The Story of the Duke of Zhou: Uncovering How the Duke of Zhou Degraded Others and Elevated Himself? Famous Historians

So, how did the Duke of Zhou disparage others and elevate himself?

Zhou Gong's ability to rule the country is not only reflected in the formulation of rules and regulations, he also has a great style, that is, to recruit talent. How far did the Duke of Zhou go in his quest to find the right person for the job? Once, the Duke of Zhou heard that there is a wise man to visit, if you are eating, quickly spit out the food in your mouth; if you are taking a bath, also quickly pull back your hair, busy out of the guest. He was praised by later generations for his "three spits of dried meat in one meal, and three hair pulls in one bath". Cao Cao composed a poem that said: "Zhou Gong spits out dried meat, the world returns to the heart!" It is exactly the same as the Duke of Zhou. > However, when he was alive, he was too powerful and too much in power, so he was often criticized. That is, his nephew King Cheng, he is also in awe of him, often in the heart of the "guilty of muttering". --How could he know the sincerity of the Duke of Zhou towards his father and son? In the book of Shangshu, there is an article called "The Golden Cord", which records such an incident. > In the year following the Zhou's destruction of the Shang, King Wu Ji Fa was seriously ill. The Duke of Zhou built three altars behind his back, placed jade jewels on the altars, and held the jade kuai himself to pray to his late great-grandfather, King Tai, his grandfather, King Ji, and his father, King Wen. Zhou's prayer is quite interesting, for it can be described as "degrading others and exalting oneself". He said, "My lord, your eldest grandson, Ji Fa, is seriously ill; is it possible that you need the service of your children and grandchildren in heaven? If so, let me, Ji Dan, take his place! I am a man who can talk and do many things, and I am good at serving ghosts and gods. As for your eldest grandson Ji Fa, he is not as capable as I am, so how can he serve well? ...... Now I have divined with the divine tortoise, if you agree with my request, I will take the bik and kui back to wait for your order; if you do not agree with my request, I will throw away the bik and kui. If you don't agree with my request, I will throw away the jade and kui. The results were all auspicious. When he opened the divination book again, they were also auspicious. Zhou Gong was relieved, so he put the prayer into a box, wrapped in gold thread, and collected it. By the next day, King Wu was actually cured. Later on, the Duke of Zhou became the ruler of the country and held great power. However, Uncle Guan and others spread rumors everywhere, and there was a momentary "doubt of the Lord and the State", and the power was unstable. The Duke of Zhou then led his army to the east and cleaned up Uncle Guan and Uncle Cai. However, in the view of King Cheng, this is, after all, a "war between uncles", the heart inevitably knot knot. > In the fall of the year of Zhou Gong's death, when a good harvest was expected, there was a sudden storm of lightning and thunder, and the wind was so strong that not only the crops fell down, but also the trees were uprooted! King Cheng and his ministers were horrified, put on their hats and gowns, and with fear and trembling, they opened the box sealed with golden threads and saw the prayer of the Duke of Zhou. King Cheng brought it to ask the historian, the historian said: the Duke of Zhou asked us to keep it secret, where do we dare to leak it! > King Cheng cried with the prayer in his hand and said, "Duke of Zhou has been working hard for the dynasty, but I, as a junior, didn't know it! Now this is God's way of honoring the Duke of Zhou's great virtue! I must personally officiate at the reburial ceremony of the Duke of Zhou. > Strangely enough, as soon as King Cheng arrived at the outskirts of the city, it started to rain, the wind changed direction, and the fallen crops stood up again. Duke Tai and Duke Zha ordered the people to raise and cultivate all the fallen trees. That year, a rare good harvest was obtained! This "Golden Bind" was probably written by people in the Warring States period based on the history of the early Zhou Dynasty, from which it can also be seen that people in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties attached great importance to the Mandate of Heaven, and even enlightened people like the Duke of Zhou were convinced of it. > After the death of the Duke of Zhou, King Cheng gave him high honors and hid him next to King Wen of Zhou, showing that he was not treated in the way of a courtier.