The Duke of Zhou's regency and its conclusion are the tradition's founding political story, and its shape is deliberate. He held power during the dynasty's most vulnerable years, faced a rebellion led by his own brothers who charged him with intending to take the throne, suppressed it, extended Zhou control eastward, established the ritual and administrative order, and then transferred the government to King Cheng when he came of age. Confucius refers to him repeatedly and takes him rather than any founding king as the model, which locates the ideal in the minister rather than the sovereign — a placement with obvious consequences for a tradition whose adherents were, overwhelmingly, ministers. The Book of Documents preserves speeches attributed to him, including the classic statements of the Mandate of Heaven doctrine explaining why the Shang lost it. Analects 7.5, where Confucius says he has not dreamt of the Duke of Zhou in a long time and takes it as a sign of his own decline, is among the most quoted lines in Chinese literature.