Wei

AnonymousBashu Publishing House · ChinaJun 2024

3.0

Word count: 1.1K words
Chapters: 11

Summary

Wei was a Ji-surnamed vassal state enfeoffed in China's Zhou dynasty. Its first ruler was Kang Shu Feng, the ninth legitimate son of King Wen of Zhou. Wei was the longest-lasting Zhou vassal state, enduring 907 years in all and passing through 41 rulers. Its territory lay roughly north of the Yellow River, in the Hebi, Anyang, and Puyang areas of Henan; part of Handan and Xingtai in Hebei; and the western part of Liaocheng and northern Heze in Shandong. Its capital was Zhaoge, and it later established capitals at Chuqiu, Diqiu, and Yewang. It was briefly powerful under Duke Wu of Wei; when King Ping of Zhou moved east, Duke Wu sent troops to help Zhou against the Rong.

Editor's review

This book takes up Wei, the Ji-surnamed vassal state of the Zhou dynasty, tracing the general arc of its founding, relocations of capital, and rise and decline. Its first ruler was Kang Shu Feng, the ninth legitimate son of King Wen of Zhou; the state endured more than nine hundred years and passed through forty-one rulers, making it one of the longest-lasting Zhou vassal states. Its capitals were Zhaoge and later Chuqiu, Diqiu, and Yewang; its territory lay roughly in present-day Hebi, Anyang, and Puyang in Henan and Handan and Xingtai in Hebei, and touched parts of Liaocheng and Heze in Shandong. It was briefly powerful under Duke Wu of Wei, who sent troops to help Zhou against the Rong when King Ping moved east—touchstones that help clarify Wei's place in the political landscape from the Western Zhou through the Spring and Autumn period. The book is suitable as a reference for the study of pre-Qin history, historical geography, and local culture, and makes it easy for readers to follow, along a timeline, Wei's rise and fall and the course of its relocations; for local-history enthusiasts in Anyang, Hebi, Puyang, and elsewhere, it also has value for comparing local sites with documentary records.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Scholars of pre-Qin history and Zhou vassal states needing materials focused on Wei
Enthusiasts of historical geography concerned with vassal-state territory and the course of capital relocations
Local-culture researchers in Henan and Hebei who need to consult local history
University history students using it as a case reference for the Zhou enfeoffment system

Not a good fit for

Popular readers seeking historical stories and tales of heroic figures
Travel readers who want abundant illustrations or guidebook-style content
Readers impatient with pre-Qin sources and place names and seeking light reading

Reading tips

First map out the timeline of Wei's forty-one rulers and several relocations of capital before entering the individual chapters, to avoid confusion.
While reading, consult a map to locate Zhaoge, Chuqiu, Diqiu, and Yewang and build a spatial impression.
Connect touchstones such as Duke Wu of Wei aiding Zhou against the Rong with the larger background of the Western Zhou's eastward move.
Read alongside materials on other Zhou vassal states, comparing duration and political circumstances.

About the publisher

Bashu Publishing House China · Founded in 1983

Bashu Publishing House is a publisher centered on collating and publishing classical Chinese cultural texts, with its main publishing areas covering classical literature, Eastern philosophy, ancient poetry, and educational classics. Its library currently holds 1,075 titles, including representative works such as Dream of the Red Chamber, the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Gathering, Renjian Cihua, and Out to the Frontier, involving authors such as Cao Xueqin, Wang Xizhi, Wang Guowei, Wang Changling, Liu Xie, and Yan Yu. These reflect the publisher's focus on literary classics, poetry criticism, and philosophical readings. Its publishing character lies in working around ancient texts and canonical works, with attention to textual collation and presentation. Public information on its more detailed publishing background and series plans is limited; this introduction is based only on the library's book information.

版权信息
淇奥
考槃
硕人
氓
竹竿
芄兰
河广
伯兮
有狐
木瓜

FAQ

Why is Wei called the longest-lasting Zhou vassal state?

According to the book, from its enfeoffment in the early Zhou to its final extinction, Wei endured 907 years and passed through forty-one rulers, the longest duration among the many Zhou vassal states. This longevity was bound up with its geographical position, its political choices, and shifts in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States landscape, and the book traces these threads.

Wei moved its capital several times; how can one keep this thread clear while reading?

Wei had Zhaoge as its capital and later moved to Chuqiu, Diqiu, and Yewang. When reading, first make a timeline of the relocations, note the general circumstances behind each, and then check the locations on a map. This links the relocations to the state's rise and decline and external pressures, rather than merely memorizing a few place names.

What can readers interested in local history gain from it?

Wei's territory roughly covered present-day Hebi, Anyang, and Puyang in Henan, Handan and Xingtai in Hebei, and parts of western Liaocheng and northern Heze in Shandong. Readers in these areas can use the book to compare local historical sites and the evolution of place names, grounding the abstract pre-Qin enfeoffment in specific regions and adding a sense of immediacy to their reading.

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About the author

Anonymous Author

Anonymous is not a real personal name but a general Chinese designation for authors whose names are unknown, lost, or unsigned. Neither nationality nor dates of birth and death can be verified, and available public information is limited, so the works attributed to this name are the only basis for description. The collection holds 2,078 works under Anonymous, spanning medicine, classics, historical readings, ancient poetry, classical literature, and philosophy. Representative works include The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon: Lingshu, Mencius, The Book of Documents, Nineteen Old Poems, Complete Song Ci, and The Peacock Flies Southeast. Most of these works took shape through long transmission and editing, emerging either from collective folk creation or from authors whose names were lost over time. In ancient China, the Book of Songs, the Great Learning, and many popular storybooks and plays were signed Anonymous because their authors could not be traced. Anonymous works cross the classics, histories, philosophical writings, medical texts, and poetry; their subjects are broad, and their styles vary from archaic simplicity to clear naturalness, making them important and influential sources for understanding ancient Chinese thought, medicine, and literature.