The Crisis of Conquest: Zhou’s Dilemma After Toppling Shang
When King Cheng and the Duke of Zhou suppressed the Guan-Shu rebellion and expanded their conquests eastward to Shandong’s coast and near the Yan Mountains, the Zhou found themselves ruling an unprecedented territory stretching from Shandong Peninsula to the Liupan Mountains, from the Huai River and middle Yangtze regions to the Yan Mountains line. This vast domain – encompassing most of the Yellow River’s middle-lower reaches and portions of the Yangtze basin – presented the same governance challenge that had troubled King Wu after the Shang conquest: how to effectively administer such an expansive new kingdom.
The Shang kings had maintained control through a loose system of autonomous regional rulers who nominally acknowledged Shang supremacy. While effective during Shang’s peak, this approach proved fatally flawed when central authority weakened, as demonstrated by Zhou’s own rise against the declining Shang. King Wu’s initial solutions after conquering Shang contained critical weaknesses: insufficient dismantling of Shang power structures left resentful Shang remnants concentrated in their homeland, while ineffective monitoring of eastern vassals allowed alliances like the Wu Geng rebellion to form. Even King Wu’s symbolic enfeoffments of ancient sage-kings’ descendants (like Chen and Qi) proved inadequate – these small states lacked power to contain Shang loyalists. Poor appointments (notably the treacherous uncles Guan Shu and Cai Shu) compounded these problems, making rebellion inevitable after King Wu’s death.
The Zhou Solution: A Dual-Pronged Feudal Strategy
King Cheng and the Duke of Zhou devised an ingenious two-part solution that would reshape Chinese governance:
First, they preserved aspects of Shang’s system by recognizing autonomous rule for existing states that submitted to Zhou authority – the so-called “eight hundred compliant states.”
More innovatively, they proactively established new vassal states ruled by royal kin and meritorious ministers throughout former Shang territories. Learning from King Wu’s failures, this systematic colonization strategically placed loyal Zhou enclaves deep within former enemy lands. These new lords – bound to the king by blood and shared ancestral worship – became Zhou’s political “seeds,” creating overlapping spheres of influence that gradually transformed the regional power structure.
The Zhou called this system “fengjian” (feudalism), first documented in the Zuo Zhuan commentary: “The Duke of Zhou, grieving over the discord of his two younger brothers, therefore established feudal relatives to protect Zhou.” This wasn’t merely political expediency but a moral imperative – the Zuo Zhuan records that Zhou rulers explicitly rejected monopolizing King Wen and Wu’s achievements, instead charging feudal states to “rescue [the dynasty] should later generations become corrupt and fall into difficulty.”
The Mechanics of Zhou Feudalism: A Systematic Colonization
The most extensive enfeoffments occurred under Kings Cheng and Kang, with records suggesting seventy-one new states established – fifty-three ruled by Ji-surname royal relatives. Notable examples included:
– Lu (for the Duke of Zhou’s son Bo Qin)
– Wei (for King Wu’s younger brother Kang Shu)
– Jin (for King Cheng’s younger brother Shu Yu)
– Yan (for the Duke of Shao’s son Ke)
– Qi (for the legendary strategist Jiang Ziya)
Archaeology confirms these states’ strategic placement along former Shang communication routes and agricultural heartlands, particularly concentrated in modern Henan and Shandong. Excavations at sites like:
– Qufu’s Lu capital (Shandong)
– Liulihe’s Yan capital (Beijing)
– Tianma-Qucun’s Jin capital (Shanxi)
– Xingtai’s Ying state (Hebei)
reveal how Zhou colonists deliberately embedded themselves in former Shang strongholds, often displacing local groups like the Pugu to establish new political centers.
The Feudal Ceremony: Rituals of Power Transfer
Zhou enfeoffment ceremonies were elaborate affairs combining practical governance with symbolic power. The Zuo Zhuan’s detailed accounts describe three key components:
1. Land Grants: Precise territorial demarcations, sometimes using maps from King Wu’s campaigns. The 1954 discovery of Yi Hou Ze Gui (a bronze vessel) in Jiangsu confirmed this practice, its inscription detailing King Kang’s land grant including “35 settlements and 140 [unclear units].”
2. Population Transfers: A deliberate reshuffling of peoples including:
– Zhou administrative cadres (scribes, diviners, historians)
– Divided Shang clans (e.g., six clans to Lu, seven to Wei)
– Local indigenous populations
This careful demographic engineering, as historian Hsu Cho-yun notes, created hybrid political units that “diluted old tribal affiliations while developing territorial identities.”
3. Symbolic Gifts: Objects imbued with dynastic legitimacy:
– Ritual bronzes connecting vassals to Zhou ancestral cults
– Martial relics like King Wen’s drums from the Mi Xu campaign
– King Wu’s armor from the Shang conquest
These weren’t mere trophies but tangible links to Zhou’s Mandate of Heaven.
Flexible Governance: Local Adaptation as Imperial Strategy
Recognizing regional diversity, Zhou tailored governance models:
– Lu implemented Zhou systems rigorously
– Wei blended Shang customs with Zhou law (“Shang governance with Zhou measurements”)
– Jin adapted to local Rong-Di peoples (“Xia governance with Rong measurements”)
The Qi state exemplified successful localization. Despite initial conflicts with the Lai people, Jiang Ziya’s pragmatic policies – simplifying Zhou rites while developing coastal fisheries and trade – ultimately made Qi a regional power.
The Feudal Legacy: Foundations of Chinese Civilization
Zhou’s feudal system represented a revolutionary approach to territorial governance:
1. A networked system of royal strongpoints that gradually Sinicized eastern territories
2. A demographic reshuffling that transformed kinship-based societies into territorial states
3. A power-sharing mechanism among Zhou elites
For centuries, this system maintained Zhou authority while facilitating cultural integration. The archaeological record – from hybrid pottery styles in Lu to tri-cultural artifacts at Yan sites – attests to this gradual synthesis. Though the system would eventually contribute to Zhou’s fragmentation during the Spring and Autumn period, its emphasis on cultural unity over ethnic purity and flexible local governance established enduring patterns in Chinese statecraft.
The Western Zhou’s feudal experiment ultimately created the framework through which “China” emerged as a civilizational concept rather than merely a political entity – a legacy that would shape East Asian governance for millennia to come.