King Zhou

Ji GUI

King Zhou

（？ -520 BC), surnamed Ji, is the son of King Ling of Zhou. The 12th monarch of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty was in power for 25 years. When King Zhou Jing was in power, he was in financial difficulties and even begged for utensils from other countries. Once, King Jing invited Xunzi, a minister of Jin State, to a banquet. He pointed to the wine pot sent by the state of Lu and said, "all countries have utensils for the royal family. Why didn't Jin State have them?" Xun Fu could not answer, so he asked the Deputy envoy Ji Tan to reply. Ji Tan said that when the state of Jin was granted the title, it was not given a gift. Now the state of Jin is busy dealing with Rong Di, so naturally it can't give a gift. King Jing of Zhou listed the land and utensils given to Jin by the royal family and satirized his allusion of "counting the books and forgetting the ancestors". At this time, the status of the emperor of Zhou had already plummeted.

The king of Zhou Jing died early, and later made Prince Meng the prince, but he doted on his eldest son, Prince Chao. In April 520 B.C., King Jing of Zhou was seriously ill and asked bin Meng to support the prince. The prince failed to be the heir in the dynasty, but his father died suddenly, and his posthumous title was king Jing.

Life of the characters

King Ji GUI: the second son of King Ling of Zhou. After King Ling died, he succeeded to the throne. After 25 years in office, he died and was buried in zhaiquan (now the old city of Luoyang, Henan Province). When he was in office, he was in financial difficulties, and even had to beg for the utensils and utensils in the palace. On one occasion, he invited Xun Fu, Minister of the state of Jin, to a banquet. Pointing to the wine pot sent by the state of Lu, he said, "all countries have utensils for the royal family. Why didn't Jin alone have them?" Xun Fu's entourage Ji Tan replied that when the state of Jin was granted the title, the royal family did not give gifts. Now the state of Jin is too busy dealing with Rong Di to give gifts. Ji GUI listed the land and utensils given to Jin by the royal family, and satirized the saying that "counting the classics and forgetting the ancestors" was the origin of the idiom "counting the classics and forgetting the ancestors". This shows that in the early spring and Autumn period, the royal family could still give some land and utensils to the princes, but at this time they could only rely on the princes to beg for a living, and the prestige of the son of heaven had plummeted.

During the reign of Ji GUI, Zichan, the ruling Minister of Zheng State, carried out the reform, reorganized the aristocratic land and the establishment of peasant households, recognized the private ownership of land, and taxed the land according to the acreage. Then he used more than 200 Jin of iron to cast a tripod, and put the newly formulated punishment book to guarantee the reform achievements on the tripod at the gate of the palace, so that the people could know the new criminal law. This is the famous Xing Ding in history. Because the new criminal law restricted the old nobles' misdeeds and touched their interests, the nobles cursed Zichan with ballads, saying: "force me to hide my good clothes at home, and check my property from left to right. Who will kill Zichan? I will take part in it!" Zichan listened and said firmly: "as long as it is good for the country, I will die. Reform can't change my mind halfway. ”A few years later, Zichan's reform had achieved results. The people of Zheng state used ballads to thank him, saying, "our children are taught by Zichan, and our fields help us increase our production. If Zichan dies, who can be as good as him? " Zichan was in power for 20 years, which made Zheng's internal stability and production develop; it also safeguarded the dignity of the country, which made great powers dare not despise Zheng as a small country.

In 522 BC, the state of Zheng was ruled by Uncle Zi, who oppressed the people cruelly. A large number of civilians gathered in fuzhize (today's Zhongmou County, Henan Province). According to the dangerous situation, they launched an armed struggle with the slave owners and nobles. Later, under the suppression of Uncle Zi, all the rebels died because they were outnumbered.

In 524 B.C., King Jing of Zhou Dynasty made large coins, which is the earliest record in Chinese literature. When Ji GUI was in power, he died because of his early birthday. Ji Meng, his second son, was appointed prince. Later, Ji GUI doted on his son Ji Chao.

In April 520 B.C., Ji GUI was seriously ill and asked Meng bin, a doctor, to help establish Ji Dynasty as his successor. Ji GUI died before Ji Dynasty was established as an heir. Ji GUI's posthumous title was king Jing.

Historical records

The fourth volume of zhoubenji in Shiji

member of family

Film and television image

Liu Jun plays Zhou Jing and Wang Jigui in the 2017 TV drama legend of Laozi

Chinese PinYin : Zhou Jing Wang