By the Mandate of Heaven: Part 2. Heaven's Law: 天命: 天法至高

Original Character Art by: Xianglong Meng

Our story begins with a whole realm in flames, the realm that was only 3 years ago united under the Zhou. The year was 1042 and the realm was once again poised on a knife's edge. On one side, the recent Zhou underdogs who had toppled the powerful Shang dynasty that had reigned supreme in central China for some 500 years, on the other side, marching against them, much of the recently dissolved Shang kingdom, led by none other than 3 of the most powerful Zhou princes. This was the most perilous hour of early Zhou, for Zhou does not even a strong king upon its throne, only a child and his mentor and guardian. 

Here, 1 century after the Homeric Trojan War, and 1 century before Biblical King David, Classical China was born in battle, again.

But the young king's mentor was no ordinary man. For he would later became the hero of Confucius, and many sagely future Chinese emperors, and one of the most revered paragons of Chinese civilization. He was none other than the architect of the idea of the "Mandate of Heaven." This would not only be a desperate war that test the Zhou dynasty in its cradle, but would be the war that cemented China's political and ideological framework for the next 3000 years. Here, Heaven's nature was proven in battle.

Music: Interlude

THE MOST CRITICAL HOUR OF EARLY ZHOU

Our story takes place almost right after the meteoric ascension of Zhou against their former overlords. The origin of Zhou's rise and rivalry with Shang, and its subsequent defeat of Shang in battle are extensively covered in our previous chapter. In summary, after suffering many injustices at the hands of their former masters and faced with repeated attempt at containing Zhou's rise (including imprisoning the Zhou patriarch at Shang hands) the aggrieved Zhou eventually amassed a massive vengeful army in the west. 

Then, on On May 28th, 1059 BC, there was a massive planetary alignment right on the visible part of the southern skies, where 5 of the visible planets all gathered together in a straight row upon the night sky. Using this unmistakable sign upon the heavens that was visible to all, the Zhou- under the able leadership of the energetic warrior King Wu and his astute younger brother Duke Wen declared that this was the "Mandate of Heaven" which sanctioned their coming war against the Shang. 

Shang (Red) and Zhou (Blue.) The Zhou had been Shang vassals for several generations until its patriarch Count Ji Chang was imprisoned.

King Wu and Duke Wen soon rallied the west and invaded the Shang heartlands in the east. Their attack was momentous, and despite the Shang's attempt to gather their own massive army, the Shang and the Shang king were resounded defeated. Here, feudal China was born, where the Shang heartland was delegated to many of King Wu's brothers and allies.

But although the Shang royal Di clan was displaced, Zhou's initial consolidation of power was for the most part merciful. Despite having forced the last Shang King Di Xin to commit suicide, King Wu spared the last King's crown prince, and even gave him his father's capital to rule under his own right. Similarly, Wu was also merciful to the great majority of the former Shang ministers, who once upon a time had respected the Zhou patriarch in the court and valued him as an able man. 

For the most part Zhou's takeover was relegated to displacing the upper most echelons of Shang. King Wu then spent the next 3 years consolidating the Zhou position and forging new ties with the Shang old guards. 

Music: Way of the Open Palm

However, right at this precarious time, King Wu died, having been on the throne for only 3 years, passing his throne to his underaged son and appointing his brother Duke Wen as the child's mentor and guardian while appointing the other younger brother Duke Shao as the Grand Protector and other mentor of the young king. King Wu's death and Wen's ascension would lit the only recently united realm on fire.

Political map right after the Zhou victory over the Shang at Muye. After the decisive Zhou victory, King Wu swiftly positioned many of his 16 brothers and half brothers as the head of many of the key sectors in the Shang heartlands. However he did not follow up with victory with a purge of the Shang royal leadership and its loyalists. He even allowed the crown prince of the fallen King to retain his ancestral Shang capital at Yin and retain it as his own domain. Though in order to ensure that he does not rebel, King Wu eventually positioned 3 of his younger brothers around Yin as its "3 Wardens."

