Western Zhou was originally a western prince of the Shang Dynasty, but after a long period of development, the Shang Dynasty was finally destroyed. Although Western Zhou did not destroy the Shang until the time of King Wu of Zhou and completed the great cause of building the country, it was King Wu's father, King Wen of Zhou, who really laid the pattern of destroying shang. According to History, King Wen of Zhou had already "divided the world into two of the three" (Analects of Taibo), thus establishing a dominant position over the Shang.
Therefore, the reign of King Wen of Zhou was very important to the development and growth of Western Zhou, and the Zhou people also attributed the beginning of their dynasty to the period of King Wen of Zhou.
Sima Qian said of him: "Obey the work of Hou Ji and Gong Liu, then the law of the ancient Gong and Gong Ji, Du Ren, respect for the elderly, and compassion for the young." The sages do not have time to eat during the day to wait for the soldiers, and the soldiers return to them. Bo Yi and Shu Qi are in lonely bamboo, smelling Xi Boshan's pension, and returning to it. The disciples of Tai Qian, Hong Yao, San Yisheng, Mane, and Xin Jia Dafu all returned to them. In particular, the practice of "courtesy to the sages" has led to the attribution of a large number of sages, including Jiang Ziya.
When he heard that the Western Zhou monarch Ji Chang was thirsty for wisdom, Jiang Ziya left Chaoge and went to the Weishui River southwest of the Qishan Mountains in the Western Zhou territory. He stayed by the River and fished every day at a tributary of Weishui, observing changes in the social situation while waiting for an opportunity.
However, Jiang Ziya was not fishing, because his hook was straight, and he did not hang on the bait, so he threw it into the water. Once, a woodcutter passed by and saw Jiang Ziya fishing like this, and he was very puzzled: "Old man, how can you be hooked by such a fish?" But he stood still, looked at the fishing rod and said to himself, "As long as the fish are willing, they will be hooked!" ”
Soon, there was a strange old man by the Weishui River, and the news that fishing with straight hooks and no bait spread, and finally reached Ji Chang's ears.
Ji Chang thought to himself: This person's words and deeds are strange, maybe he is not an idle person, maybe he is looking for a sage. So, on the pretext of hunting, he went to the edge of the WeiShui River, and sure enough, he found a strange old man fishing.
He went up to talk to him and found that the old man had a great conversation and profound insight, and the two of them hated each other late. Then, Ji Chang asked him about the situation in the world and the strategy of governing the country and the country.
Jiang Ziya believes that in order to govern the country and rejuvenate the country, it is necessary to appoint people on the basis of merit, attach importance to the discovery and selection of talents, and coincide with Ji Chang's original ideas. Ji Chang was very happy and said, "I have prophesied the Emperor Taigong, 'When there are saints to the Zhou, the Zhou will prosper.'" You're the saint, aren't you? I'm too long-time! Therefore, later generations of people called Jiang Ziya "Taigong Wang".
Jiang Shang, fame. Lü Shi (Lü Shi), also known as Lü Shang (Lü Shang), was also known as "Tai Gong Wang" (太公望) because he was the ancestor of the State of Qi, commonly known as Jiang Taigong (江太公). East Sea coastal people.
According to legend, Jiang Shang's ancestors were nobles, an official of the Shun period, who was enfeoffed in Lü (Nanyang, Henan) for his merits, so he was named Lü Shang.) Ancient Chinese surnames were a product of matriarchal clan society, so "surname" means "girl".
Later, in a surname, it was mainly male, which was the surname, and after the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States, there were more and more clans, and the surname and the surname gradually merged into one, that is, the current surname.
Later, the family fell in the middle of the road, and by the time Jiang Shang was still poor. In order to make ends meet, the young Jiang Shang slaughtered cattle and sold meat in the Shang capital Chaoge (Qi County, Henan), and went to Mengjin (northeast of Mengjin County, Henan) to sell wine.
Although he was born poor, he had great ambitions, studied diligently, explored the way to govern the country and rejuvenate the country, and hoped that one day he would be able to develop his grand plans and serve the country. Relying on "Bowen" to take the path of learning and excellence, "tasting things", serving the King of Shang in the Shang Dynasty. Later, because there is no way out, it will "go". After "lobbying the princes", he traveled around the world in an attempt to find a platform to display his talents, but he "encountered nothing" and had no way to serve the country.
Until the twilight years, he finally waited for Ji Chang.
Ji Chang asked Jiang Ziya to come out of the mountain, assist him in completing the grand plan to destroy the Shang, and made Jiang Shang a Taishi, while taking charge of the army and political affairs.
In order to thank Ji Chang for his kindness, Jiang Ziya formulated a series of correct domestic and foreign policies for Qiang Zhou to eliminate business.
Internally, the peasants helped to cultivate the public land to pay one-ninth of the tax, the eight families each divided the private land of 100 acres, and the officials of all sizes had land to share, and the descendants inherited it, as an economic policy such as Feng Lu, promoted the development of production, and laid an economic foundation for the extinction of businessmen.
Externally, he continued to serve the Shang Dynasty obediently on the surface, so as not to arouse the suspicion of the King of Shang, but secretly won over his neighbors, co-opted, and disintegrated the allies of the Yin Shang Dynasty, weakening and isolating the Shang Dynasty in order to weaken and isolate the Shang Dynasty, such as destroying chong, an important ally of the western Shang.
Under the administration of Jiang Ziya, more and more princely states and tribes were subordinated to King Wen of Zhou, gradually "controlling" most of the territories of the Shang Dynasty, and the situation of "three parts of the world and two returning to Zhou" appeared, laying the foundation for replacing Yin Shang.
After King Wen's death, King Wu took the throne, and at this time the basic work of destroying the Shang was completed. Jiang Ziya consulted with King Wu to check whether the various princely states obeyed orders, and also to test the military strength of the Shang Dynasty.
Therefore, Jiang Ziya ordered the three armies to set off and agreed on a time and place for assembly. Although this military operation did not test the military strength of the King of Shang, it also tested the appeal of the Western Zhou. This meeting is known in history as the "Meeting of the League".
Two years later, the brutality of the Shang King increased unabated, and the division of his internal ruling group became more and more obvious, and the best time to destroy the Shang Dynasty Shang had arrived.
Jiang Ziya and King Wu sent troops to cut down the silk and gave two reasons: one was that the king of Shang was guilty of a felony, and the other was under the banner of avenging King Wen.
In 1046 BC, the two armies fought at Makino, known in history as the Battle of Makino.
According to the "Chronicle of Zhou Benji", just after the war, king Wu sent Shi Shangfu and Centurion to the division, and the emperor was the master of the emperor. That is, Jiang Ziya first led a hundred warriors to fight in the enemy position, show military might, and destroy the morale of the enemy army.
Then, Prince Wu led the main force of the Zhou Division to attack the enemy position from the front, and finally overthrew the brutal rule of the King of Shang.
After the founding of the Zhou Dynasty, Jiang Shang was enfeoffed with Qi for his meritorious efforts in destroying merchants.