What is the origin of the ghost party, and why was it destroyed by the Zhou Dynasty? Archaeology: The King of Rice almost managed to turn the tables

The origin and rise and fall of the ghost party

During the period of Shang King Wuding, the Shang Dynasty reached its peak, and its territory reached the seaside in the east, the first line of Baoji in Shaanxi Province in the west, Baoding in Hebei Province in the north, and Xingan in Jiangxi Province in the south. This is inseparable from Wu Ding's continuous external expansion, and he has conquered nearly 80 Fang countries and tribes, including a special existence - Ghost Fang.

The name Ghost Fang appears frequently in pre-Qin documents and ancient texts, and the most important historical event is "Gaozong (Wuding) defeated the Ghost Fang, and the three years were kezhi". This battle not only allowed Wu Ding to completely reverse the unfavorable situation of the Shang Dynasty, but also made the Ghost Fang the most loyal vassal of the Shang Dynasty.

The so-called ghost recipe is actually an early Chinese ancestor group living in northern Shaanxi. They were relatively backward behind the Central Plains in terms of living environment and cultural development level, and it was not until the arrival of the Shang Dynasty that they were able to quickly enter the Bronze Age and fully integrate into the Shang culture.

The reason why the ghost sides were able to play an important role at the critical moment of the Shang Dynasty was their geographical location, which was adjacent to the hinterland of the Zhou Yuan in the west. The Shang Dynasty sent the ghost party to the ghost side, the purpose of which was to use the ghost party to contain the Zhou people from behind. If the ghost side can really take the opportunity of the Zhou army's eastward crusade to attack Hojing, then the king of Xuan has hope to succeed in the end.

However, Onifang's expectations were disappointed. The Zhou people skillfully rebelled against the Yin Shang nobles, including Wei Ziqi, causing the originally dominant army of the King of Zhou to collapse. Subsequently, the rise of the Western Zhou Dynasty launched an unprecedented large-scale extermination war against the ghost side, resulting in the heavy loss of the ghost population, and the extinction of culture.

As a result, the mysterious tribe Ghost Fang, which originally played an important role in the Shang Dynasty, could not escape the fate of being completely destroyed in the end. This also shows that in the tide of historical change, even the key players in geopolitics cannot escape the fate of rise and fall.

The fall of the ghost side and the rise of the Zhou dynasty

Although the ghost side played an important role in the critical moments of the Shang Dynasty, the expectations of the king were never fulfilled. Under the fierce attack of the Zhou people, the ghost side could not escape the doom of being destroyed in the end.

The Western Zhou Dynasty adopted unprecedented cruel methods against the ghost side. According to the unearthed inscription of Xiaoyuding, the number of prisoners captured by the Zhou army in this battle reached 13,000, and a large number of cattle and sheep were plundered, which shows that the capital of the ghost side was completely destroyed. In contrast, even in the great war of dynastic change such as King Wu's war, the Western Zhou Dynasty also adopted the Huairou policy of "establishing a prince and a father" in an attempt to maintain ties with the old ministers of the Shang Dynasty.

Such a ruthless catastrophe against the ghost side may be related to its long-term harassment and containment of the Zhou Yuan region. As an important vassal of the northwest Shang Dynasty, the ghost side often posed a threat to the Zhou people, and this estrangement and resentment finally broke out at a critical moment. The Zhou people shattered the resistance of the ghost party in one fell swoop, and such a complete act of destruction shows their deep hatred for this old enemy.

The fall of the ghost side also marked the complete decline of the Shang Dynasty's power in the northwest. At the same time, the strength of the Zhou dynasty was further enhanced. Taking advantage of the strategic gap of the Shang army's eastward departure, King Wu of Zhou launched a war to destroy the Shang Dynasty that shook the past and the present, and finally won a decisive victory. The destruction of the ghost side freed up the northwest hinterland for the Zhou people, clearing the way for them to seize the Central Plains.

It can be said that the fate of the ghost side determines the general trend of the replacement of Shang and Zhou to a certain extent. As the last reliance of the Shang Dynasty, it could not escape the fate of annihilation in the end. The Zhou Dynasty took advantage of the situation, Ding broke the Shang Dynasty, took control of the Central Plains, and opened a new era of Chinese civilization.

Although there are still many unsolved mysteries about the rise and fall of the ghost fang, from the perspective of the entire historical process, the role it played at the critical moment of the replacement of the Shang and Zhou dynasties undoubtedly had a profound impact on the development process of Chinese civilization. As a mysterious tribe that once belonged to the territory of the Shang Dynasty but was eventually completely wiped out, its fate undoubtedly rings the bell of history for us, and warns us that under the impetus of the wheel of history, no existence can escape the rise and fall of certainty.