During the Zhou Dynasty, cities typically had two layers of walls, dividing the urban area from the inside out into the inner city (cheng) and the outer city (guo). Those living within the inner city were called "guoren" (city dwellers). Due to severe internal divisions among the nobility, many fallen aristocrats and impoverished scholar-officials, as their social status declined, mingled with artisans, merchants, and other commoners from the lower social strata, becoming part of the "guoren." Those living outside the city were referred to as "yeren" (wild people) or "biren" (rustic people).
During the reign of King Li of Zhou, relations between the imperial court and ethnic minorities were very strained. On one hand, King Li continuously campaigned southward against the Jingchu tribes, forcing the Huaiyi people in the southeast, who had once submitted to Zhou, to rise up in resistance; on the other hand, he also had to defend against invasions from nomadic tribes in the west. These relentless wars caused severe damage to agricultural production, plunging the common people into great hardship.
King Li of Zhou was greedy for wealth and pleasure. To satisfy his own indulgences, he followed the advice of Rong Yigong and implemented a "monopoly" policy, taxing the people who made a living from mountains, forests, lakes, and marshes. The people were discontent and complaints filled the land. To suppress their speech, he ordered a shaman from Wei to monitor what the people said. The shaman was cruel and merciless, meting out harsh punishments, until the people in the capital dared not say anything in public and could only exchange glances. The Duke of Shao admonished him, saying, "Blocking the people's mouths is worse than damming a river," but King Li would not listen and even took pride in having silenced the people.
Under King Li of Zhou's oppressive policies, social conflicts intensified. The people outwardly said nothing, but their discontent grew ever higher.
In 841 BCE, the tyrannical rule of King Li of Zhou finally sparked a revolt among the "commoners" in Haojing. Armed with clubs and farming tools, they gathered and stormed the palace, intent on killing the king. King Li hastily ordered his troops to suppress the uprising, but his minister replied, "All of our Zhou soldiers come from the commoners, so the commoners are the soldiers, and the soldiers are the commoners. Now that the commoners have revolted, where can we muster troops?"
King Li of Zhou had no choice but to flee for his life, hastily escaping from Haojing with his trusted followers, traveling along the banks of the Wei River all the way to Zhi (present-day Huozhou, Shanxi), where he later died; this popular uprising is also known as the "Revolt of Zhi."
When the people stormed the palace, King Li of Zhou had already fled, but the enraged populace turned their anger toward Crown Prince Ji Jing. Duke Mu of Shao hid Ji Jing in his own home. The furious citizens, upon learning this, rushed to Duke Mu's residence, surrounded it, and demanded he hand over the crown prince. To protect the prince, Duke Mu sacrificed his own son in his place. According to the Bamboo Annals, "The people seized Duke Mu of Shao's son and killed him." Thus, the crown prince was spared from death.
The people, believing the crown prince had been killed, felt their resentment somewhat alleviated. Coupled with the mediation of Duke Ding of Zhou and Duke Mu of Shao, they gradually dispersed.
King Li's escape left Zhou suddenly without a ruler, but a state cannot be without a sovereign for even a single day. Thus, under the leadership of Duke Ding of Zhou and Duke Mu of Shao, a noble assembly was convened. After deliberation, the nobles decided that state affairs would be temporarily managed jointly by Duke Mu of Shao and Duke Ding of Zhou, while important governmental matters would be handled by the Six Ministers in council. This arrangement was historically known as the "Zhou-Shao Joint Rule" or the "Gonghe Regency," and 841 BC was designated as the first year of the Gonghe era. From this point onward, Chinese history had a clear and continuous system of annual records, which has never been interrupted for thousands of years.