THE THREE WARDENS

The main instigators of this war were the three wardens. Their names where Guanshu Xian, Caishu Du, and Huoshu Chu and all 3 were King Wu's brothers. They were 3 of Zhou's most powerful princes and originally, the three had been entrenched with their own fiefs around the former Shang capital of Yin as counterweights. Though King Wu had not slain the Shang crown prince Wu Geng (he had escaped his father's tyrannical rule to the Zhou court in the west before Zhou's rebellion so the Zhou considered him as some what of an "insider.") But because of his blood and the desire for many in the former Shang heartlands to see a Shang restoration, King Wu still tried to keep watch on his power.

The three brothers were known as the Three Wardens 三监 or Three Overseers, and they were tasked with keeping an eye on the Shang prince's domains. They were to make sure the prince did not gather an army or gain the support of the people, and they were to report any suspicious activity to the king. For many years, the three brothers carried out their duties faithfully and without incident. However, tensions within the royal family soon began to boil over when the three great lords became suspicious of their brother Duke Wen's regency.

King Wu surrounded Yin with these 3 Wardens, or 3 Overseers with their own great armies to guarantee good behavior from Wu Geng. Furthermore they were also positioned at the heartland's traffic nexus so that they could swiftly fall on any troublesome frontiers in force. The eastern part of old Shang- which bordered many Dongyi barbarian tribes had shared centuries of intermarriages and diplomatic ties, and after Shang's fall there were still considered Shang cultural strongholds. And it was during this highly tension wracked time that King Wu died. Almost instantly, the 3 brothers did not take kindly to the news of Duke Wen's position and his appointment as regent. 

Due to the long gulf of distance between us and this time we can only speculate as to the true intentions of the 3 Wardens. But modern historians pointed out the fact that in those times travel time was very long, and travelling from what was Henan, the Shang heartland where the 3 brothers were located and Shaanxi, where the Zhou royal court was held, took a very long time even on chariots and wagons and would need some times longer than 40-50 days. Thus when the double blow news reached the 3 brothers that King Wu had already long died and now that they are taking direct orders from a king who is under the near total influence of their brother, they may be genuinely be suspicious of Duke Wen's motives and feared he might have hijacked the court. 

The young Cheng of Zhou was- according to traditional Zhou sources to have only been a minor at the time of his father's death. His uncle, Duke of Zhou, fearing that Shang forces might rise again under the possible weak rule of a young ruler, became the regent and supervised government affairs for several years. However Duke Wen's 3 brothers disputed this and saw it as a gross overreach.

What's more, the eldest of the 3 Wardens, Guanshu Xian was older than Duke Wen in seniority and resented being delegated to by a younger brother. Also, As the news of King Wu's death spread throughout what was Shang, a sense of unease and uncertainty began to take hold. Despite the Zhou king's attempts at reconciliation towards the people of Shang, three years were nowhere enough have patched up most of the wounds. And there were still many who resented the Zhou's rule and saw this as an opportunity to rise up against their conquerors. Travelling along with this news were rumors that said the King's younger brother Duke Wen, long thought to be a good and just minister, had taken control of the kingdom. Soon the 3 Wardens began to mobilize their own armies in rebellion, what's more? They began to fish out any and all who would war against the Zhou court in the West, including their Shang charge Wu Geng, and many hostile tribes in the east.

Music: Way of the Open Palm

DUKE WEN'S REGENCY COURT

Duke Wen of Zhou, or Duke of Zhou 周文公 Ji Dan was a brilliant man. Born the 4th son of his father Ji Chang the "Count of the West" (later posthumously King Wen of Zhou,) Duke Wen inherited both his father's studious acumen and also charismatic eloquence. An extremely learned and courteous gentleman, he was attributed to have popularized the concept of the "Mandate of Heaven" a clever rhetorical tool to justify Zhou's conquest and also being the bulwark of early Zhou through a number of crises since his youth. 

Once, together, King Wu and Duke Wen were responsible to have shepherded Zhou when their father was unjustly imprisoned by the Shang. Under their combined leadership, instead of falling during this dangerous time, the Zhou became stronger.

