Predynastic Zhou

The Predynastic Zhou or Proto-Zhou refers to the state of Zhou that existed in the Guanzhong region of modern Shaanxi province during the Shang dynasty of ancient China, before its conquest of the Shang in 1046/1045 BC which led to the establishment of the Zhou dynasty. It was ruled by the Ji clan. According to histories, Predynastic Zhou rose as a western vassal of the Shang, acting as its ally until their influence surpassed that of the dynasty.

Records about Predynastic Zhou came from two sources. The Shang dynasty kept records about Zhou in oracle bones. The texts about Zhou inscribed by the Shang court are mainly those from the reign of Wu Ding and the last Shang monarchs. After the fall of Shang, the Ji clan established the Zhou dynasty and started their own narrative about previous generations. The Book of Documents and the Bamboo Annals are two major historical sources. Later, Sima Qian wrote about the country using the texts as reference.

Attempts in determining time frames
The time after which historians are certain about the exact time of events is 841 BC, the beginning of the Gonghe Regency. Predynastic Zhou, having existed about three centuries earlier, proves to be difficult when historians try to find its beginning and end year. The vassal spanned across four generations from Gugong Danfu to Ji Fa (King Wu). However, there are very scarce records detailing years in the former's rule, so the end year has been more concerned by modern historiography. Zhou official texts record various astronomical events, whose time can be calculated by scientific laws; that gives an advantage in deciding the exact period.

The Xia-Shang-Zhou Chronology Project, an ambitious collaboration of Chinese historians commissioned by the People's Republic of China in 2000, produced a draft report that identifies Gugong Danfu's first year of rule as 1158 BC, around the reign of Shang king Geng Ding. His son Jili's rule was calculated to be 1126 BC - 1101 BC, that indicates that he died at the same time with the contemporary king Wen Wu Ding.

Ji Fa's ascension to power is of historical interest, since his life revolved around heavenly signs that have been proved to be true. The common accepted year in which Ji Fa succeeded as leader of Predynastic Zhou is 1050 BC, the year proposed by the XSZ Chronology Project. However, the American sinologist David Nivison studied the information given by the Bamboo Annals, and suggested the Shang dynasty's beginning year to be 1558 BC. Because the Bamboo Annals says that King Wu's assumption of power began 496 years after its predecessor, he is thought to have done so in 1062 BC. He moved the 1059 BC planetary conjunction back to 1071 BC, arriving at the result. The Battle of Muye was supposed to be in Wu's 12th year in the Annals, a year different from other historical texts. Nivison's research fixed this battle as 1051 BC and stated that Predynastic Zhou also reached its end that year.

Records by the Shang court
Information about Proto-Zhou that was written by Shang dynasty is scarce, as the polity was considerably far from Shang's core lands. The earliest ones date back to the reign of Wu Ding, from approximately 1250 BC to 1192 BC. His court carved a large portion of the total inscriptions mentioning Zhou; however, they only provide the king's perspective towards the country. Wu Ding referred to the Ji clan and its subordinates as "Zhou Fang" (周方), a common naming traditions that the Shang used to address neighboring polities. Zhou at that time was vassalized, but it was not fully brought under Wu Ding's suzerainty. Its distance was significant, and it was also separated from the Yin (Shang capital) by numerous aggressive polities. Therefore, oracle texts from Wu Ding's regnal era do not contain sufficient information.

Wu Ding wrote about his concerns for his remote vassal. His writings are divinatory texts on Zhou soldiers' welfare, inquiries on Zhou hunts. On the other hand, Wu Ding never visit Zhou territory to tour or hunt. He also did not order Zhou manpower to aid Shang's public construction works and wars. Furthermore, despite his concerns about Zhou people's prosperity, he made no questions and divinations about whether their harvests were successful or not. His focus were primarily nearer tribes and chiefdoms, especially the Gui Fang and Tu Fang, which lay between Shang core regions and the Ji clan's territory.

When Wu Ding died (c. 1200 BC), Shang's contact with Zhou declined; the Ji clan, still a vassal, only reestablished their influence during the reign of Wu's great grandson, Wu Yi (武乙, reigned 1147 - 1112 BC). During the period, Predynastic Zhou was under the control of Ji Jili (季歷). Oracle bones at this time mention very little about Jili and his descendants' relation to Shang. Zhou was active as an ally, but through time, relations reversed by the time of Jili's successors. Ji Chang, the penultimate lord of Zhou in traditional records, was called "bo" (elder) of Zhou by Shang scribes. He was addressed "Zhōufāng bó" (周方白) by oracle bones from Shang's final years. Ji Chang passed his power to one of the male children, Ji Fa. Around 1046 BC, the Shang king Di Xin was having war with eastern polities. Ji Fa seized the opportunity and attacked. The remaining Shang forces suffered a fatal defeat at Muye; Di Xin died around the same time. Zhou entered the Dynastic period.

Records by Zhou dynasty and later historians
Unlike their predecessor Shang, the kings of Zhou kept detailed records about their pre-royal era. Historical records are in the Shangshu and the Bamboo Annals. The texts contain various chapters concerning the reigns Shang kings from Wu Ding, corresponding with the time of Yayu, Gongshu Zulei, Gugong Danfu, Ji Jili, Ji Chang and Ji Fa. Han-period historian Sima Qian (145 - 86 BC) used the books to construct his work.

