"Ba" means overlord, that is, the leader of a vassal. In this sense, it is the same word as "Bo" representing the elderly, and it has no modern meaning of "outrageous and unreasonable". The duty of "hegemony" is to respect the king, resist foreign countries, suppress usurpation, sanction and merge. There are always different opinions about which five kings the five tyrants refer to. At present, there is no conclusion in the field of history.
There are two statements about "the five tyrants in the Spring and Autumn Period", both of which are actually wrong. From ancient times to the present, there are at least six kinds of statements about "five tyrants". Qi Huangong, Qin Mugong, Jin Wengong, Chu Zhuangwang and Song Xianggong.
Historical Records: Qi Huangong, Qin Mugong, Jin Wengong, Chu Zhuangwang and Zheng Zhuanggong. Erythrina by Qi Huangong, Qin Mugong, Jin Wengong, Chu Zhuangwang and Gou Jian, the King of Yue.
Qi Huangong, Qin Mugong, Jin Wengong, Chu Zhuangwang, Wu Wang and Lu. Qi Huangong, Qin Mugong, Jin Wengong, Song Xianggong, King Wu and Fu Cha.
Qi Huangong, Jin Wengong, Chu Zhuangwang, King He Lv of Wu, King Gou Jian of Yue. Wang Ba, another scholar in Xunzi, thinks that the so-called "five tyrants" should refer to five white monarchs.
2. The articles describing the five tyrants in the Spring and Autumn Period from 770 BC to 476 BC are called the Spring and Autumn Period. During these two hundred and ninety years, social storms raged, which can be said to be smoke everywhere and war raged. There are more than 480 military operations in the Spring and Autumn Annals of Lu alone. Sima Qian said: In the Spring and Autumn Period, "36 people killed the king, 52 people died, and countless governors failed to protect the country." According to legend, there were 140 vassal states and nationalities in the early Spring and Autumn Period. After years of merger, only a few are left. These great powers also attack each other for hegemony. In the Spring and Autumn Period, the Emperor of Zhou lost his previous authority and became attached to a powerful vassal. In order to compete for hegemony, some powerful vassal States fought with each other to be the hegemon. The five vassal States that dominated successively were called "the five tyrants in the Spring and Autumn Period".
The five tyrants in the Spring and Autumn Period refer to Qi Huangong, Song Xianggong, Jin Wengong, Qin Mugong and Chu Zhuangwang. This statement can be found in White Tiger Tongnuo. Chapter ".
Another way of saying it is Qi Huangong, Jin Wengong, Chu Zhuangwang, the King of Wu He Lv and the King of Yue Gou Jian. This theory can be found in Wang Bao's "Four Disciplines on Morality".
Qi Huangong appointed Guan Zhong as prime minister to promote national unity and become the first overlord. Qi Huangong acceded to the throne in 685 BC. He carried out a series of political and economic reforms, which made Qi strong. Qi Huangong adopted Guan Zhong's opinion and played the banner of "respecting the king and rejecting foreign countries", that is, in the name of respecting the Zhou royal family, he joined forces with other governors to jointly fight against the neighboring ethnic minorities that threatened the Central Plains, and also sent troops to stop the southern power of Chu in the north, thus establishing prestige among the vassal States. Later, Qi Henggong called the vassal states to join the League in Caiqiu, and the Zhou royal family also sent people to attend, officially recognizing Qi Henggong's hegemony.
Then Jin Wengong. In 633 BC, King Chu Cheng led soldiers from Chu, Zheng and Chen to besiege Shangqiu, the capital of the Song Dynasty (now south of Shangqiu County, Henan Province). Song sent someone to ask Jin for help. Jin Wengong adopted the correct opinions of his subordinates. He won Chyi Chin's participation in the war and strengthened his own strength. Then it improved the relationship between Jin and Cao and Wei, and isolated Chu. At this time, the State of Chu ordered that the official name was Yin, and he was furious and sent troops to attack the Jin army.
