Livingiching's Blog

The Duke of Zhou of Zhou ended up serving as regent for seven years. During that time, he fought a war against two of his brothers, who conspired with other feudal lords and the remnants of the conquered Shang dynasty to seize power for themselves. The war was concluded in five years. One brother was executed and the other banished.

The Mandate of Heaven

The Duke of Zhou formulated the mandate of heaven, a concept that still resonates within the Chinese mind. Under this idea, a ruler has power because heaven grants a mandate. But this mandate can be withdrawn, and then the ruler is overthrown because the mandate has been lost. In the past, natural disasters, like the storms mentioned previously, falling stars, or eclipses were regarded as possible signs of heaven’s displeasure.

The Duke of Zhou is credited with the authorship of many of the poems in the Book of Songs, formulated the Book of Rites, is credited with codifying the classical music of the time, and he was also deeply concerned with astronomy, mathematics, and other kinds of technology. According to legend, he gave a delegation from what is now Vietnam a compass so he could find his way home.

Confucius and the Duke of Zhou

Confucius regarded the Duke of Zhou as a hero to follow. Once, he said, “I no longer dream of the Duke of Zhou.” People take it to mean that he no longer had a dream of the Duke of Zhou’s ideas of good governance, but I think it’s significant that Confucius would dream of the Duke of Zhou (about five hundred years separated them) and it indicates what a presence the duke was to Confucius.

A Well-Known Humorous Joke

By the way, the idea of Confucius dreaming about the Duke of Zhou is the genesis of one of China’s humorous stories: a teacher dozed in class each day, and whenever he woke up, he told his students that he had been visiting the Duke of Zhou. One day, when a student fell asleep and was severely reprimanded, the boy said that he had been visiting the Duke of Zhou.

“And what did the Duke say?” demanded the teacher with sarcasm and vehemence.

“I asked if our teacher ever came to visit, and he said he had never met such a fellow.”

Nowadays, “Dreaming of the Duke of Zhou,” or “Seeing the Duke of Zhou,” is a euphemism for sleeping in class.