘉谷，献之成王，成王以归周公于兵所。周公受禾东土，鲁天子之命。初，管、蔡畔周，周公讨之，三年而毕定，故初作大诰，次作微子之命，次归禾，次嘉禾，次康诰、酒诰、梓材，其事在周公之篇。周公行政七年，成王长，周公反政成王，北面就群臣之位。

成王在丰，使召公复营洛邑，如武王之意。周公复卜申视，卒营筑，居九鼎焉。曰：“此天下之中，四方入贡道里均。”作召诰、洛诰。成王既迁殷遗民，周公以王命告，作多士、无佚。召公为保，周公为师，东伐淮夷，残奄，迁其君薄姑。成王自奄归，在宗周，作多方。既绌殷命，袭淮夷，归在丰，作周官。兴正礼乐，度制于是改，而民和睦，颂声兴。成王既伐东夷，息慎来贺，王赐荣伯作贿息慎之命。

成王将崩，惧太子钊之不任，乃命召公、毕公率诸侯以相太子而立之。成王既崩，二公率诸侯，以太子钊见于先王庙，申告以文王、武王之所以为王业之不易，务在节俭，毋多欲，以笃信临之，作《顾命》。太子钊遂立，是为康王。康王即位，遍告诸侯，宣告以文武之业以申之，作《康诰》。故成康之际，天下安宁，刑错四十余年不用。康王命作策毕公分居里，成周郊，作《毕命》。

康王卒，子昭王瑕立。昭王之时，王道微缺。昭王南巡狩不返，卒于江上。其卒不赴告，讳之也。立昭王子满，是为穆王。穆王即位，春秋已五十矣。王道衰微，穆王闵文武之道缺，乃命伯臩申诫太仆国之政，作《臩命》。复宁。

穆王将征犬戎，祭公谋父谏曰：“不可。先王耀德不观兵。夫兵戢而时动，动则威，观则玩，玩则无震。是故周文公之颂曰：‘载戢干戈，载櫜弓矢，我求懿德，肆于时夏，允王保之。’先王之于民也，茂正其德而厚其性，阜其财求而利其器用，明利害之乡，以文修之，使之务利而辟害，怀德而畏威，故能保世以滋大。昔我先王世后稷以服事虞、夏。及夏之衰也，弃稷不务，我先王不窋用失其官，而自窜于戎狄之闲。不敢怠业，时序其德，遵修其绪，修其训典，朝夕恪勤，守以敦笃，奉以忠信。奕世载德，不忝前人。至于文王、武王，昭前之光明而加之以慈和，事神保民，无不欣喜。商王帝辛大恶于民，庶民不忍，欣载武王，以致戎于商牧。是故先王非务武也，劝恤民隐而除其害也。夫先王之制，邦内甸服，邦外侯服，侯卫宾服，夷蛮要服，戎翟荒服。甸服者祭，侯服者祀，宾服者享，要服者贡，荒服者王。日祭，月祀，时享，岁贡，终王。先王之顺祀也，有不祭则修意，有不祀则修言，有不享则修文，有不贡则修名，有不王则修德，序成而有不至则修刑。于是有刑不祭，伐不祀，征不享，让不贡，告不王。于是有刑罚之辟，有攻伐之兵，有征讨之备，有威让之命，有文告之辞。布令陈辞而有不至，则增修于德，无勤民于远。是以近无不听，远无不服。今自大毕、伯士之终也，犬戎氏以其职来王，天子曰‘予必以不享征之，且观之兵’，无乃废先王之训，而王几顿乎？吾闻犬戎树敦，率旧德而守终纯固，其有以御我矣。”王遂征之，得四白狼四白鹿以归。自是荒服者不至。

诸侯有不睦者，甫侯言于王，作脩刑辟。王曰：“吁，来！有国有土，告汝祥刑。在今尔安百姓，何择非其人，何敬非其刑，何居非其宜与？两造具备，师听五辞。五辞简信，正于五刑。五刑不简，正于五罚。五罚不服，正于五过。五过之疵，官狱内狱，阅实其罪，惟钧其过。五刑之疑有赦，五罚之疑有赦，其审克之。简信有众，惟讯有稽。无简不疑，共严天威。黥辟疑赦，其罚百率，阅实其罪。劓辟疑赦，其罚倍洒，阅实其罪。膑辟疑赦，其罚倍差，阅实其罪。宫辟疑赦，其罚五百率，阅实其罪。大辟疑赦，其罚千率，阅实其罪。墨罚之属千，劓罚之属千，膑罚之属五百，宫罚之属三百，大辟之罚其属二百：五刑之属三千。”命曰甫刑。

