Zichan

Zichan (WG: Tzu Ch'an). was a Chinese statesman living during the late Spring and Autumn period. From 544 BC until his death in 522 BC, he served as the chief minister of the State of Zheng. Also known as Gongsun Qiao (, he is better known by his courtesy name Zichan. As chief minister of Zheng, a widely-respected state in central China, Zichan faced aggression from without and a fractious domestic politics. He led as Chinese culture and society was weathering a centuries-long period of turbulence, with governing traditions unstable and malleable, institutions battered by chronic war, and emerging new ways sharply contested. Under him the Zheng state prevailed and grew; he introduced strengthening reforms and met foreign threats. His statecraft was viewed with respect. Zichan was favorably treated in the Zuo Zhuan (an ancient text), and drew comments from his near-contemporary Confucius, later from Mencius. Background Zhou dynasty By its military defeat in 771 BC, historians divide the Zhou (c.1045-221 BC) into periods, Western and Eastern; as in retreat Zhou moved its capital east. The dynasty not only never recovered, it steadily lost strength during the Spring and Autumn period (770-481 BC). At its start Zhou government used the fengjian system. Differing from the feudal, in the fengjian kinship was the primary bond between the royal dynast and local 'vassal'.