Chapter 2: The Tangled Web of Relationships

As the political, economic, military, and cultural systems successively collapsed, the authority of the Zhou royal family plummeted, barely surviving under the dominance of various powerful feudal lords. Yet, life was no easier for these lords themselves; they faced increasing pressure from ministers, officials, and even scholars, sparking a profound upheaval characterized by the overthrow of the established order. It is no wonder that Confucius lamented famously, "Rituals break down, music decays." These conditions arose from the disintegration of the Zhou’s central institutional system.

In simple terms, the patriarchal clan system was a structure that allocated rights and property based on blood relations. It had a long history; archaeological evidence shows its embryonic form existed as early as the Shang dynasty. The Western Zhou dynasty reformed and developed this system to better suit the political and economic climate of the time. The patriarchal system mandated that only the eldest legitimate son could inherit the throne—a principle known as “succession by primogeniture.” Other sons born to concubines were considered illegitimate and were granted fiefs in various regions, becoming feudal lords themselves. This hierarchy extended downward: within each vassal state, the eldest legitimate son inherited the lordship, while illegitimate sons were appointed as ministers, whose illegitimate sons became officials, and so on, gradually diluting blood ties so that former nobles could become commoners.

This design created a vast, pyramidal ruling class. Within this complex and tightly woven system, everyone’s status was relative. The Son of Heaven, at the pyramid’s apex, was the supreme patriarch. The feudal lords were lesser patriarchs relative to the king but were patriarchs within their own domains. Thus, the political authority of the Son of Heaven as monarch was absolute, and as the clan leader, he held bloodline advantages, overseeing ancestral rites and maintaining the sacred status of clan worship. This chain extended down to feudal lords, ministers, officials, and scholars alike. The patriarchal system fused political power with clan authority, tightly binding them and thereby solidifying the Zhou royal family's rule. The power of the Zhou king stemmed precisely from this system.

Frankly put, it was a system based on blood relations and connections.

However, times inevitably change, and cracks gradually appeared within the patriarchal system. For example, King You of Zhou infatuated with Bao Si and made her son, Prince Bofu, crown prince, thereby undermining the principle of primogeniture. Although King You arrogantly tried to cover up this violation by deposing his former queen and elevating Bao Si as queen, such self-deception could not alter the fact that he brazenly trampled ancestral rules, ultimately leading to the collapse of his kingdom and his demise.

King You set a bad example, and unfortunately, many of his descendants followed suit. During the Spring and Autumn period, discontented illegitimate sons frequently allied with ministers or powerful lords to usurp the throne, leading to frequent internal strife within the royal family. In the third year of King Zhuang of Zhou (694 BCE), the powerful minister Duke Heijian of Zhou, also known as Duke Huan of Zhou, dissatisfied with King Zhuang’s rule shortly after his ascension, plotted regicide and coup to replace him with Prince Ke. Luckily, the plot was exposed by Xin Bo, leading to Duke Heijian’s death and Prince Ke’s exile to the State of Yan.

In the third year of King Xiang of Zhou (649 BCE), his half-brother Prince Dai conspired with the western Rong and northern Di tribes to rebel. Although King Xiang struck first and expelled Prince Dai to the State of Qi, the prince was undeterred. In the sixteenth year of King Xiang (636 BCE), with support from some royal ministers and the northern Di tribe, Prince Dai seized Chengzhou, forcing King Xiang to flee to the State of Zheng. It was only when Duke Wen of Jin led troops to suppress the rebellion and killed Prince Dai that King Xiang regained the throne.

Such turmoil intensified. In the twenty-fourth year of King Jing of Zhou (520 BCE), upon his death, the rightful heir, Prince Meng, was bypassed in favor of his illegitimate elder brother, Prince Chao, whom King Jing favored and designated as successor. A power struggle ensued. Although Prince Meng declared himself king, he was soon killed by Prince Chao, and after Prince Meng’s son, Prince Kuo, ascended the throne, he fought Prince Chao for three years.

In the twenty-eighth year of King Ding of Zhou (441 BCE), after King Ding’s death, his heir Quji succeeded but was assassinated within three months by his brother Prince Shu, who was in turn killed five months later by another brother, Prince Wei. By this late Spring and Autumn period, the internal and external crises of the Zhou royal house had reached a critical point, ultimately leading to its fragmentation. Prince Wei, upon ascending, enfeoffed his son Prince Ban in Gong (modern southwestern Gongyi, Henan), which later split off as the Eastern Zhou kingdom.

With such internal chaos within the royal family, the politically and economically dominant vassal states no longer respected the Zhou king and often meddled in royal family disputes. Meanwhile, ministers and officials within these states also frequently instigated internal conflicts over rulership. According to later historians’ analysis of historical records, during the entire Spring and Autumn period, 43 rulers were killed by their ministers or rival states, with countless ministers and officials dying in these upheavals.

As the patriarchal system crumbled, the "hereditary official system" for selecting officials also faltered. With the rise of ministers, officials, and even lower nobles, these groups leveraged their numbers to participate widely in governance, gaining access to the centers of power. Even Confucius, who championed traditional rites and music, came from modest noble origins; his father was a low-ranking noble, yet Confucius himself once served as the Minister of Justice in the State of Lu, holding significant power.

The changes in the official selection system also transformed the stipend system. Originally, the patriarchal system worked hand in hand with the well-field system, distributing land as payment for officials’ service. However, with the increasing number of officials, the rise of commodity economy, and the privatization and trade of land, land became insufficient for distribution. Consequently, stipends shifted to grain payments.