穆王立五十五年，崩，子共王繄扈立。共王游于泾上，密康公从，有三女奔之。其母曰：“必致之王。夫兽三为群，人三为众，女三为粲。王田不取群，公行不下众，王御不参一族。夫粲，美之物也。众以美物归女，而何德以堪之？王犹不堪，况尔之小丑乎！小丑备物，终必亡。”康公不献，一年，共王灭密。共王崩，子懿王囏立。懿王之时，王室遂衰，诗人作刺。

懿王崩，共王弟辟方立，是为孝王。孝王崩，诸侯复立懿王太子燮，是为夷王。

夷王崩，子厉王胡立。厉王即位三十年，好利，近荣夷公。大夫芮良夫谏厉王曰：“王室其将卑乎？夫荣公好专利而不知大难。夫利，百物之所生也，天地之所载也，而有专之，其害多矣。天地百物皆将取焉，何可专也？所怒甚多，而不备大难。以是教王，王其能久乎？夫王人者，将导利而布之上下者也。使神人百物无不得极，犹日怵惕惧怨之来也。故颂曰‘思文后稷，克配彼天，立我蒸民，莫匪尔极’。大雅曰‘陈锡载周’。是不布利而惧难乎，故能载周以至于今。今王学专利，其可乎？匹夫专利，犹谓之盗，王而行之，其归鲜矣。荣公若用，周必败也。”厉王不听，卒以荣公为卿士，用事。

王行暴虐侈傲，国人谤王。召公谏曰：“民不堪命矣。”王怒，得卫巫，使监谤者，以告则杀之。其谤鲜矣，诸侯不朝。三十四年，王益严，国人莫敢言，道路以目。厉王喜，告召公曰：“吾能弭谤矣，乃不敢言。”召公曰：“是障之也。防民之口，甚于防水。水壅而溃，伤人必多，民亦如之。是故为水者决之使导，为民者宣之使言。故天子听政，使公卿至于列士献诗，瞽献曲，史献书，师箴，瞍赋，矇诵，百工谏，庶人传语，近臣尽规，亲戚补察，瞽史教诲，耆艾脩之，而后王斟酌焉，是以事行而不悖。民之有口也，犹土之有山川也，财用于是乎出；犹其有原隰衍沃也，衣食于是乎生。口之宣言也，善败于是乎兴。行善而备败，所以产财用衣食者也。夫民虑之于心而宣之于口，成而行之。若壅其口，其与能几何？”王不听。于是国莫敢出言，三年，乃相与畔，袭厉王。厉王出奔于彘。

厉王太子静匿召公之家，国人闻之，乃围之。召公曰：“昔吾骤谏王，王不从，以及此难也。今杀王太子，王其以我为雠而怼怒乎？夫事君者，险而不雠怼，怨而不怒，况事王乎！”乃以其子代王太子，太子竟得脱。

召公、周公二相行政，号曰“共和”。共和十四年，厉王死于彘。太子静长于召公家，二相乃共立之为王，是为宣王。宣王即位，二相辅之，脩政，法文、武、成、康之遗风，诸侯复宗周。十二年，鲁武公来朝。

宣王不脩籍于千亩，虢文公谏曰不可，王弗听。三十九年，战于千亩，王师败绩于姜氏之戎。

宣王既亡南国之师，乃料民于太原。仲山甫谏曰：“民不可料也。”宣王不听，卒料民。

四十六年，宣王崩，子幽王宫湦立。幽王二年，西周三川皆震。伯阳甫曰：“周将亡矣。夫天地之气，不失其序；若过其序，民乱之也。阳伏而不能出，阴迫而不能蒸，于是有地震。今三川实震，是阳失其所而填阴也。阳失而在阴，原必塞；原塞，国必亡。夫水土演而民用也。土无所演，民乏财用，不亡何待！昔伊、洛竭而夏亡，河竭而商亡。今周德若二代之季矣，其川原又塞，塞必竭。夫国必依山川，山崩川竭，亡国之徵也。川竭必山崩。若国亡不过十年，数之纪也。天之所弃，不过其纪。”是岁也，三川竭，岐山崩。

