The period from the 11th century BC to 771 BC was the Western Zhou period in Chinese history, and in order to strengthen the rule, the rulers of the early Zhou Dynasty implemented the policy of feudal princes, dividing the nobles of the Zhou royal family into various places and establishing the vassal states of the Western Zhou Dynasty. After the death of King Wu of Zhou, the young King Cheng ascended the throne, and King Wu's younger brother Duke Zhou assisted the government. Duke of Zhou was a loyal courtier with both ability and integrity, and Cao Cao praised his loyalty and seriousness with the phrase "Duke Zhou spit and feed, and the world returns to the heart" in "Tanka Xing". On the basis of the establishment of the state, the Duke of Zhou formulated, summarized, inherited, and perfected ritual music, thus systematically establishing a set of perfect systems for ritual music.

Among them, there are mainly the gi system, the lord system, the legal system, the primogeniture inheritance system, and so on. 畿 (jī), refers to the place around the royal capital, the so-called 畿服制, that is, the princes inside and outside the Qi have to serve the king of Zhou. The knighthood system is the system of titles and titles; Title, also known as title and title, refers to the feudal rank of the princes; A nickname is a title that is based on the life deeds and moral cultivation of a person with a certain status after he dies, so as to give a kind evaluation, or a title with a judgmental nature. The legal system refers to the system of laws and regulations. The primogeniture system is one of the most basic principles of the patriarchal system, and the throne and property must be inherited by the eldest son, that is, the eldest son born to the wife.

Among the many systems, the primogeniture system and the hierarchy of the noble and the low should be the most important. During the Yin Shang period, the succession to the throne was mostly from brother to brother, and the succession was very unstable. The primogeniture inheritance system established by the Duke of Zhou was based on blood relations and stipulated that the throne of Zhou Tianzi would be inherited by the eldest son. At the same time, the other concubines were divided into princes and princes. Their relationship with the Son of Heaven is that of the local and the central, the small and the large. The Duke of Zhou also formulated a series of strict etiquette systems for monarchs and ministers, fathers and sons, brothers, relatives, respect and humility, and nobility and humility to adjust the relationship between the central and local governments, princes and subjects, and strengthen the rule of the central power, which is the so-called etiquette system. What Confucius pursued all his life was this kind of orderly society.

The ritual system of the Western Zhou Dynasty belonged to the category of superstructure, and the rites formulated by the Duke of Zhou were the general name of the political norms, moral norms and various rules and regulations that maintained the hierarchy of the rulers, and later developed into a hierarchical dogma that distinguished the noble and the low. Rakugaku is a dance music made in conjunction with the ceremonial activities of the aristocracy. The scale of the dance music must be consistent with the level of enjoyment. The ritual music system of the Western Zhou Dynasty formed the ritual music culture and ritual music civilization with the characteristics of the Western Zhou Dynasty, which had a huge and far-reaching impact on the Chinese culture of later dynasties.

Rites emphasize otherness, which is used to honor, that is, to respect those who should be respected; The function of music is harmony, and it is used to kiss, that is, to be close to those who should be close. Differences and harmony are two important aspects of consolidating the unity within the Zhou people.

The central issue to be solved by the rites is the distinction between the noble and the low, that is, the patriarchal system, and further speaking, the establishment of the inheritance system. Since there was no strict inheritance system, the Duke of Zhou could also be called king, and the brothers Guan Shu and Uncle Cai of King Wu of Zhou could also defect from the royal family because of the struggle for royal power. As a small state, the Zhou people could not fail to consider the lessons of the large state Yin Shang, not to mention that the Duke of Zhou knew the history of the Xia Dynasty and the Yin Dynasty well. In terms of succession, Yin Shang coexisted with his younger brother and son, which once led to the Ninth Rebellion that lasted for a hundred years. Passing the throne to a son or brother is itself a contradiction between passing on to the elder, to the young, or to the sage. The existence of these contradictions often leads to disputes in the royal family, which will eventually lead to the decline of royal power after a long time.

After the Yin Dynasty from Kangding, it experienced Wuyi, Wending, Diyi, and Dixin, and obviously abolished the system of passing on the younger brother and established the system of passing on the son. The Zhou Dynasty did not establish the primogeniture inheritance system before the Duke of Zhou, and King Wu had a brother named Bo Yi Kao, but King Wen took King Wu Ji Fa as the crown prince. Since the Duke of Zhou, he has gone through King Cheng, King Kang, King Zhao, King Mu, King Gong, King Yi, in addition to King Xiao, until King You, all of whom have been passed on. This is not accidental, and the establishment of this primogeniture system should be attributed to the Duke of Zhou. After the primogeniture system was established, only the eldest son had the right to inherit, which legally eliminated the competition for the throne between brothers and played a role in stabilizing and consolidating the ruling class. It can be said that the primogeniture system is the core content of the patriarchal system.

The Duke of Zhou combined the patriarchal system with the political system and established a complete superstructure that served slavery. Zhou Tianzi is a major sect in the world, and the princes surnamed Ji are small sects relative to Zhou Tianzi. And these princes are big sects in their own feudal countries, and the Qing doctors with the same surname are small sects, so they form a pagoda-shaped structure, and its top is Zhou Tianzi. One of the purposes of the Zhou Dynasty's feudal princes with the same surname was to form such a political structure linked by blood relations, which was a big step forward from the alliance form of the Yin Dynasty.

Zhou Tianzi can give the princes territory, but the premise is that the land must be state-owned, as the so-called "under the whole world, it is not the king's land". Land is not allowed to be bought and sold, and I am afraid it is also from the Duke of Zhou. In order to strengthen the central dynasty's rule over the localities, the systems of canonization, hunt patrols, pilgrimages, and gongna are also likely to have been determined by the Duke of Zhou on the basis of summarizing the experience of the previous generations. On the one hand, it is systematized on the basis of summarizing the experience of predecessors, and on the other hand, it is also a summary of the specific practice of Zhou people.

The following is the table of contents of "Zhou Li", we can understand it first, so that we can better learn "Zhou Li".

"Tianguan Tsukazai": Xuguan, Dazai, Xiaozai, Gongzheng/Waiyang, Hengren/Veterinarian, Jiuzheng/Zhangci, Dafu/Zhiyuan, Siqiu/Neishu, Nine Concubines/Female History

"Diguan Situ": Xuguan, Da Situ, Xiao Situ, Township Teacher/Bichang, Fengren/Junren, Shishi/Matchmaker, Sishi/Zhangjie, Suiren/Tujun, Straw Man/Feather Man, Zhangge/Yanren

"Chunguan Zongbo": Xuguan, Da Zongbo, Xiao Zongbo, Shishi, Yuren/Dian Rui, Dianming/Funeral, Da Si Le/Xiao Shi, Blind Meng/Si Gan, Da Bu/Curse, Si Wu/Shenshi

"Xia Guan Sima": Xuguan, Da Sima, Xiao Sima/Si Risk, Hou Ren/Si Right, Hu Ben Clan/Dao Right, Da Yu/Xing Way, Mountain Master/Du Sima

"Autumn Officials and Officials": Narrative Official, Great Priest, Small Priest, Judge/Tribunal, Simin/Zhangju, Si Li/Ting, Title Mei/Master of Ceremonies, Xingfu/Chao Doctor

"Winter Official Examination Work Record": General Narrative, Wheel Man/Crane Man, Zhu Clan/Jade Person, Chime Clan/Car Man, Bow Man