Lu - Ro

One of the princely states of the Zhou dynasty in China. The family name was Jing. It began when Zhou Gongdan (Shukotan), the younger brother of King Wu of Zhou and a great meritorious official in the founding of the Zhou dynasty, was given a fief around Qufu (Qufu County, Shandong Province). However, Zhou Gongdan stayed in the capital to assist the Zhou king, and his eldest son Boqin (Hakukin) went to his fief. The land was originally the land of the Eastern barbarians, and it is said that he had a hard time governing it at first. During the Spring and Autumn period, the country was under pressure from powerful states such as Qi, Jin, and Chu, and especially in the latter period, the so-called Three Huans, descendants of the ruler Duke Huan, Mengsun, Shusun, and Jisun, seized real power in the country and divided the royal family into three, eventually losing power to Yang Huo, a vassal of Jisun. After that, Confucius tried to restore the sovereignty, but failed, and the country further declined during the Warring States period, and was destroyed by Chu in 249 BC. After the decline of the Zhou royal family during the Spring and Autumn period, Lu was the state that best conveyed Zhou culture. Confucius, who was born in such a country, tried to restore the ideal government of the Duke of Zhou, but failed, but his political ideas were passed down by his disciples scattered throughout the country, and had an enormous influence on the history of China in later generations.

[Haruki Emura]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国、周代の諸侯国の一つ。姫姓。周の武王の弟で、周王朝創建の大功臣である周公旦(しゅうこうたん)が曲阜(きょくふ)（山東省曲阜県）周辺の地に封ぜられたのに始まる。ただし、周公旦は都にとどまって周王を補佐し、長子の伯禽(はくきん)が封地に赴いた。その地はもと東夷(とうい)の地であり、最初は統治に苦心したといわれる。春秋時代には、斉(せい)、晋(しん)、楚(そ)などの強国の圧迫を受けて国は振るわず、とくに、その後期になると、その君主であった桓(かん)公の子孫の孟孫(もうそん)氏、叔孫(しゅくそん)氏、季孫(きそん)氏のいわゆる三桓氏が国の実権を握って公室を三分し、ついには季孫氏の臣下の陽虎(ようこ)に実権を奪われるありさまであった。その後、孔子が君権の回復を図ったが失敗し、戦国時代には国はますます衰え、紀元前249年、楚に滅ぼされた。春秋時代、周の王室が衰えて以後、魯は周の文化をもっともよく伝える国であった。そのような国に生まれた孔子は、周公の理想政治を回復しようとして果たせなかったが、その政治思想は諸国に散らばった弟子によって伝えられ、後世中国の歴史に絶大な影響を与えた。

［江村治樹］

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