三年，幽王嬖爱襃姒。襃姒生子伯服，幽王欲废太子。太子母申侯女，而为后。后幽王得襃姒，爱之，欲废申后，并去太子宜臼，以襃姒为后，以伯服为太子。周太史伯阳读史记曰：“周亡矣。”昔自夏后氏之衰也，有二神龙止于夏帝庭而言曰：“余，襃之二君。”夏帝卜杀之与去之与止之，莫吉。卜请其漦而藏之，乃吉。于是布币而策告之，龙亡而漦在，椟而去之。夏亡，传此器殷。殷亡，又传此器周。比三代，莫敢发之，至厉王之末，发而观之。漦流于庭，不可除。厉王使妇人裸而譟之。漦化为玄鼋，以入王后宫。后宫之童妾既龀而遭之，既笄而孕，无夫而生子，惧而弃之。宣王之时童女谣曰：“檿弧箕服，实亡周国。”于是宣王闻之，有夫妇卖是器者，宣王使执而戮之。逃于道，而见乡者后宫童妾所弃妖子出于路者，闻其夜啼，哀而收之，夫妇遂亡，奔于襃。襃人有罪，请入童妾所弃女子者于王以赎罪。弃女子出于襃，是为襃姒。当幽王三年，王之后宫见而爱之，生子伯服，竟废申后及太子，以襃姒为后，伯服为太子。太史伯阳曰：“祸成矣，无可奈何！”

襃姒不好笑，幽王欲其笑万方，故不笑。幽王为烽燧大鼓，有寇至则举烽火。诸侯悉至，至而无寇，襃姒乃大笑。幽王说之，为数举烽火。其后不信，诸侯益亦不至。

幽王以虢石父为卿，用事，国人皆怨。石父为人佞巧善谀好利，王用之。又废申后，去太子也。申侯怒，与缯、西夷犬戎攻幽王。幽王举烽火徵兵，兵莫至。遂杀幽王骊山下，虏襃姒，尽取周赂而去。于是诸侯乃即申侯而共立故幽王太子宜臼，是为平王，以奉周祀。

平王立，东迁于雒邑，辟戎寇。平王之时，周室衰微，诸侯强并弱，齐、楚、秦、晋始大，政由方伯。

四十九年，鲁隐公即位。

五十一年，平王崩，太子洩父蚤死，立其子林，是为桓王。桓王，平王孙也。

桓王三年，郑庄公朝，桓王不礼。五年，郑怨，与鲁易许田。许田，天子之用事太山田也。八年，鲁杀隐公，立桓公。十三年，伐郑，郑射伤桓王，桓王去归。

二十三年，桓王崩，子庄王佗立。庄王四年，周公黑肩欲杀庄王而立王子克。辛伯告王，王杀周公。王子克奔燕。

十五年，庄王崩，子釐王胡齐立。釐王三年，齐桓公始霸。

五年，釐王崩，子惠王阆立。惠王二年。初，庄王嬖姬姚，生子穨，穨有宠。及惠王即位，夺其大臣园以为囿，故大夫边伯等五人作乱，谋召燕、卫师，伐惠王。惠王奔温，已居郑之栎。立釐王弟穨为王。乐及遍舞，郑、虢君怒。四年，郑与虢君伐杀王穨，复入惠王。惠王十年，赐齐桓公为伯。

二十五年，惠王崩，子襄王郑立。襄王母蚤死，后母曰惠后。惠后生叔带，有宠于惠王，襄王畏之。三年，叔带与戎、翟谋伐襄王，襄王欲诛叔带，叔带奔齐。齐桓公使管仲平戎于周，使隰朋平戎于晋。王以上卿礼管仲。管仲辞曰：“臣贱有司也，有天子之二守国、高在。若节春秋来承王命，何以礼焉。陪臣敢辞。”王曰：“舅氏，余嘉乃勋，毋逆朕命。”管仲卒受下卿之礼而还。九年，齐桓公卒。十二年，叔带复归于周。

十三年，郑伐滑，王使游孙、伯服请滑，郑人囚之。郑文公怨惠王之入不与厉公爵，又怨襄王之与卫滑，故囚伯服。王怒，将以翟伐郑。富辰谏曰：“凡我周之东徙，晋、郑焉依。子穨之乱，又郑之由定，今以小怨弃之！”王不听。十五年，王降翟师以伐郑。王德翟人，将以其女为后。富辰谏曰：“平、桓、庄、惠皆受郑劳，王弃亲亲翟，不可从。”王不听。十六年，王绌翟后，翟人来诛，杀谭伯。富辰曰：“吾数谏不从。如是不出，王以我为怼乎？”乃以其属死之。

