Selected and Commented on Stories from the Zuo Zhuan

Author: Wang Weidi / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: Chu King Zhuangwang's campaign against the Lu Hun people of Rong, ostensibly imitating the "honoring the king and expelling the barbarians" policy of Duke Huan of Qi, was in reality a demonstration against the State of Jin. Historical records indicate that the Lu Hun people of Rong were originally relocated from the upper reaches of the Yi and Luo rivers by Qin and Jin. During their migration, the roles of these two states were different: Qin forced them to move, while Jin lured them. This point is clearly explained in the annals of "Xianggong 14th Year" by Rongzi Juzhi and "Zhao Gong 9th Year" by Zhan Huanbo. At that time, the upper reaches of the Yi and Luo rivers were still uncharted wilderness, a desolate and uninhabited land described as "a place where foxes dwell and wolves howl." The Rong people cleared the brambles and cultivated the land, contributing to the development of Central Plains civilization. The Lu Hun people of Rong regarded this land as a southern frontier granted by the State of Jin and voluntarily became its vassal state. In the Battle of Xian, the State of Jin was able to completely annihilate the Qin army, largely thanks to the assistance of the Rong people. Even before the Lu Hun people of Rong arrived in this area, the Wèi-clan Rong people had already settled in places like Yangju and Quangao in the southern part of Chengzhou. At the beginning of King Xiang of Zhou's reign, they were incited by Prince Dai to cause chaos in the capital, prompting the great states of Qin, Jin, and Qi to work together to suppress the Rong. For years, the Rong had been a source of trouble for the Zhou dynasty. After the Lu Hun people of Rong arrived, they intermingled with the existing Rong people, forming various Rong tribes with surnames like Yun, Jiang, and Wèi. It was inevitable that they would occasionally invade the Zhou dynasty's suburbs due to their proximity. Therefore, when Chu King Zhuangwang attacked the Lu Hun people of Rong, the Zhou king praised him and sent a minister to comfort him.
The State of Jin, however, was already weakened due to the extravagance and unrighteousness of Duke Linggong, as recorded in "Xuan Gong 1st Year," and had "no match against Chu." The previous year, Zhao Dun was forced into exile, and Zhao Chuan assassinated Duke Linggong. Although Zhao Dun returned quickly and enthroned the younger brother of Duke Xianggong, Heitan (later Duke Chenggong), to stabilize the situation, the State of Jin's power had only further diminished. That spring, the newly enthroned Duke Chenggong of Jin, eager to restore his state's prestige, personally led an army to attack Zheng, forcing the wavering state of Zheng to form an alliance with Jin. This move was less about maintaining deterrence against Chu and more about using external strength to mask internal weakness. Chu King Zhuangwang responded immediately by attacking the vassal state of Jin—the Lu Hun people of Rong—as a retaliatory measure, testing the State of Jin's resolve. Faced with this direct provocation so close to home, the State of Jin dared not take any protective action. This gave Chu King Zhuangwang the answer he sought, boosting his confidence in his ambition to dominate the Central Plains by twelvefold. The ease with which his campaign against the Lu Hun people of Rong progressed also greatly pleased him. His army advanced unimpeded, sweeping all before it, and the various Rong tribes submitted one after another. By the time his troops reached the Luo River, they had already entered the territory of the Zhou dynasty without resistance. It seemed that the gate of the Son of Heaven was not as difficult to cross as previously imagined, and Chu King Zhuangwang's ambitions began to swell. He resolved to hold a grand military inspection at the edge of the royal domain to showcase the might of Chu. When King Ding of Zhou sent Minister Wangsun Man to comfort him, he showed great interest in the Jiuding, the imperial heirloom symbolizing the authority of the Son of Heaven, asking about its size and weight. Wangsun Man, a man of keen political insight and discernment, saw through Chu King Zhuangwang's hidden desires at a glance. He avoided answering directly about the ding's size and weight, instead emphasizing that "it is virtue, not the ding that matters": with virtue, even a small ding is heavy; without virtue, even a large ding is light. He also reminded him that although the Zhou dynasty's virtue had declined, its mandate from heaven remained. This calmed Chu King Zhuangwang's overheated mind just right. Wangsun Man's words had a profound impact on Chu King Zhuangwang. He would later place great importance on the concept of "virtue" in his efforts to establish hegemony.
Of course, Chu King Zhuangwang could not tolerate Zheng's betrayal of Chu and its alliance with the State of Jin. After his victorious campaign against the Lu Hun people of Rong, he took a brief rest before sending troops into Zheng's territory to punish and deter them.