771: Quanrong nomads drive the Zhou out of the Wei river valley - Scroll Down for more details

The Quanrong Invasion of 771 BCE: The Fall of the Western Zhou Dynasty

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In 771 BCE, a pivotal event in Chinese history unfolded when the Quanrong, a nomadic people from the northwest, sacked the Western Zhou capital of Haojing (near modern Xi'an) and drove the Zhou dynasty out of the Wei River Valley. This marked the end of the Western Zhou period (1046-771 BCE) and forced the Zhou court to relocate eastward, establishing a new capital at Luoyang—ushering in the Eastern Zhou period (770-256 BCE).

Background: The Decline of the Western Zhou

By the 8th century BCE, the Zhou dynasty had weakened due to:
- Internal strife: Succession disputes and power struggles among Zhou nobility.
- Feudal fragmentation: Regional lords (such as the Marquises of Shen and Zeng) grew increasingly autonomous, reducing the king's authority.
- King You's misrule: The last Western Zhou king, King You (r. 781-771 BCE), was infamous for neglecting governance, favoring his concubine Baosi, and allegedly falsifying military alerts (the "Beacon Fire" incident) to amuse her, eroding trust among his vassals.

The Quanrong Invasion

Taking advantage of Zhou weakness, the Quanrong—possibly a Xiongnu-related steppe confederation—launched a devastating attack:
- Betrayal by disaffected lords: Some sources suggest that Marquis of Shen (King You's father-in-law) and other nobles allied with the Quanrong to overthrow the unpopular king.
- Sack of Haojing: The Quanrong overran the capital, killing King You, destroying the royal court, and looting the Wei River Valley.
- Flight of the Zhou court: The king's heir, King Ping, was escorted east by loyalists, relocating to Luoyang under the protection of powerful lords like the Qin and Jin states.

Consequences

• End of Western Zhou dominance: The Zhou kings became figureheads, relying on regional lords for protection, leading to the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BCE) of decentralized rule.
  
• Rise of the Qin: The Qin state, tasked with reclaiming the lost western lands, eventually grew powerful enough to unify China in 221 BCE.
  
• Cultural memory: The event was later mythologized in texts like the Bamboo Annals and Zuo Zhuan, symbolizing the dangers of misrule and external threats.

Legacy: The 771 BCE catastrophe reshaped China's political landscape, accelerating the transition from a centralized Zhou order to the warring states era while embedding a lasting fear of northern nomads in Chinese historiography.

(Note: Some details remain debated due to limited archaeological evidence and later literary embellishments.)