Perhaps Zhou should be judged in the absence of its once- indispensable lord. For while the patriarch was imprisoned, in the dreaded power vacuum, 2 of his sons became even greater than he ever was. 

Wén 文 "civil" and wǔ 武 "martial" - was a critical concept in Chinese philosophy and political culture describing seemingly opposing yet complementary spheres of civil ① and military ② arenas of government. The saying 文武両道: or "Civil and martial both ways" or "Civil and martial mastery" describes the essential need for the ruler to staff his regime with both of these types of men. Such was the synergy of the "martial" King "Wu," and the "cultured" (or "learned") Duke "Wen."

Music: Way of the Closed Fist

ALL CAME UNDONE

Enraged by this betrayal, the three brothers quickly coordinated with each other and mobilized their armies of soldiers and chariots westward. The whole kingdom was soon engulfed in rebellion, as the three brothers led their armies across the heartland regions of the realm, spreading the word of their righteous cause. Behind the 3 Wardens marched an unlikely Chimerical gathering of armies, a core of Zhou princely armies, followed by Wu Geng's Shang guards from Yin, then behind him, huge desperate but determined troops of Shang revanchists from all corner of the heartlands.

But this was only a foretaste of Zhou's many, many enemies. Joining this chimera of opportunists, traitors, and violent freedom fighters were even more enemies. In the east of the Shang realm, soon, armies from the Dongyi tribes to the east of old Shang soon crossed the borders and joined the rebels. The Dongyi had long been traditional Shang allies and held special relations and esteem with the Shang royal family. But what's more was another totally unexpected force, the confederacy of Xu tribes beside the nearby Huai river. Despite the fact that the Xu had no quarrels with Zhou, and had long tried to maintain distance and isolation from the Shang, they too joined this chimera against the Zhou and began to plunder the heartlands to their heart's content. It was a cocktail of chaos. As the rebellion began to gain momentum, the young king and his advisors were caught off guard. They had not expected such a coordinated uprising. The 3 wardens were able to capture key cities and strongholds, and they began to gain the upper hand. 

The whole realm erupted into chaos as the 3 brothers led their rebellion, taking over heartland regions of the only recently pacified Shang realm. The situation quickly deteriorated. They even convinced Wu Geng, the former Shang prince whom they were originally tasked with watching over, to join their cause. Using him as a beacon, soon came ever greater forces of Shang sympathizers and revanchists from all over the realm. Suddenly, true Zhou influence were no more than they were a generation ago from before the battle of Muye. Nearly all became undone.

Any nation faced with this magnitude of massive threat in their infancy might have buckled, but Zhou was not any other nation and the Duke was no ordinary guardian. Instead, Duke Wen went on the offensive himself, then sent out letters coordinating with the few enclave of Zhou remnants still remained in the east. The Duke was not alone in this endeavor either, because the King had a star- studded team of advisors as well. 

Do not forget that both the late King Wen and King Wu of Zhou had assembled a star- studded court of polymaths, peerless warriors, and virtuous ministers all under their roof. Though the rebels might have a major numerical advantage, the topmost leadership of Zhou at this time had a roster of peerless talented ministers. The King's own grandfather, and the late King Wu's father- in- law Zhang Ziya was a polymath of both war and governance and could be considered the Sun Tzu and Lao Tzu of this age wrapped in one. He was reputedly one of the first authors of military stratagems in ancient China and the founder of the powerful Duchy of Qi which became the first Hegemon of the Spring and Autumns era.

Many of the rest of the late King Wu's brothers, including the powerful Duke of Shao, who was the Grand Protector 太保 and other mentor of the King, and Jiang Ziya, the grandfather of King Cheng and polymath minister also sided with the king and the royal court. Each of those men- because of their contributions of this war would be rewarded a great fief of their own and became founders of one of the great states of the Spring and Autumns era.  

