Chapter 70 Jiang Taigong caught up with the history of China for thousands of years

Jiang Taigong is an all-wise and all-powerful figure in Chinese history. He is also a "tall, big, and complete" image on the Chinese literary stage, and a god-lord who ranks above all gods on the Chinese altar.As a god of religion, he is the God of Valor and God of Wisdom, and he is regarded as the guardian deity of "the Grand Duke is here, and there are no taboos".Jiang Taigong's life was full of ups and downs, vigorous and mysterious, and he was indeed a strange man and a strange man.Looking at the achievements of Taigong's life, he has made outstanding contributions in terms of military, political, economic and ideological aspects. Among them, military affairs are the most praised, so later historians called him "the words of later generations and the Yin power of Zhou Dynasty. "Basic strategy", it can be called the originator of military strategists and the source of military affairs.

Jiang Shang, who once wrote "Song of Ten Thousand Years of Heaven and Earth", has many legendary stories left in the world.From the initial "take the bait of the wisher" to the battle of wits and courage with all kinds of bulls, ghosts and snakes in China, the historical picture scroll shows us a resourceful Jiang Ziya.And his fishing while sitting alone by the river has brought back a thousand years of Chinese history. Jiang Taigong's real name is Lu Shang, his surname is Jiang, and his style name is Ziya. He is honored as Taigong Wang, and later generations often call him Jiang Ziya and Jiang Taigong.The most famous statesman, strategist and strategist in Chinese history.

According to legend, Boyi, a descendant of Emperor Yan, was in charge of the four mountains. Boyi had made great contributions in the process of Yu's flood control, so Boyi was given the surname "Lu", and Boyi's descendants naturally followed their ancestor's surname.Lu Shang, namely Jiang Ziya, is a descendant of Boyi.When Jiang Ziya was born, his family had gradually declined, so Jiang Ziya did not enjoy much happiness in his youth.He worked as a butcher who butchered cattle and sheep, and also opened a small shop selling wine for a living.But Jiang Ziya, who was born with a literati character, could not make a lot of money in business, and at most he could only be regarded as starving.

However, fortunately, Jiang Ziya is a poor and ambitious scholar.Whether it is slaughtering cattle and selling meat, or doing business, he has always maintained the habit of diligent study, so that he can know astronomy and geography, and has his own unique set of insights on military strategy and governing the country.In Jiang Ziya's heart, he is far from satisfied with just living his life in such a mediocre manner. He hopes that one day he can try his best to display his talents to serve the country.However, even though he was full of economics, he was not reused at all in the Shang Dynasty.The underappreciated Jiang Ziya seems to be over 60 years old, and he is still looking for opportunities to display his talents and ambitions with his gray hair.

So, he fished in the mountains, which led to the allusion that Jiang Taigong went fishing later - those who wished to take the bait.Jiang Ziya assisted two generations of monarchs, King Wen of Zhou and King Wu of Zhou.From King Wu's defeat of Zhou to the establishment of a country and proclaiming himself king, Jiang Ziya has put in a lot of effort.Therefore, Chen Zhisui, a later poet, said in the poem "Jiang Ziya": "Military power and ingenuity, why not go out of the slaughterhouse. White hair perceives encounters, and a strong heart is better than the beginning. Xibo gets what he wants, and monarchs and ministers are like fish in water. The world is heavy on merit, Guimou Minkangru. Get the right way and cut down the wrong way, take advantage of the trend but call out."

At the time of enfeoffment at the beginning of Zhou Dynasty, Jiang Ziya was enfeoffed as Marquis of Qi.Therefore, Jiang Taigong was also the founder of Qi State and the founder of Qi culture.All the classics of the past dynasties respected his historical status. Confucianism, Taoism, law, military, and vertical and horizontal schools all recognized him as a figure in their own family, and he was revered as "the master of a hundred schools of thought". After Jiang Ziya took office in Qi State, every year on the 16th day of the first lunar month, he would come to the Yuling area to worship Leizu with the local people.According to legend, Lei Zu once taught the common people the technology of raising silkworms, and people have clothes to wear since then, and they no longer need to cover their shame with leaves or animal skins.Therefore, the purpose of Jiang Ziya's visit to Leizu was to encourage the common people to plant mulberry and raise silkworms and engage in farming.

In addition, every year Jiang Ziya leads the people to worship their ancestors regularly. Every time when offering sacrifices, an altar should be set up in the widest place in the north of the city. The height of the altar is one foot high according to the heavenly stem, the length and width of one foot two are according to the earthly branches, and the altar is divided into three layers according to the three talents of heaven, earth and people.Four green flags are placed on the east side, with green dragons on them; four white flags on the west side, with white tigers on them; four red flags on the south side, with red birds on them; all directions.This symbolizes the five elements and eight trigrams and the twenty-four solar terms used in farming.On the altar are enshrined the gods of the first emperor Taihao Fuxi, the lower emperor Yandi Shennong, and the middle emperor Huangdi Xuanyuan.The Fuxi clan is revered as the humanistic ancestor of the Chinese nation, the Shennong clan is the legendary inventor of agriculture and medicine, and the Xuanyuan clan is the ancestor emperor of the Chinese nation.Therefore, worshiping these three ancestors means emphasizing farming on the one hand, and on the other hand emphasizing that the Chinese nation cannot forget its roots.

Jiang Taigong was afraid that people would forget about his ancestors and the development of the silk industry after his death, so he ordered his son to build the Tianhou Palace and the Three Emperors Palace in Yulingyi. The orientation is molded around the Hall of the Three Emperors, allowing them to perform their duties under the will of the Three Emperors, fulfill their duties, and enjoy the incense in the world. However, Jiang Ziya is most recognized by the public as his theologian.In today's people's imagination, Jiang Ziya should look like a fairy. He holds a magic whip in his arms, rides four elephants, breaks through barriers, and ascends to the stage to enshrine the gods. This myth and legend has become an enduring model.Putting aside the legends of gods and ghosts, Jiang Ziya was the first to summarize and use the Yellow Emperor's military art, unite the princes of the world to prosper Zhou and destroy Zhou, use Fuxi Wenwang's gossip technique, rely on celestial bodies and astrology, create Chinese gods, and establish the Chinese history. The theory of the immortality of the soul after being born as a minister and dying as a god.

This theory created by Jiang Ziya became the basic basis for all the plots of the myths, novels, and dramas about the descending of the gods, which were compiled and drawn by later generations of Chinese literati, thus making human history more colorful. Therefore, before the Tang and Song Dynasties, Jiang Taigong had been conferred the title of Martial Saint by successive emperors.Afterwards, Tang Suzong chased Jiang Taigong as King Wucheng.During Song Zhenzong's reign, Jiang Taigong was named King Zhaolie Wucheng.In the Yuan Dynasty, some myths and legends about Jiang Taigong appeared among the people.During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, Chen Zhonglin (one said it was Xu Zhonglin) wrote a novel. From then on, Jiang Taigong changed from a man to a god, and the people widely believed in it.