Why is the foundation of regional culture related to the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods?

The Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods (770-221 BC) was the period of laying the foundation of traditional Chinese culture. The competition between the hundred schools of thought and the active scholarly class gave rise to an unprecedented prosperity of thought and culture in the ancient Chinese land. At the same time, the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods were also a period of formation of Chinese regional culture. As the past Zhou culture, Shang culture and the neighboring ethnic groups produced exchanges and fusion, and eventually formed a distinctive Sanjin culture, Qilu culture, Jingchu culture, Wuyue culture and so on.

? First, the relatively weak patriarchal concept of Qin Jin culture

Qin Jin region, mainly located in the Loess Plateau and Guanzhong area. Guanzhong was originally the birthplace of the Zongzhou culture, but it was devastated by the invasion of the Rongdi. Geographically, the Qin-Jin region is in a relatively harsh condition, with only narrow areas such as the Wei River Plain and the Fen River Plain suitable for agricultural production. Surrounding these river valleys were highland mountains with gullies and ravines. In terms of ethnic distribution, the river valleys are dominated by the Qin and Jin people, while the neighboring areas are populated by nomadic peoples such as the Northern Di and the Western Rong.

Both countries inherited the Zongzhou culture to some extent. Qin was located in the Zongzhou homeland, which was originally the origin of Zhou culture. Although the Qin people were not Zhou people, they lived in the Zhou Plain for a long time and would undoubtedly be influenced by the Zongzhou culture. The state of Jin, a Ji fiefdom of the Zhou dynasty, has long been a purveyor of Zhou culture in the Shanxi Plateau as well. However, the patriarchal concepts of the two countries were relatively weak. The people of Qin were originally Eastern Barbarians, and after moving to Guanzhong and living with the Rongdi for a long time, they did not form a strict patriarchal system like that of the Zhou people. The state of Jin was the result of a long period of internal strife among the communal clans, which ultimately led to "Jin having no communal clans". The absence of the patriarchal aristocracy enabled the Qin and Jin regions to make earlier and more radical social changes.

Many of the reforms of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods first took place in Qin and Jin. For example, the abolition of the fief system and the introduction of the county system; the abolition of the communal land system and the introduction of private land ownership; and the promulgation of the written law. In the Warring States period, reforms were further developed to strengthen centralized power and monarchical autocracy, with Li Yul changing the law in Wei, Shen Buhai changing the law in Korea, and Shang Yang changing the law in Qin. The implementation of the reforms further dismantled the power of the patriarchal aristocracy, and the legalist ideology, which sought to reform, also emerged. The representatives of the legalists of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period, Li Yul, Shen Buhai, Shang Yang, Shen Zhi and Han Fei Zi, were all from San Jin.

The ethnic environments in which the two countries lived were also the reason for their more radical changes. Qin and Jin were in a transitional area between nomadic and farming peoples, with minorities such as the Beidi, Zhongshan and Louxian living in the north, and nomadic peoples such as the Xirong and Yiqiu surrounding Qin. The two countries have been at war with these nomads for a long time in history, thus the people are tough, martial and aggressive, with little romanticism. In order to adapt to the war with the nomads, the Jin people firstly made military reforms. Duke Hui of Jin "made 爰田" and "作州兵", which broke up the state field system, expanded the scope of the people, and increased the number of military personnel, and at the same time contributed to the disintegration of the communal land system. In the middle of the Jin Dynasty, the infantry was established, and in the Warring States period, King Wuling of Zhao introduced "riding and archery" and established the cavalry. All of these changes were made for the needs of war.

? Third, the eclectic culture of Shandong

Huanghuai area, is the ancient Eastern Barbarians live in the region, but also the deepest region of Yin Shang power. After the fall of the Shang Dynasty, the old power of Yin Shang was not completely eliminated, and then broke out the "Three Supervisors Rebellion". After the eastward expedition of the Duke of Zhou, in order to further control the Yinshang homeland, he made two major decisions: one was to establish the eastern capital in Luoyang as the eastern extension of the power of the Zongzhou, remote control in the east; the second was to carry out a large-scale feudalization in the Yinshang homeland to establish the state of Yan, Lu, Qi, Wei, etc., and at the same time, feudalization of Yinshang princes in the state of Song. In this way, a huge number of vassal states were established on the eastern land, and they were bound to bring the Zongzhou culture to the Eastern Yi and Yinshang areas, which made the two cultures intermingle, and the distinctive Shandong culture (the culture east of the Banshan Mountain) appeared.

The cultural characteristics of Shandong were determined by the natural environment, economic conditions and ethnic distribution of the region. In terms of natural conditions, Shandong is located in the Yellow Sea-Huaihuai Plain, with flat terrain, many rivers and fertile land, thus very suitable for agricultural development. Because of its proximity to the seashore, transportation was convenient, so commerce and industry flourished. Qi had the advantage of fishing and salt, and was the most economically prosperous region in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States. Song was at the throat of land transportation in the Central Plains, and rich merchants such as Tao Zhu Gong and Zi Gong appeared. The economic prosperity of the Shandong region determined that one of the major cultural characteristics of the region was the importance of economic benefits, and on this basis developed the Taoist and Huanglao schools of thought, both advocating "rest and recuperation" to restore economic development.

