Outline of duke Zhou's story

King Wu became a young king after his death, when he was still in infancy. When the Duke of Zhou heard that King Wu had died, fearing that the world would betray the court, he ascended the throne to handle government affairs for Wang Cheng and presided over the state power.

Guan Shu and his brothers spread rumors in the countryside, saying that "Duke Zhou is not conducive to becoming a king".

Duke Zhou said to Taihe Zhao, "I didn't avoid suspicion because I was afraid that everyone in the world would betray me and I couldn't explain to my ancestors, King Tai, King Qi and King Wen."

Three former kings have worked hard for the world for a long time, and now they have just succeeded. King Wu died young and became king at a young age. I did this only to accomplish the great cause of stabilizing the Zhou Dynasty.

So after all, he helped him become king, and ordered his son Boqin to go to the state of Lu to seal for him. Duke Zhou warned Boqin: I am the son of King Wen, my brother, and my uncle who became a king, and my position is not low among all the people in the world.

But I wash my hair once, hold my hair many times, eat a meal and spit out the food I am chewing many times, and get up to receive the sages, so I am afraid of losing the sages in the world. When you arrive in Shandong, don't be arrogant and dull to others just because you own land.

2. Fear of rumors

The Duke of Zhou was virtuous, and assisted his younger brother, King Wu Ji Fa, to cut down the merchants, pacify the world and stabilize the inheritance of the Zhou Dynasty. King Wu was ill, and the Duke of Zhou announced that he was willing to take his place.

His book is hidden in Jinteng, and its content is unknown. Later, King Wu died and the prince became king when he was young. The Duke of Zhou wholeheartedly helped him, held Zhou Chengwang in his lap and appeared in front of all the ministers.

At that time, his ordinary brothers Guan Shu and Cai Shu were up to no good, but they were afraid of the Duke of Zhou, so they spread rumors among the nations that the Duke of Zhou bullied the young master and plotted to usurp the throne. As time went on, Zhou Chengwang began to doubt.

Duke Zhou resigned from his post to avoid disaster and lived in the East, so he was terrified. Then, one day, it rained heavily and thunder shook Jinteng. When the King of Qi saw the book, he knew that he was faithful and treacherous, so he killed Guan Shu and Cai Shu to welcome the Duke of Zhou back.

3. Learn from the past and learn from the future

Zhou Wuwang, the founding monarch of the Zhou Dynasty, died shortly after he ascended the throne. His son Zhou Chengwang succeeded to the throne. Because he was too young to be king, Duke Ji Dan, the younger brother of King Wu, helped to handle state affairs.

In this regard, Guan Shu, the other two younger brothers of King Wu, was thick-skinned, and Cai Shu was very dissatisfied. They spread rumors everywhere, slandering Duke Zhou's assistant as king, in order to wait for an opportunity to abolish him and seize the throne.

Duke Zhou is a loyal and open-minded person. After hearing these rumors, he left Kyoto and lived in other places to avoid suspicion.

When Xian and Cai Shu saw that the Duke of Zhou had left to be king, they secretly colluded with Wu Geng, the son of Yin, and launched a rebellion together in an attempt to usurp the throne.

Zhou Chengwang got the tip-off, and hurriedly called ministers to discuss, but no one could come up with a solution. He was so anxious that he didn't know how to become king.

A minister saw it and said, "Only the Duke of Zhou can handle this matter!" Hearing this, King Cheng invited Duke Zhou back. When the Duke of Zhou came, King Cheng immediately ordered the Duke of Zhou to lead troops to the east to crusade against the rebels.

After three years of hard fighting, the rebellion was finally put down by Duke Zhou. Then, the Duke of Zhou faithfully managed state affairs for Wang Cheng for several years, and it was not until Wang Cheng grew up that he returned the political power to him and let him take care of himself.

On the day when he officially took over state affairs, Wang Cheng went to the ancestral temple to worship his ancestors. At the sacrificial ceremony, Wang Cheng reviewed the historical lessons of the past and said: "I must learn from the previous punishment and act cautiously to avoid being hurt again."

4. Gift from Duke Zhou

According to legend, men and women promiscuous in the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty, but Duke Zhou thought it impossible, so he stipulated that men and women should not have sex casually before marriage, except on the wedding day. Later, people called it "the gift of the Duke of Zhou".

The Book of Rites of the Duke of Zhou generally refers to the husband and wife sharing the same room, making love and having sexual relations. "The courtesy of the Duke of Zhou" is a euphemism for sexual relations in Chinese, which is a bit of a joke.

5. Duke Zhou is a fake king.

King Wu of Haojing, after returning from the destruction of commerce, discussed with Duke Zhou to build a capital on the plain between Luoshui and Yishui to control the East. Because of working day and night, King Wu was seriously ill. Duke Zhou prayed to his ancestors King Tai, King Qi and King Wen.

He said, Your Sun Yuan is very ill. If you owe God a child, let me take his place. I am kind and versatile. Your Sun Yuan is not as versatile as me and can't serve ghosts and gods.

After praying, King Wu's condition improved, but he died soon. King Wu was willing to pass on the throne to Duke Zhou, a wise uncle, and said that this matter could be decided face to face without divination.

Duke Zhou sobbed and refused. After the death of King Wu, the prince recited the right to inherit the throne. Wang Cheng is just a teenager. In the face of the complex situation that the country has just been established, not yet stable, and domestic troubles and foreign invasion follow one after another, it is absolutely impossible to become a king.

The death of King Wu has made the whole country lose its center of gravity, and the situation urgently needs a talented, prestigious person who can deal with problems in time to clean up the situation. This responsibility falls on the Duke of Zhou.

Duke Zhou was king when he was in office, playing the role of king. This was a natural thing at that time. There are many records in ancient books, and the Duke of Zhou claimed to be the king. Only in the Han Dynasty, after the reunification, the Duke of Zhou claimed to be the king, and the monarchy was supreme, so that the Duke of Zhou was said to be the "Regent King" and "Pseudo King".

Baidu Encyclopedia-Duke Zhou