初，惠后欲立王子带，故以党开翟人，翟人遂入周。襄王出奔郑，郑居王于氾。子带立为王，取襄王所绌翟后与居温。十七年，襄王告急于晋，晋文公纳王而诛叔带。襄王乃赐晋文公珪鬯弓矢，为伯，以河内地与晋。二十年，晋文公召襄王，襄王会之河阳、践土，诸侯毕朝，《书讳》曰：“天王狩于河阳。”

二十四年，晋文公卒。

三十一年，秦穆公卒。

三十二年，襄王崩，子顷王壬臣立。顷王六年，崩，子匡王班立。匡王六年，崩，弟瑜立，是为定王。

定王元年，楚庄王伐陆浑之戎，次洛，使人问九鼎。王使王孙满应设以辞，楚兵乃去。十年，楚庄王围郑，郑伯降，已而复之。十六年，楚庄王卒。

二十一年，定王崩，子简王夷立。简王十三年，晋杀其君厉公，迎子周於周，立为悼公。

十四年，简王崩，子灵王泄心立。灵王二十四年，齐崔杼弑其君庄公。

二十七年，灵王崩，子景王贵立。景王十八年，后太子圣而蚤卒。二十年，景王爱子朝，欲立之，会崩，子丐之党与争立，国人立长子猛为王，子朝攻杀猛。猛为悼王。晋人攻子朝而立丐，是为敬王。

敬王元年，晋人入敬王，子朝自立，敬王不得入，居泽。四年，晋率诸侯入敬王于周，子朝为臣，诸侯城周。十六年，子朝之徒复作乱，敬王饹于晋。十七年，晋定公遂入敬王于周。

三十九年，齐田常杀其君简公。

四十一年，楚灭陈。孔子卒。

四十二年，敬王崩，子元王仁立。元王八年，崩，子定王介立。

定王十六年，三晋灭智伯，分有其地。

二十八年，定王崩，长子去疾立，是为哀王。哀王立三月，弟叔袭杀哀王而自立，是为思王。思王立五月，少弟嵬攻杀思王而自立，是为考王。此三王皆定王之子。

考王十五年，崩，子威烈王午立。

考王封其弟于河南，是为桓公，以续周公之官职。桓公卒，子威公代立。威公卒，子惠公代立，乃封其少子於巩以奉王，号东周惠公。

威烈王二十三年，九鼎震。命韩、魏、赵为诸侯。

二十四年，崩，子安王骄立。是岁盗杀楚声王。

安王立二十六年，崩，子烈王喜立。烈王二年，周太史儋见秦献公曰：“始周与秦国合而别，别五百载复合，合十七岁而霸王者出焉。”

十年，烈王崩，弟扁立，是为显王。显王五年，贺秦献公，献公称伯。九年，致文武胙於秦孝公。二十五年，秦会诸侯於周。二十六年，周致伯於秦孝公。三十三年，贺秦惠王。三十五年，致文武胙於秦惠王。四十四年，秦惠王称王。其後诸侯皆为王。

四十八年，显王崩，子慎靓王定立。慎靓王立六年，崩，子赧王延立。王赧时东西周分治。王赧徙都西周。

西周武公之共太子死，有五庶子，毋適立。司马翦谓楚王曰：“不如以地资公子咎，为请太子。” 左成曰：“不可。周不听，是公之知困而交疏於周也。不如请周君孰欲立，以微告翦，翦请令楚贺资之以地。”果立公子咎为太子。

八年，秦攻宜阳，楚救之。而楚以周为秦故，将伐之。苏代为周说楚王曰：“何以周为秦之祸也？言周之为秦甚于楚者，欲令周入秦也，故谓‘周秦’也。周知其不可解，必入于秦，此为秦取周之精者也。为王计者，周于秦因善之，不于秦亦言善之，以疏之于秦。周绝于秦，必入于郢矣。”

秦借道两周之间，将以伐韩，周恐借之畏于韩，不借畏于秦。史厌谓周君曰：“何不令人谓韩公叔曰‘秦之敢绝周而伐韩者，信东周也。公何不与周地，发质使之楚’？秦必疑楚不信周，是韩不伐也。又谓秦曰‘韩强与周地，将以疑周于秦也，周不敢不受’。秦必无辞而令周不受，是受地于韩而听于秦。”

