Misplaced Pages

#319680

46-447: Jiang Ziya ( fl.  12th century BC – 11th century BC), also known by several other names , was a Chinese military general, monarch, strategist, and writer who helped kings Wen and Wu of Zhou overthrow the Shang in ancient China . Following their victory at Muye , he continued to serve as a Zhou minister. He remained loyal to the regent Duke of Zhou during

92-435: A lineage surname . His were Jiang ( 姜 ) and Lü ( 呂 ), respectively. He had two courtesy names , Shangfu ( 尚父 ; "Esteemed Father") and Ziya ( 子牙 ; lit. "Master Ivory , Master Tusk "), which were used for respectful address by his peers. The names Jiang Shang and Jiang Ziya became the most common after their use in the popular Ming-era novel Fengshen Bang , written over 2,500 years after his death. Following

138-516: A country could become powerful only when the people prospered. If the officials enriched themselves while the people remained poor, the ruler would not last long. The major principle in ruling a country should be to love the people; and to love the people meant to reduce taxes and corvée labour. By following these ideas, King Wen is said to have made the Zhou state prosper very rapidly. His treatise on military strategy, Six Secret Strategic Teachings ,

184-482: A mandate to which he had a valid claim to rule over (or to lead) everyone else in the world as long as he served the people well. If the ruler became immoral, then rebellion is justified and heaven would take away that mandate and give it to another. This single most important concept legitimized the dynastic cycle or the change of dynasties regardless of social or ethnic background. This principle made it possible for dynasties founded by families of non-noble origins such as

230-527: A sage would appear to help rule the Zhou state. The first meeting between King Wen and Jiang Ziya is recorded in the book that records Jiang's teachings to King Wen and King Wu, the Six Secret Teachings (太公六韜). The meeting was recorded as being characterized by a mythic aura common to meetings between great historical figures in ancient China. Before going hunting, King Wen consulted his chief scribe to perform divination in order to discover if

276-476: A specific era name could be used by one monarch only, there were also many instances in which an era name was used by multiple monarchs, or a monarch could proclaim numerous era names throughout his/her reign. For this reason, it would be tedious for Chinese monarchs before the Ming dynasty to be referred to by their era names. Temple names ( 廟號 ; miào hào ) were accorded to Chinese monarchs after their death, for

322-455: A voodoo-like ritual involving building a straw effigy of his rival which is later shot at with arrows, leading to Zhao's death. In Chinese and Taoist belief, Jiang Ziya is sometimes considered to have been a Taoist adept. In one legend , he used the knowledge he gained at Kunlun to defeat the Shang's supernatural protectors Qianliyan and Shunfeng'er , by using magic and invocations. He

368-493: A while, he finally caught a large carp with a military book in its belly. King Wen saw a sage in a dream, and then heard of Lü Shang, and ordered to bring him [to the Court]. And then, when king Wu fought king Zhou , Lü Shang suggested more than 100 military gimmicks. He consumed zézhī lotus , lichen and rock-marrow [or zézhī lotus and earth-marrow], lived two hundred years, and then announced his death . Due to

414-544: Is a treatise on civil and military strategy traditionally attributed to Lü Shang (aka Jiang Ziya ), a top general of King Wen of Zhou , founder of the Zhou dynasty , at around the eleventh century BC. Modern historians nominally date its final composition to the Warring States period (c. 475–221 BC), but some scholars believe that it preserves at least vestiges of ancient Qi political and military thought. Because it

460-538: Is also a prominent character in the Ming-era Investiture of the Gods , in which he is Daji's archrival and is personally responsible for her execution. The storyline present throughout the novel revolves around the fate of Jiang Ziya. He is destined to deify the souls of both humans and immortals who die in battle using the "List of Creation" (Fengshen bang, 封神榜), an index of preordained names agreed upon at

506-528: Is considered one of the Seven Military Classics of Ancient China. In the Tang dynasty he was accorded his own state temple as the martial patron and thereby attained officially sanctioned status approaching that of Confucius . Wives: Sons: Daughters: His descendants acquired his personal name Shang as their surname. In the popular Ming-era novel Investiture of the Gods, Jiang Ziya

SECTION 10

#1732776374320

552-542: Is represented as a disciple of the Kunlun sect practicing Chan Taoism. Aside from fortune-telling, he is able to perform supernatural feats such as mounting clouds, using his internal energy to breathe out a divine fire from his mouth, releasing thunder and lightning at will, creating illusions to conceal the presence of an entire army, and through the use of ritual and incantation, of summoning wind storms to carry away hundreds of refugees, of bringing about snow in order to freeze

598-717: The Han dynasty and the Ming dynasty or non-ethnic Han dynasties such as the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty and the Manchu-led Qing dynasty . It was moral integrity and benevolent leadership that determined the holder of the Mandate of Heaven. Every dynasty that self-consciously adopted this administrative practice powerfully reinforced this Sinocentric concept throughout the history of imperial China. Historians noted that this

