The real reason for the fall of the Western Zhou Dynasty was not the beacon fire playing tricks on the vassals. What was the truth?

Answer 1

The real reason for the fall of the Western Zhou Dynasty was very complicated, involving political, economic, cultural and many other factors. In historical documents, there were different explanations for the reasons for the demise of the Western Zhou Dynasty, but the most common one was that the decline of the Western Zhou Dynasty was caused by internal contradictions and external threats.

During the Western Zhou Dynasty, the political system was based on the clan system. Each family had its own aristocratic power, and there was a complicated distribution of interests and competition between these families. Under this system, the aristocrats gradually strengthened and grasped the power of the country, while the status of the royal family gradually declined, causing the rule of Western Zhou to gradually lose its authority and legitimacy.

In addition, there were frequent wars and diplomatic incidents in the Western Zhou Dynasty, which aggravated the internal contradictions and instability of the Western Zhou Dynasty. For example, the political game between the Zhou emperor and the vassal states, the war between the Zhou Dynasty and the Shang Dynasty, etc. all led to the decline of Western Zhou's domestic stability and international status.

The destruction of Western Zhou was also affected by external threats. After the fall of the Shang Dynasty, the Zhou Emperor was regarded as the successor of the Shang Dynasty, and the remnants of the Shang Dynasty posed a threat to the Zhou Dynasty. For example, the vassal states of the Shang Dynasty and the rise of power in the border areas threatened the national security of the Zhou Dynasty.

The real reason for the demise of the Western Zhou Dynasty should be the result of the interaction of many factors, including internal contradictions, external threats, and historical evolution.