North China Plain

After the partition of Shandong by the Duke of Zhou, the three major ethnic groups of the Zhou, Yin and Shang, and the Eastern Barbarians lived together, and the three major cultures mingled. However, the degree of cultural intermingling was different in different regions. Zhengwei and Zhengzhou were in the hinterland of the Shang Dynasty, which made the two countries retain a lot of Yin and Shang colors, such as "respecting ghosts and gods", worshipping sorcery, developed music and dance, and the prevalence of lechery. In the Book of Songs, the four parts of the poem involving the region are "Name Wind", "Wei Wind", "Zheng Wind" and "Yong Wind", and most of these poems are labeled as "Zheng Wei Voice", which is regarded by the later generations as the winds of the obscenity and death of the country.

The area around Huaibei is a concentrated area for descendants of ancient states, such as Qi, which is a descendant of the Xia Dynasty, Chen, which is a descendant of the Yu Clan, Song, which is a descendant of the Yin Shang Dynasty, and Zou, which is a descendant of Zhuan Xu. The culture here has inherited a long history and cultural traditions. The land of Chen and Song was located in the east of Henan, with flat terrain, many rivers, lush vegetation and developed agriculture. The people of this generation were content with this unique natural condition and aspired to a life of returning to simplicity. This is the place where the Taoist school of Laozhuang came into being.

Lu was deep in the Eastern Barbarians, the land of the lesser of the virtual, the people have the general business six tribes. However, after the founding of the state of Lu, it did not absorb much of the culture of the Eastern Barbarians, but rather transplanted the culture of the Zongzhou region in its entirety. During the Spring and Autumn Period, the Zongzhou area was destroyed by the Rongdi, and Lu became the most original preserver of the Zhou culture. The Zhou culture was characterized by "clear rites, reverence for virtue, emphasis on the people, and respect for the ruler." Lu was not a great power in the Spring and Autumn period, but it was respected by all countries precisely because it had preserved the Zongzhou culture. The reason why Confucianism arose in Lu was also related to the cultural foundation of Lu. But the more y rooted the Zhou culture is in Lu, the more conservative the tradition is and the more difficult it is to reform.

The Qi state in Shandong is a model for the fusion of Zhou, Yin and Shang, and Eastern barbarian cultures. Jiang Taigong ruled the country according to the customs of the Eastern Barbarians, so-called "simplify their rituals according to their customs". This enabled the Dongyi culture to integrate better with the Zhou culture. This is to make the culture of Qi has a good tolerance, inclusive of the wind of a great country. During the Spring and Autumn period, with the continuous annexation of Qi, the East Barbarians small countries, so that the East Barbarians culture into the basic Qi.

The Hundred Schools of Thought

At the time when the descendants of Chen entered Qi and Tian's generation of Qi, the Taoist-colored culture of Chen was introduced to Qi, and gradually became the mainstream thinking of Qi. During the Warring States period, Qi absorbed the culture of Zoulu, Sanjin, Chen and Song, making Qi a new cultural highland. King Wei of Qi founded the Jixi Academy, in which the various schools of thought wrote books and debated with each other, and eventually merged to form the Huanglao School.

? Third, the magnificent and gorgeous Chu-Yue culture

Chu, Wu, Yue three countries are located in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, these places are sparsely populated, the land has not been fully developed, many areas still retain the situation of slash-and-burn farming. Before the introduction of Chinese culture, the land of Chu and Yue was mainly dominated by the Miao barbarian culture and Baiyue culture. During the Spring and Autumn Period, Chu, Wu and Yue began to absorb the Chinese culture of the Central Plains on a large scale. The state of Chu continued to expand and annexed a large number of vassals with the surname Ji, which led to an increase in the number of Chinese communities within its borders, and the culture of China and Xia continued to be imported into the state of Chu. The two states of Wu and Yue became powerful on the basis of absorbing the Chinese culture, and went towards Chineseization. During the Warring States period, the cultural characteristics of Chu and Yue had already converged with those of the Central Plains, but still retained a distinctive romanticism.

The geography of Chu and Yue was the same. All three countries were located in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, where mountains and rivers were connected and forests were densely covered, which was later known as the "Jiangnan Water Town". Although the people in Chu and Yue were not rich, they were safe from hunger and cold. People lingered in the picturesque landscape scenery and were intoxicated by the life of singing and dancing, which inevitably gave rise to romanticism. The Book of Songs records almost no songs from the land of Chu and Yue, but other ancient documents record that before the emergence of the Chu Rhetoric, the Song of the Fisherman, the Song of the Yue People, the Song of the Xu People, the Song of the Canglang People, and the Song of the Jieyu People were able to form a distinctive "Chu style" or "Yue style. The first is that the first time I saw a man in a car, he was in the middle of the car, and the second time I saw him in the middle of the car, he was in the middle of the car, and the third time I saw him in the middle of the car.