秦召西周君，西周君恶往，故令人谓韩王曰：“秦召西周君，将以使攻王之南阳也，王何不出兵于南阳？周君将以为辞于秦。周君不入秦，秦必不敢逾河而攻南阳矣。”

东周与西周战，韩救西周。或为东周说韩王曰：“西周故天子之国，多名器重宝。王案兵毋出，可以德东周，而西周之宝必可以尽矣。”

王赧谓成君。楚围雍氏，韩徵甲与粟于东周，东周君恐，召苏代而告之。代曰：“君何患于是。臣能使韩毋徵甲与粟于周，又能为君得高都。”周君曰：“子苟能，请以国听子。”代见韩相国曰：“楚围雍氏，期三月也，今五月不能拔，是楚病也。今相国乃徵甲与粟于周，是告楚病也。”韩相国曰：“善。使者已行矣。”代曰：“何不与周高都？”韩相国大怒曰：“吾毋徵甲与粟于周亦已多矣，何故与周高都也？”代曰：“与周高都，是周折而入于韩也，秦闻之必大怒忿周，即不通周使，是以弊高都得完周也。曷为不与？”相国曰：“善。”果与周高都。

三十四年，苏厉谓周君曰：“秦破韩、魏，扑师武，北取赵蔺、离石者，皆白起也。是善用兵，又有天命。今又将兵出塞攻梁，梁破则周危矣。君何不令人说白起乎？曰‘楚有养由基者，善射者也。去柳叶百步而射之，百发而百中之。左右观者数千人，皆曰善射。有一夫立其旁，曰“善，可教射矣”。养由基怒，释弓搤剑，曰“客安能教我射乎”？客曰“非吾能教子支左诎右也。夫去柳叶百步而射之，百发而百中之，不以善息，少焉气衰力倦，弓拨矢钩，一发不中者，百发尽息”。今破韩、魏，扑师武，北取赵蔺、离石者，公之功多矣。今又将兵出塞，过两周，倍韩，攻梁，一举不得，前功尽弃。公不如称病而无出’。”

四十二年，秦破华阳约。马犯谓周君曰：“请令梁城周。”乃谓梁王曰：“周王病若死，则犯必死矣。犯请以九鼎自入于王，王受九鼎而图犯。”梁王曰：“善。”遂与之卒，言戍周。因谓秦王曰：“梁非戍周也，将伐周也。王试出兵境以观之。”秦果出兵。又谓梁王曰：“周王病甚矣，犯请后可而复之。今王使卒之周，诸侯皆生心，后举事且不信。不若令卒为周城，以匿事端。”梁王曰：“善。”遂使城周。

四十五年，周君之秦客谓周曰：“公不若誉秦王之孝，因以应为太后养地，秦王必喜，是公有秦交。交善，周君必以为公功。交恶，劝周君入秦者必有罪矣。”秦攻周，而周冣谓秦王曰：“为王计者不攻周。攻周，实不足以利，声畏天下。天下以声畏秦，必东合于齐。兵弊于周。合天下于齐，则秦不王矣。天下欲弊秦，劝王攻周。秦与天下弊，则令不行矣。”

五十八年，三晋距秦。周令其相国之秦，以秦之轻也，还其行。客谓相国曰：“秦之轻重未可知也。秦欲知三国之情。公不如急见秦王曰‘请为王听东方之变’，秦王必重公。重公，是秦重周，周以取秦也；齐重，则固有周聚以收齐：是周常不失重国之交也。”秦信周，发兵攻三晋。

五十九年，秦取韩阳城负黍，西周恐，倍秦，与诸侯约从，将天下锐师出伊阙攻秦，令秦无得通阳城。秦昭王怒，使将军摎攻西周。西周君奔秦，顿首受罪，尽献其邑三十六，口三万。秦受其献，归其君于周。

周君、王赧卒，周民遂东亡。秦取九鼎宝器，而迁西周公于{单心}狐。后七岁，秦庄襄王灭东周。东西周皆入于秦，周既不祀。

太史公曰：学者皆称周伐纣，居洛邑，综其实不然。武王营之，成王使召公卜居，居九鼎焉，而周复都丰、镐。至犬戎败幽王，周乃东徙于洛邑。所谓“周公葬毕”，毕在镐东南杜中。秦灭周。汉兴九十有余载，天子将封泰山，东巡狩至河南，求周苗裔，封其后嘉三十里地，号曰周子南君，比列侯，以奉其先祭祀。

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