Jin Wengong in order to avoid the edge of Chu Jun, in order to choose soldiers, ordered troops to retreat ninety miles. The ancient army marched 30 miles to call a shed, and 90 miles to call three sheds. 8 jin j "retreat", retreat to the city of wei pu (now yanxian county, shandong province). Chengpu is close to the state of Jin, which is convenient for supply and meets the concentrated forces of Chyi Chin and Song Allied Forces. In April 632 BC, the two armies of Chu Jin began a decisive battle. The Jin army lured the enemy deep, and the Chu army fell into a tight encirclement, and the whole army was wiped out. The battle of Chengpu created a famous example of giving in first and then taking the initiative. Since then, Jin Wengong invited King Xiang of Zhou to join the vassal in Jiantu (now Guangwu, Henan). Zhou was named "the head of a vassal" and given black and red bows and arrows, indicating that he had the right to conquer freely. Jin Wengong became the overlord of the Central Plains.
After Qi Huangong's death, Song Xianggong was bent on becoming the overlord. In the spring of the 13th year of King Xiang Zhou (639 BC), the kings of Song, Qi and Chu met at the deer farm in Qi State. From the beginning, he claimed to be the leader of the League, thinking that he was the initiator of this meeting, and at the same time, he thought that his title was higher than that of Chu and Qi, and the leader must belong to him. However, King Chu Cheng ordered Chu Bing to take King Xiang of Song into custody, and then commanded 500 troops to kill the Song State. Finally, Song Xianggong was captured by Chu and released. It was his failure to be eager for quick success and quick success and talk about benevolence and righteousness, but keeping his word and treating others with benevolence and righteousness made him one of the five tyrants in the Spring and Autumn Period. But in name only, it can't be regarded as a real hegemon.
When Qi was dominant, Chu stopped moving northward because of Qi's suppression, and instead annexed some small countries in the east to make them stronger. When Guo Hong, the State of Qi, fell behind, the State of Chu expanded northward and competed with the State of Jin for hegemony. In 598 BC, Chu Zhuangwang led an army to fight the Jin Army in Zhai (now Zhengzhou, Henan) and defeated the Jin Army. Countries in the Central Plains have abandoned gold and returned to Chu, becoming the overlord of the Central Plains.
When the state of Jin dominates, the state of Qin in the west becomes stronger. Qin Mugong tried to dominate the Central Plains in the east, but because the passage in the east was blocked by gold, it annexed a dozen small countries in the west and ruled the area west of Hanguguan, which was known as "dominating Xirong" in history. "Take 12 years as our country and open Wan Li" (Chapter 10 of Everything is done wrong).
Since then, the State of Wu and the State of Yue have become powerful one after another, vying for hegemony in the southeast region. In 494 BC, Fu Cha, the king of Wu, attacked the State of Yue, besieged Gou Jian, the king of Yue, in Huiji (now Shaoxing, Zhejiang) and forced the State of Yue to yield. Then defeated the Qi army. In 482 BC, in Huangchi (now near Fengqiu, Henan Province), he joined forces with the princes and became king. After being defeated by the State of Wu, Gou Jian, King of Yue, was determined to avenge himself. After decades of hard work, he turned weakness into strength and destroyed Wu. Gou Jian took advantage of the situation to go north, and in Xu (now Shandong County), he joined forces with Qi, Jin and other governors to proclaim himself emperor.
The hegemony between vassals and great powers showed the weakening of the imperial power in the Zhou Dynasty. Since 770 BC, when Pingdong moved to Luoyi (now Luoyang, Henan Province), the royal family of Zhou Dynasty declined even more. Once upon a time, the emperor was the commander-in-chief of the princes. "Rites and music were conquered by the emperor." Now these powers are in the hands of the princes, "Rites and music were conquered by the princes", "Zale was conquered by doctors" and even "accompanied the ministers in state affairs". The new landlord class rose in succession to seize power. Slavery in the Zhou Dynasty was in a state of "bad manners and music".
However, according to the final result, neither Song Xianggong nor He Lv, the prince of Wu, can be selected into the five tyrants. Combining the two statements in history, excluding those who are not worthy of the name, Jiang, Ji Chonger, Coco, Ren Ying Hao and Betty Wong Gou Jian can be regarded as the "five tyrants in the Spring and Autumn Period" in the true sense!