The Book of Songs states: "The vassals are our ramparts, the great lords our walls; the great states are our shields, the great clans our wings. Those who cherish virtue bring peace; the clan’s sons are the city’s walls. Let not the city walls fall; let none be afraid." This poetic praise likens the patriarchal system to a strong, impenetrable fortress. Yet, during the Spring and Autumn era, this seemingly invincible fortress was battered and broken by the tides of history.

When King Wu overthrew King Zhou at the Battle of Muye, ending the Shang dynasty and establishing the Western Zhou dynasty, the rulers sought to consolidate power by granting fiefs to the royal family and meritorious ministers according to the patriarchal system. During the reigns of King Wu, Duke of Zhou, and King Cheng, 71 states were enfeoffed. As the Zhou dynasty expanded and noble offspring increased, the number of feudal states multiplied. By the Spring and Autumn period, there were reportedly over a thousand states. Naturally, these ranged in size, and not all were recorded in historical texts. Scholars studying Spring and Autumn warfare records have identified 148 states, with 14 major powers including Qi, Jin, Chu, Qin, Lu, Cao, Zheng, Song, Wei, Yan, Chen, Cai, Wu, and Yue.

The gradual reduction in the number of feudal states mainly stemmed from the Western Zhou enfeoffment system, which strictly limited the territorial jurisdiction of lords, forbidding arbitrary changes or migrations. Yet, the power of various lords varied, creating strong and weak states. Over time, some states with vast lands and sound governance expanded their influence beyond their original territories, establishing spheres of power.

Within these spheres, smaller states became vassals or were outright conquered by stronger states. Such dynamics already existed during the Western Zhou period, but by the Spring and Autumn era, the Zhou royal house’s weakening grip made it unable to effectively regulate affairs among the vassal states. Ambitious lords frequently waged fierce wars of annexation, with smaller states falling one after another. According to Qing dynasty scholar Gu Donggao’s statistics, during the Spring and Autumn period, Qi annexed ten states, Jin eighteen, Chu forty-two, while medium-sized lords like Lu annexed nine and Song six.

Located west of Mount Tai, the State of Lu was in the southwestern corner of Qi. Originally a fief of the Duke of Zhou and closely related to the royal family, Lu enjoyed special privileges. The Book of Songs contains the verse: “The king said to his uncle, ‘You are a worthy first son; make him lord of Lu, to open wide and build a home, to support the Zhou house.’”

In the south was the State of Chu. Its ancestor, Xiong Ze, was said to descend from Zhu Rong. Though enfeoffed by King Wen of Zhou, Chu’s location beyond the central plains meant it was long regarded as barbarian territory and marginalized by the states of the central plain. Yet, during the reigns of Kings Zhao and Mu of Zhou, Chu fiercely contested with the Western Zhou court, forcing the Zhou to establish the State of Shen in the south as a buffer against Chu. By the early Spring and Autumn period, Chu had grown strong enough to proclaim itself king, standing on equal footing with the Zhou monarch.

In the west was Qin, like Chu, claiming noble descent from Bo Yi, a key aide to the legendary Yu the Great during his flood control efforts. Due to its remote location, Qin was considered a barbarian state until Duke Xiang of Qin, during King Ping's eastward move of the capital, earned recognition and was formally enfeoffed as a lord. Qin then inherited former royal lands of Western Zhou and gradually grew into a regional hegemon.

To the north were Jin and Yan. Jin was the fief of Tang Shuyu, the younger brother of King Cheng of Zhou, originally known as the State of Tang. It was renamed Jin due to the Jin River. Jin participated in the relocation of the capital eastward under King Ping. During the Spring and Autumn period, Jin was plagued by internal rebellions, including situations where junior branches usurped senior ones. Nevertheless, Jin’s strength remained formidable, playing a pivotal role in the political arena.

Northeast of Jin was Yan, founded by the Duke of Zhao, a contemporary of Duke of Zhou. Yan’s remote northeast location limited its activity during the Spring and Autumn period, though it retained favor due to its direct royal lineage and thus avoided marginalization by central plain states.

In the central plain, near the Zhou royal family, numerous vassal states interwove like teeth of a comb. Among the larger ones, the State of Zheng stood out. Founded when King Xuan of Zhou enfeoffed his brother Prince You, Zheng flourished due to Prince You’s political acumen, who preemptively moved people and wealth during the late Western Zhou chaos. Zheng not only escaped damage but gained status during King Ping’s eastward move, becoming a major power in the early Spring and Autumn period.

East of Zheng lay the State of Song, founded by descendants of the Shang royal family. Originally placed in the central plains to be supervised by the Zhou royals, Song briefly rose to prominence during the Spring and Autumn period due to its advantageous position. Unfortunately, its power was short-lived, and it eventually became a battleground for competing forces, bringing suffering to its people.

The State of Wei, also significant, was an ancient fief granted to Kang Shu, son of King Wen of Zhou. Wei was politically active during the Spring and Autumn period, though surprisingly, perhaps due to its small size and relative insignificance, it failed to attract much attention from other states. Wei’s name persisted until the reign of the Second Emperor of Qin, when it was finally abolished.

By the late Spring and Autumn period, the southeastern states of Wu and Yue, located in modern Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, rose to prominence. Originally considered barbarian lands by the central plains states, both Wu and Yue eventually amassed strong enough power to claim dominance over the central plains.

Thus, the once tightly controlled Zhou feudal system gradually fractured, giving rise to a complex and volatile political landscape that defined the Spring and Autumn era.