Music: Mobilize

HEAVEN'S WAR 2:0: RECONQUEST OF THE EAST

Although the Zhou were initially trapped in their western heartlands. Duke Wen quickly organized an eastern campaign against the wardens, and loyalist Zhou holdouts who were trapped in the east also joined the fight. 

The details of troop deployment and campaigns of this reconquest are scant, but we can still gleam much from the participants of this campaign. In the far east of the realm, there were several scant enclaves of Zhou loyalists that held out despite being surrounded and besieged by the rebels. 

Despite being outnumbered, Wen's forces were able to break through into the Shang heartlands and scatter the Warden's armies. 

Realizing that time is of the essence and that the Warden's rebellion was still gathering momentum and not at a critical mass yet. Duke Wen ordered the royal army to breakthrough eastward against the territory of Huo- owned by the youngest of the 3 Wardens. The royal army soon prevailed and overmatched the Huo defenders, gaining access to the rolling flatlands of the Henan heartland. This now allowed the Zhou loyalists to make contact with their first unyielding ally in the east at Wei- commanded by a loyal younger brother of King Wu (Spelled as "Wey" to denote their difference from the kingdom of Wei that emerged in the latter Warring States period,) who stubbornly resisted the rebels all by themselves. 

Turning his ire directly on the ringleaders, in an effort to decapitate the rebel leadership, Duke Wen, after having re-vassalized Huo then swiftly turned his attention to both the east and the south. Soon his eyes were set on Yin. 

Music: Fires of Chaos

Now, the combined Zhou + Wei army marched with renewed momentum and swung in 2 direction, one kept the other Wardens under pressure while the other headed straight to the Shang remnant capital at Yin. Neutralizing Wu Geng means that the Shang revanchists will not longer have a figurehead to rally to, and the Zhou forces quickly surrounded Yin. Knocking out old Shang's beating heart was also critical to stymie the tide of eastern barbarians coming to join the Shang restoration cause. 

After a series of fierce battles, Duke Wen emerged victorious, his army managed to subdue all 3 of the Wardens, and Wen dealt with them each befitting the degree of participation they had in the uprising. The eldest of the Wardens Guanshu Xian had died in battle and Wen ordered the confiscation of his fief, he then ordered the imprisonment and banishment of the 2nd, after also stripping away his fief, and finally the demotion of the third to be a commoner, since the Huo lands were already defeated and captured there was no need to move against his already confiscated possessions. All of their surrendered armies were reincorporated into the royal army.

As for Yin, the Zhou army warred with the Shang defenders until Wu Geng was personally killed in battle in the 2nd year of the rebellion. With his death the city was sacked by the victorious Zhou soldiers, and the last and most serious threat Shang posed removed. 

Though other branches of the Shang royal family survived, some were even elevated into great nobles by the Zhou Kings (such as the state of Song, which traces its lineage to Shang and ruled in a Shang- styled Ultimogeniture rule) for most traditions, here the Shang rule truly ended. Within 2 years, much of the rebellion in the heartland had been put down and its leaders quelled, only the eastern theater against the trespassing barbarian remained. But this was only the beginning. Duke Wen soon followed the reconquest of the east with a renewed measure of consolidation of powers for the Zhou in these regions. 

After a series of battles, the war was ended and one of the wardens was executed, another was banished, and the position of the third was stripped. Yin was sacked and Wu Geng was killed in battle. But instead of turning the affair into a vengeance fueled holocausts, Duke Wen instead opted for demotion, redistribution, and most of all reform through institutionalization. In order to reconsolidate the Zhou position in these lands. Duke Wen resolved to do so through creating internal nobles and destroying external invaders.

