Chapter 22 Chapter Eight: From Saint to Ordinary

In ancient times, myths and legends and historical figures were often confused, some were the mythologization of history, and some were the historization of mythology.Therefore, all the ancient emperors had a prominent family tree, either from a certain god or from a certain ancient emperor.The so-called historical legends refer to the legends of real figures in history, which are fantasies of varying degrees based on the original historical facts. Because of Yu's victory over the Sanmiao War, his prestige among the clans and tribes was greatly enhanced.The plundered slaves are very beneficial to improving productivity, and the chiefs became clan nobles, and the growth of their personal wealth promoted the emergence of slavery.At this time, it is no longer possible to implement the "abdication" system in the era of Yao and Shun.At first, Yu gave the world to Yi who had meritorious service, but three years later, Yi gave the world to Yu's son Qi, and went to live in seclusion in the south of Mount Ji.It is said that it was because the people below did not support Yi, but supported Qi. Everyone said: "Qi is our son of Yu!" Some said that after Qi took power away, he killed Yi.Qi Bian became the Empress of Xia.If Yu is the founding king, Qi is the second generation king; if Yu is not counted, Qi is the founding king.Since then, the private world from father to son has been formally formed.This does not depend on the talents of Yi and Qi, but on the historical conditions at that time.In order to eliminate the opposing forces, Qi first defeated the Youhu clan, and the whole Youhu clan became Qi's slaves; the struggle between Qi and the Dongyi faction has never stopped, which may be related to the contradiction between Yi.Because Yiyuan belongs to the Dongyi family.Evaluating Qi from the general trend, Qi, like Yu, complied with the development of history, so people deify him to a certain extent.He is similar to Naifu, and is closely related to dragons and snakes. In addition, he may also be very good at music and dance. "Shan Hai Jing Da Huang Xi Jing" said that he wore two green snakes on his ears and drove two dragons. He visited the sky three times as a guest and got the movements "Nine Debates" and "Nine Songs" (this is not Qu Yuan's "Nine Songs") Song"), and brought these heavenly music to the world.He organized it into "Nine Moves", so there was music and dancing.Music and dance is not a personal creation, its origin is related to both labor and witchcraft.It is said that it is Qi's credit, which shows that Qi is at least very good at music and dance, and vigorously advocates it.

As the supreme ruler, Xia Houqi was unavoidably lewd and dissolute, which was criticized by later generations. "Mozi Feile Shang" starts from the Mohist thought of adversity. On the one hand, it depicts the grand and magnificent singing and dancing scene organized by Qi, "Wings dance with wings, and the chapters are heard in the sky"; Drinking is only for fun. Hai and Heng are the ancestors of merchants.Their deeds are mainly preserved in and.The former can be found in "Da Huang Dong Jing" and "Hainei Bei Jing"; the latter starts from "Gai Bing Ji De", a total of 24 sentences, all about them, because there are questions but no answers, it is difficult to understand.Combining the present with the comprehensive translation, readers and friends can get thought-provoking inspiration from the family history of the Shang Dynasty.

There is a prince named Hai (also known as Gai, the same word in ancient times), who is said to be the collateral ancestor of the Shang royal family.His father's name is Ji.Hai inherited Ji's foundation.At that time, the Shang clan was not very powerful, just one of the princes of the Xia Dynasty, living a nomadic life on the eastern grassland.Hai was very good at domesticating cattle and sheep, and grazed cattle at the home of He Bo (personal name, not the water god of the Yellow River) in Youyi State (that is, the Youhu clan), which shows that the Shang clan was still controlled by Youyi at that time.At first, Hai's life was very hard, and sometimes he ate bird heads to satisfy his hunger.Because Hai has accumulated rich experience in long-term animal husbandry, he has made special contributions to domesticating cattle.Originally, cattle were bison. It is a great progress to turn cattle into domestic animals.

"Shiben" says: "Hai Zuo subdues cattle", which means that Hai can tame cattle to serve in production and become cart-drawing cattle.This was a great invention at the time, and it attracted the attention of the upper echelons of Youyi, so Hai jumped to become a guest of Youyi, lived in the official residence where the monarch entertained guests, and had the opportunity to see the shield dance performance held by the court.Because of the good hospitality, Hai's muscles became plump and his skin became tender. Hai's younger brother, Heng, heard at home that his elder brother had received generous hospitality for taming cattle, so he went to the country of Yi to join Hai, hoping to find an official position.After Heng arrived in Youyi State, he saw the young and beautiful wife of Mianchen, the king of Youyi State, so he wanted to curry favor with her and had an improper relationship with her.Mianchen's wife is a lecherous woman, and she also has an improper relationship with Hai.Once, two brothers went to Mianchen's wife for a tryst at the same time.Hai stayed behind, but Heng ran to inform the police. Hai was hacked to death on the bed by a warrior from Youyi. His body was divided into eight pieces: four pieces for his hands and arms, and four pieces for his head and body.Later, the folklore: "Hai has two heads and six bodies", that's how it spread.

After Mianchen killed Hai, he was rewarded generously by Mianchen because of his meritorious service in telling the truth.It turned out that Mianchen confiscated all the cattle tamed by Haiti Hebo, and did not return them to Hebo, the owner of the cattle, but gave them to Heng.In this way, Heng returned to his country with a herd of cattle, some of which were breeding cattle. Although Heng did not get an official position in Youyi State this time, he made a fortune and became the ruler of his clan.Later, Heng's son Shangjiawei inherited Heng's status and property. Shangjia was good at playing tricks, defrauding the world and stealing fame. After becoming strong, he used the pretext of avenging Hai and led a large number of troops to attack Youyi.It was originally an act of aggression, but he boasted that the people of Youyi who came to welcome him were as many as birds on a tree.Finally, in the sixteenth year of Xiahou III, Shangjiawei annexed Youyi.From then on, the Shang clan began to prosper.

Heng started his career by cheating and killed his elder brother. Instead, his family was lucky for a long time. He Bo sympathized with King Yi and helped him escape.A country was established in the mountains, and the people here were called "Yaomin". We have mentioned that the ancient ancestor of the Shang clan was Qie, and Qie was born by his mother, Jian Di, who swallowed the eggs of black birds.It is said that Jian Di's husband is Ku.Legend has it that Hai and Heng's father, Ji, became the god of water after his death.That is to say, it is difficult to figure out how many generations have passed from Ku to Ji, because the ancestors of the merchants are very mythical.Although the records of Heng and Shangjiawei in ancient documents are still very brief, the mythological color has been greatly weakened, and there are more and more reliable historical facts.Chengtang is the sixth grandson of Shangjiawei. After about 200 years in the Central Classics, he finally destroyed the Xia Dynasty, established the Yin Shang Dynasty, and ruled the Yellow River Basin for 600 years.

The basic outline of this historical legend can be found in the book, and then refer to the relevant literature to have a complete outline.By asking questions, it was revealed that the rulers of the Shang clan made their fortunes by deceit and violence, and they were not as sacred as they themselves said.Since ancient times, the exploiting rulers of all dynasties have used to cover up their crimes and beautify their genealogy.This was the case until Zhou, Qin, and Han. This legend itself is actually a betrayal of the myth of the "Mysterious Bird of Destiny", and has more historical authenticity.