The Zhou ancestors were allegedly descendants of the Yellow Emperor through Emperor Ku. Legends say that Ku's wife Jiang Yuan stepped in a magic footprint and conceived. She gave birth to Hou Ji, who is considered the first Zhou ancestor. The narrative implies Zhou and Shang's familial relations, as Shang's legendary ancestor Xie was the brother of Hou Ji.

According to Sima Qian, Predynastic Zhou was established by Gugong Danfu when he relocated his clan from their home of Bin to a new settlement near the Mount of Qi called Zhouyuan (周原) along the Wei River. His two elder sons Taibo and Zhongyong were said to have abandoned the territory and fled south to establish Wu on the lower Yangtze. His youngest son Jili then inherited Zhou and expanded it with numerous campaigns against the Rong "barbarians" around Shang. His power threatened King Wen Ding and he was tricked into an ambush at a place called Saiku (塞库). In 1101 BC, Wen Ding sent Jili to a local store house, and then left him starve to death. The leader's son, Ji Chang, was chosen to be the next Zhou elder.

Ji Chang's plans to overthrow Shang
In the first half of the 11th century BC, Ji Chang was enfranchised by Di Xin and given the tile "Overlord of the West". Di Xin was otherwise aware of Zhou's rising power, and prepared for his actions. Chang was imprisoned by Di Xin at Youli before being ransomed by other nobles. In some accounts, Wen was forced to consume his eldest son as meat cakes or a soup at the king's bequest. After years, some of Di Xin's officials became impressed by the leader's righteousness and bribed the king for his mercy. Ji Chang was eventually released and allowed to retake his control of Zhou. He immediately strengthened the state, aiming to end the impious regime of Di Xin. He then met with Jiang Ziya, an old person who regularly fished in the Pan River. Learning about Jiang's intellectuals and capabilities, the Overlord of the West hired him and make him his most trusted assistant. To strengthen their connections, Chang made several marriages of his relatives to that of the Jiang clan. His second son Ji Fa was coupled with Jiang Ziya's daughter Yi Jiang and fathered a son, Ji Song.

To ensure Zhou's power before countering Di Xin's army, Ji Chang launched numerous expansion campaigns. His target included the Shang dynasty's long-term hostile polities that had already been weakened by Wu Ding almost 200 years earlier. After expelling the Quanrong barbarians, he turned to the closest vassals and regional provinces of Shang. He attacked Chong, home of Hu, Marquis of Chong, his arch-enemy, and defeated it, gaining access to the Ford of Meng through which he could cross his army to attack Shang. As a result of his ability to maintain formidable power, he eventually gained control of the majority of Shang lands. Nevertheless, Ji Chang also died at that time (around 1050 BC), and his plans to directly attack Di Xin was postponed. Ji Fa then succeeded his father, and was ennobled as the 2nd Overlord of the West.

Ji Fa then avenged his grandfather and brother at the Battle of Muye. His army was far more prepared in strength and loyalty. Almost all regional lords that had been subdued by Ji Chang allied with Fa, finally crushed the Shang armed forces. Di Xin was thought to have been killed by Ji Fa as an action to end his "evilness". The king's relatives, such as Weizi and Wu Geng, was retained and became Zhou dynasty's subordinates.

Rectifying Zhou's overthrow of Shang
Predynastic Zhou under the rule of Ji Chang was rectified by later Zhou kings by the Mandate of Heaven. The concept was a philosophical theory that determines a monarch's right to rule. According to the Mandate, a ruler was appointed by Heaven, and Heaven's will would be transmitted to his family. Complying with Predynastic Zhou's patrilineal succession traditions, the one chosen by Heaven had to be the eldest male child of the current ruler. The right to rule of a person depended on his virtue; if the one chosen was cruel and incapable, Heaven had the authority to depose him and replace him with a new one. The replacement would be pre-announced through natural disasters and extraterrestrial happenings. According to Zhou's narrative, the final Shang king Di Xin was a decadent, and therefore no longer authorized to receive the Mandate of Heaven. Ji Chang, posthumously known as King Wen of Zhou, was appointed the new ruler by Heaven. King Wen's interpretation of astronomical events anticipated the philosophy, which would get increasingly complex.

In 1059 BC, two unusual celestial phenomena took place. In May, the densest clustering in five hundred years' time of the five planets visible to the naked eye could be seen in the constellation of Cancer, followed a few seasons later by an apparition of Comet Halley. King Wen of Zhou (still called Ji Chang at the time) witnessed the heavenly signs and thought of them as Heaven choosing him to be the new ruler. Early records, such as the inscription on the Da Yu ding, describe Heaven's Mandate in terms of an actual astronomic event: "the great command in the sky".

King Wen is not mentioned as receiving the Mandate in official traditional records; however, ancient texts all agree that he really got the divine power to be the next kign. The subsequent generations of the Zhou dynasty developed the concept into a system that would dictate the Chinese monarchy for approximately 3000 years. From the Zhou dynasty onward, almost every Chinese ruler used the Mandate of Heaven as a means of picturing their heavenly right to be the master of "tianxia" (all under Heaven).

Rulers

 * Important ancestor: Gong Liu, who led the migration of the clan to Bin
 * 1st ruler: Gugong Danfu, also known as King Tai of Zhou
 * 2nd ruler: Jili, also known as King Ji of Zhou
 * 3rd ruler: King Wen of Zhou
 * Final ruler: King Wu of Zhou, who conquered Shang and established the Zhou dynasty

The genealogy of Predynastic Zhou leaders is given using traditional accounts: