Rebellion of the Three Guards

Rebellion of the Three Guards
Approximate areas under Zhou loyalist (green) and rebel control (red). Loyalist reconquest of North China Plain (dark red), Zhou conquest of western Shandong (light blue), and loyalist campaigns against last rebel strongholds (purple).
Date c. 1042–1039 BC[1] (3 years) Location Northeastern China, particularly the North China Plain,[10][18] western Shandong, and northern Jiangsu[19] Result Decisive Zhou loyalist victory[1][18] Fengjian system established[20] Resistance of Shang loyalists is broken[21][22] Territorial changes Zhou dynasty secures Central Plain and conquers western Shandong; several rebel states are dismantled[18]
Belligerents
Zhou loyalists[1] Zhou royal domain[2] State of Shao[2][3] State of Wey[4] State of Northern Yan[5] State of Lian[6] State of Xue[6][7] Other loyalist states	Three Guards, separatists and Shang loyalists[8] State of Guan[9] State of Cai[9] State of Huo[10] Shang domain of Yin[11] State of Ying[2] State of Tang[12] Other rebel states Dongyi and Huaiyi[2][13] State of Yan[14][a] State of Pugu[16][17] State of Xu[17][7] State of Xiong[7] State of Feng[17][6] Many other tribes and states[10]
Commanders and leaders
Duke of Zhou[2][18] King Cheng of Zhou[14] Duke of Shao[3][18] Duke Lü Shang[23] Viscount Qi of Wey[4] Grand Invocator Qin[15] Duke Ke of Shao[24] Duke of Lian[6] Commander Zhi[6] Commander Qian[6]	Guanshu Xian [18] Caishu Du[18] Huoshu Chu (POW)[18][b] Wu Geng †[18] Ruler of Tang [12] Marquis of Yan (POW)[6][15] Elder of Feng †[6]
Casualties and losses
Unknown; the old Shang capital of Yin is destroyed[25]

The Rebellion of the Three Guards^[1][c] (simplified Chinese: 三监之乱; traditional Chinese: 三監之亂; pinyin: Sān Jiàn zhī Luàn), or less commonly the Wu Geng Rebellion (simplified Chinese: 武庚之乱; traditional Chinese: 武庚之亂),^[26] was a civil war,^[18] instigated by an alliance of discontent Zhou princes, Shang loyalists, vassal states and other non-Zhou peoples against the Western Zhou government under the Duke of Zhou's regency in late 11th century BC.^[2]

After the fall of the Shang dynasty, King Wu of Zhou had appointed his younger brothers Guanshu, Caishu and Huoshu as the "Three Guards" of the East to secure the newly conquered Shang lands.^[1] After his death and his young son King Cheng's coronation, King Wu's brother Dan, the Duke of Zhou, declared himself regent and took over the court. This aroused the anger of the Three Guards who suspected Dan of usurpation and believed that they should serve as regents.^[27] The Three Guards allied with many separatist eastern nobles, Shang loyalists under Prince Wu Geng,^[11][18] and several Dongyi (東夷) and Huaiyi (淮夷) states^[2] in rebellion. The Duke of Zhou then launched a second "eastern campaign" to put down the rebellion, and defeated the rebels in three years, killing or disempowering their leaders. In doing so, he also further expanded the authority of Zhou kingdom into East China,^[18][1] transforming it into an empire using the new Fengjian system.^[20][25]

Edward L. Shaughnessy called the rebellion "a succession crisis that has come to be seen as defining moment not only for the Western Zhou dynasty but for the entire history of Chinese statecraft".^[28]

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