Древний Китай. Том 2: Период Чуньцю (VIII-V вв. до н.э.) - [271]

One or two centuries after Chou-kung, West-Chou China with the capital in the west, in the native Chou territories, turned into an array of influential feudal appanages, virtually autonomous realms and princedoms. Although several Chou rulers-wawgy made attempts to preserve their suzerainty relying on their 14 armies (six in the western capital and eight in the new eastern capital created by the efforts of the Yin people resettled to the area of Lo-yi), they obviously did not have enough strength. Eventually the last western Chou ruler Yu-wang was killed by jung barbarians attacking his capital after a conflict with his father-in-law (a powerful vassal) over the replacement of the latter's grandson and successor by the son of a favourite concubine. Afterwards the heir, who had almost been replaced, got the name of Ping — wang and was transferred to the new capital Loi in 771 ВС. This was the start of the era of the Eastern Chou, which lasted until the 3rd century ВС.

The main part of the Eastern Chou is subdivided into two periods, Ch'un-Ch'iu and Chan-guo. The name of the Ch'un-Ch'iu period (722–479 ВС) was derived from the chronicle "Spring and Autumn Annals" (Ch'un-Ch'iu), which was compiled in the kingdom of Lu, a former appanage of Chou-kung, where all historical documents were carefully preserved. According to the tradition, the text of the chronicle was revised by the great Confucius, a native of Lu, at the end of his life and because of that the work was included into Confucian Classics. In the course of time the chronicle was complemented by precious detailed commentaries that explained its sketchy accounts of events, the most important commentaries among them are Tso-chuan and K'uo-уu. The whole second volume of our three-volume publication was built mainly on the data of these texts.

It is appropriate to say here a few words about the character of the texts. Many of them scrupulously reflect data about their time and can be accepted with complete trust. Historiographers, who compiled chronicles, treated their work very thoroughly, as a rule, and did not let themselves make any digression from the truth, if they described current events that were well-known to them. Nevertheless and despite all that, there are numerous later interpolations, i.e. fragments and even full narratives including the so-called chapters of the second layer (the 7th-6th centuries ВС) of Shu-king, which should be treated as moralizing legends of a later period. They usually contained a clearly expressed didactic idea and were included into the context later. Most obvious in this respect are the prophecies that came true, the number of which in the texts is innumerable. There are also non-authentic texts of systematic content which reflect a tendency of a later period to see the early Chou and moreover the Ch'un-Ch'iu period as something complete and perfect, with strictly regulated interrelations, which had never been such in reality. As it is shown in the second volume, during the period of Ch'un-Ch'iu the feudal structure that emerged after the granting of appanages was in the process of its formation. Forms of interrelation and ritual practices were gradually developing as well as the code of honour of aristocracy. But it is important to take into consideration that all this, before it had fully developed or achieved perfection, was exposed to an energetic process of erosion and de-feudalization.

The second volume contains the description of both processes: the slowly developing norms and the ceremonial procedure of feudal relations and a fast de-feudalization of these norms starting at the end of the Ch'un-Ch'iu period, to which Confucius made a major contribution. The first three chapters of the second volume are very specific. They describe step by step the events of the two-and-a-half-century long Ch'un-Ch'iu period. These events are presented with sufficient details. Firstly, because there is available material abundantly year by year reflected in the commentaries on the chronicle. Secondly, because the outline of these events is very interesting and instructive. Though the text is hard to read and keep in memory (it is overloaded with names and events), it makes clear and visible those elements that are usually characteristic for feudal structure. Fathers kill their sons in struggle for the throne and vise versa, brother goes against brother and all this is happening to the accompaniment of glorification of respect for the elders and ancestors, adhering to rituals and other ceremonials. Intrigues, plots, coups, flight of losers if they managed to escape and triumph of victors, permanent feudal wars of aristocrats, whose main activity was exactly war and hunting-that is the outline of the main events. This can be expanded by love stories, adulteries and harem passions, including incest, clashes of powerful aristocratic clans, faithfulness of some and betrayal of others. In other words, the picture is surprising and almost unique in the world history (if we take into account not novels but chronicles with detailed commentaries on them).