Music: Congress at Xian-Yang

THE BIRTH OF FEUDAL CHINA

In order to further solidify Zhou control over these troubled former Shang heartlands, Wen further redistributed the Shang heartland among loyalist families and established a formal hierarchy of hereditary nobility that's tied to these lands. Much of the key river lands were portioned to King Wu's remaining brothers, and key allies who had aided Zhou. Then, lands at key road junctions and posts were delegated to loyal Zhou and Shang nobles who had aided in the Zhou cause. The rest of the Shang nobility were also inducted into this new system with mostly corresponding ranks. Having now checkerboarded the heartlands horizontally in ally's hands and established a hierarchy of reciprocal relations between lords and vassals, what's more, inducted the remaining Shang nobility into this new formal system of peerage, Zhou rule was again secured in these regions. In the end, institutionalization and the continual proselytization of the narrative of the Mandate of Heaven allowed Zhou to entrench themselves into these regions and assimilate it to Zhou dominion. 

Ironically, the Rebellion of the 3 Guards was the last major instance of realistic Shang restoration. There would be minor attempts for underground Shang loyalists to resurrect the dynasty, but they would only be localized. And after some a century of Zhou rule such incidents would never materialize again. If anything, the Rebellion was a rat king that doomed and killed each of the potential disloyal elements that resisted the Zhou rule, and where as in an alternative scenario they might have persisted underground for years and even decades. For them to all join this rebellion and outing themselves actually allowed Duke Wen to stomp out all of the dynasty's enemies. What followed, was a full century of Zhou expansion and a golden age.

BOLD EASTERN EXPANSIONS

With these measures in place, Duke Wen then turned his attention to the east and launched a punitive campaign to conquer and pacify the barbarian tribes of the Yan, Feng, and Bogu (Pugu,) and in the south ordered another army to assault the Xu confederacy by the Huai river. In these campaigns, Duke Wen proved to be ruthlessly effective and conquered all 3 of the Dongyi states once loyal to Shang, Yan, Feng, and Bogu were annexed and given to key Zhou allies, and in turn were transformed into the states of Qi, Yan, and Lu. Respectively led by Jiang Ziya's Jiang clan in Qi, new Yan (N Yan denoted formerly) given to Duke of Shao, who was the Grand Protector 太保 and other mentor of the King, and finally Lu, for himself. Lu would be ruled by the favorite son of Duke Wen. Simultaneously the southern army tasked with crushing Xu also succeeded in their mission and the Xu tribes all submitted to the Zhou as overlord for nearly a century.

The last phase of the Rebellion. By the 3rd year, Duke Wen personally led a massive campaign eastward against the various tribes that had dared to join the 3 Wardens. In all, dozens of tribes were subjugated or destroyed, several major Dongyi states were vanquished, and hundreds of tribes were assimilated. Not content with this, A further campaign was launched in the south against the Xu Confederacy and made it a vassal to the Zhou. By the end of the rebellion, Zhou was the undisputed hegemonic power in East Asia and a golden age of culture and internal stability began.

SALVATOR OF THE KINGDOM 

In this most trying of crises, upon this shaky throne, Duke Wen had done the impossible. He took control of a court that was besieged and burning and not only put things back in order but drastically strengthened the Zhou until it subdued all of its warring rivals and led it on the path to a new golden age.

In the end Duke Wen became one of the most respected figures at court, and after his campaigns would serve the young King Cheng for several years longer as his regent. During these years he tutored the king on kingly etiquettes and kingly duties in rewards and punishments. Because of the foundation Wen had set up, for the next 2 generations Zhou would be internally stable and its subjects in the interior (the former Shang heartlands) without great hardship. In order to cultivate the populace, Wen oversaw the establishment of schools and temples and even built a new holy city at Chengzhou around 1038 BC. Laid out according to exact geomantic principles, Chengzhou was the home of King Cheng, the Shang nobility, and the nine tripod cauldrons symbolic of imperial rule, while the Duke continued to administer the kingdom from the former western capital of Haojing. 

In the end, Wen's victory allowed Zhou to completely consolidate its control over the Shang and establish itself as the dominant force in the region. What's more, because of his ability abroad and within, and with the alleviation he brought to the subjects in the heartlands, in time, with the hindsight of his new subjects he earned the legitimacy that was befitting a winner of the Mandate of Heaven. Then, once Cheng came of age, Duke Wen dutifully gave up his position without trouble and took up an official ministerial position serving beside King Cheng. After this, he retired. And when he died, he died during the golden age he helped to usher.

Music: Oogway Ascends

THE DUKE RETIRES

So passes the man who was instrumental in shepherding the state during his father's unjust imprisonment, who was a dutiful brother who helped his brother claim the throne, and when the realm imploded with him at the helm, and where he stood between his nephew and the chimerical hydra of the clan's enemies, resoundly repelled them all in battle. 

For 3 generations, he was the salvator of Zhou who dutifully prevailed through each crisis, and was instrumental in Zhou's survival in its infancy. He was the ideological flame that electrified it's cause, the institutional ladder that allowed it to win against a mortal rival, and the geopolitical protector that buffeted all of Zhou's most dangerous foes on several fronts. What's more, Wen, at the apex of his power, stabilized the livelihood of his subjects, paved the way for a new golden age of learning and internal peace, and then gave up it all willingly. Of equals in Chinese or world history, Duke Wen had few. And in the end, ironically the Rebellion of the 3 Wardens only allowed him to prove what kind of titan he was to all.

Music: 《只此青绿》“Only This Lush Green” 

On a political level, the Zhou would go on a period of expansion in all directions for nearly a century, stretching until they reached impassable natural barriers in several directions. During this period, Zhou culture, and what would later crystalize into Chinese culture today expanded all across what is today's central China. The rebellion, plus the ensuing horizontal and vertical reforms ultimately served to strengthen Zhou and set it on a path of strength for the next 70 years. But culturally, what this war proved lasted well beyond these centuries, even that of the nearly 1 millennium span of the Zhou dynasty itself. 

On an ideological framework, Duke Wen's political thoughts would shape China for the next several millenniums, affecting both peasants who became emperors like Liu Bang and steppe Khans like Kublai who held all of China in their hands. It was here, by Duke Wen's sword and words, the Chinese outlook of irrevocably tying political order to the conducts of its leaders was established. And where the conducts of its leaders in propriety and legitimacy affected not only their dynasty but also the natural order as well. It was also here, that Chinese began to think very recognizable Chinese thoughts. After all, the posthumous title of "Wen" 文 given to the Duke meant "Culture." 

High ranking Ming dynasty nobleman in an ornate embroidered robe. Such robes were given to the best imperial scholars, emperor's own elite bodyguards, and patriarchs of the Kong family.

Addendum: Duke Wen's fief of Lu in eastern China in what is today's Shandong province for centuries was passed along his sons and grandsons. In time, a great admirer and life long fan of the Duke named Kong Qiu (Confucius) would be invited to its court as a key minister. After decades of steadfast service he eventually became the Chancellor of Lu. By that time the Lu court had degenerated into indolence and corruption, but the incorruptible Confucius protested against his Duke and went on a long self imposed exile. Eventually Confucius would return as a broken old man, feeling that he was a failure who failed to change anything in his life. Despite this, later people would greatly value Confucius' outlook. 

After the Warring States Confucius' own family would be appointed the Dukes around Lu and they would hereditarily rule these regions as its stewards for the next 2 millenniums. Even foreign Khans and rebels dared not to disrespect them and often courted them for the sake of political legitimacy. And after the ravages of the 20th century and the Cultural Revolution, even today Qufu, the temple of Confucius is still open today and often visited and managed by members of the Kong family. The culture of the Duke, his culture, endures.

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The God of Dreams: An interesting factoid is that after Duke Wen's passing he was elevated in some Chinese traditions to be the God of Dreams. Confucius, who was a life-long fan of the Duke once lamented that he had not seen Duke recently in his dreams. In time Duke Wen was associated with this passage, and that when people say they would go to sleep (and dream) they would use the idiom, "I am going off to see the Duke of Wen (in the dream.)"

On a quick side note, this month I would have been writing on Dragon's Armory for 10 whole years. Man did time flew by. I will make a proper celebratory post next month so stay tuned. And if you have been with me for more than a few years? Look how far did we came haha. 

(*≧︶≦))(￣▽￣* )ゞ Thank you for being my other half.