Look From The Dynasty Qin And Han Dynasties Thought Background Duke Of Regency King Said Of Evolution

The debate whether or not the Duke of Zhou was king is a relatively famous theme which puzzles scholars exceedingly trusting the authenticity of ancient literature. For example, some scholars strongly believe the Kanggao chapter of the Documents is authentic as well as the Duke of Zhou was not called a king. Interestingly, there is a contradiction if the Kanggao is completely believed not to be fabricated, because this chapter is an irresistible evidence for that the Duke of Zhou was a king. Yet, I believe it was not until Warring states the story telling about that the Duke of Zhou was a king emerged, on the ground of Western Zhou bronze inscriptions, texts of the Spring and Autumn period.As far as all relevant texts are concerned, the Xunzi firstly proclaim the Duke of Zhou was once a king, and this argument was related to about the qualification for the Son of Heaven and abdication theory. Notably, the Xunzi has the most progressive and positive attitude toward abdication theory, claiming that abdication should or must be practice by people’s power instead of Heaven’s order. Of course, it is very hard to say that the Xunzi created the anecdote that the Duke of Zhou was once a king, but it is clear that many texts from late Warring state to Western Han invoked the description of the Duke of Zhou recorded on the Xunzi. Therefore, it can be said that the Xunzi amounts to a turning point in the course of disseminating the anecdote about that the Duke of Zhou was once a king.From late Warring state, people began to believe the Duke of Zhou was once a king substantially. And, at the same time, people began to eulogize the Duke of Zhou. Although, according to the Mozi, the Duke of Zhou was a sage, but fall short of Yao and Shun, two legendary kings. By contrast, Lu Jia regarded the Duke of Zhou as a sage corresponding to Yao and Shun. The emperor Wu of Han wanted Huo Guang to act as a guardian like the Duke of Zhou who is a representative for Abdication theory while the theory prevailed. Both of the Abdication theory and the anecdote that the duke of Zhou was once a king would perhaps be pivotal factors contributing to Wang Mang’s usurpation. And this event also helps us to confirm the being of progressive Confucianism intellectuals against Western Han government.