644-700: The Rebellion of the Three Guards ; following the Duke's punitive raids against the restive Eastern Barbarians or Dongyi , Jiang was enfeoffed with their territory as the marchland of Qi . He established his seat at Yingqiu (in modern Linzi ). He is also celebrated as one of the main heroes in the Fengshen Bang . The first ruler of Qi bore the given name Shang . The nobility of ancient China bore two surnames , an ancestral temple surname and

690-544: The Wei River (near today's Xi'an ) using a barbless hook or even no hook at all, on the theory that the fish would come to him of their own volition when they were ready. King Wen of Zhou, (central Shaanxi), found Jiang Ziya fishing. King Wen, following the advice of his father and grandfather before him, was in search of talented people. In fact, he had been told by his grandfather, the Grand Duke of Zhou, that one day

736-517: The Emperor usually had many concubines, the first born of the empress (i.e. the chief consort) is usually the heir apparent . However, Emperors could elevate another more favoured child or the child of a favourite concubine to the status of Crown Prince . Disputes over succession occurred regularly and have led to a number of civil wars. In the Qing dynasty , primogeniture was abandoned altogether, with

782-402: The Mandate of Heaven, created by the monarchs of the Zhou dynasty to justify deposing the Shang dynasty . They declared that Heaven had revoked the mandate from the Shang and given it to the Zhou in retaliation for their corruption and misrule. Heaven bestowed the mandate to whoever was best fit to rule. The title held the emperor responsible for the prosperity and security of his people through

828-490: The Shang army encamped in a mountain valley, and of conjuring a barrier made of the water of the North Sea in order to protect the Zhou capital. He is ruthless with his enemies, usually executing captive generals from the Shang side, but is loyal to the Zhou cause. When outmatched by another wielder of supernatural powers, Zhao Gongming, he employs underhanded means on the advice of another thaumaturge named Lu Ya, employing

874-446: The basis of the text in the Six Secret Teachings . When King Wen met Jiang Ziya, at first sight he felt that this was an unusual old man who is angling with a straight hook hanging out of water, and began to converse with him. He discovered that this white-haired fisherman was actually an astute political thinker and military strategist. This, he felt, must be the man his grandfather was waiting for. He took Jiang Ziya in his coach to

920-444: The beginning of time by the leaders of the three religions. This list is housed in the "Terrace of Creation" (Fengshen tai, 封神臺), a reed pavilion in which the souls of the deceased are gathered to await their apotheosis. In the end, after defeating the Shang forces, Jiang deifies a total of 365 major gods, along with thousands of lesser gods, representing a wide range of domains, from holy mountains, weather, and plagues to constellations,

966-528: The circumstances of the monarchs and are not officially accorded by the regimes themselves. The monarchical rank held by the rulers is affixed to the back of these adjectives to form the full historiographical denominations. For example, " Fèidì " ( 廢帝 ) is formed from the amalgamation of " fèi " ( 廢 ; "deposed") and the abbreviated form of " huángdì " ( 皇帝 ; "emperor"), thus is used to refer to monarchs who were overthrown. Six Secret Teachings The Six Secret Teachings ( Chinese : 六韜 ),

SECTION 20

#1732776374320

1012-472: The court and appointed him prime minister and gave him the title Jiang Taigong Wang ("The Great Duke's Hope", or "The expected of the Great Duke") in reference to a prophetic dream Danfu, grandfather of Wenwang, had had many years before. This was later shortened to Jiang Taigong. King Wu married Jiang Ziya's daughter Yi Jiang, who bore him several sons. After King Wen died, his son King Wu , who inherited

1058-487: The cyclical nature of time, and the five elements. There are two xiehouyu about him: Liexian Zhuan , a book on Taoist immortals, contains his short legendary biography: 呂尚者冀州人也。 生而內智，預見[or 豫知]存亡。 避紂之亂，隱於遼東四[or 三]十年。 適西周，匿於南山，釣於溪[or 磻溪, or 卞谿]。 三年不獲魚，比閭皆曰：「可以止矣。」 尚曰：「非爾所及也。」 已而，果得大鯉，有兵鈐在腹中。 文王夢得聖人，聞尚，遂載而歸。 至武王伐紂，尚作陰謀百餘篇。 服澤芝地衣石髓[or 澤芝地髓]， 具二百年而告亡。 有難而不葬。 後子葬之，無屍， 唯有《玉鈐》六篇在棺中云。 呂尚隱釣，瑞得赬鱗。 通夢西伯，同乘入臣。 沈謀籍世，芝體煉身。 遠代所稱，美哉天人。 Lü Shang

1104-478: The designated heir kept secret until after the Emperor's death. Of the San Huang Wu Di , the three first of them were called 皇 (huang, "august (ruler)") and the five last were called 帝 (di, "divine ruler"), which can translate as either emperor, demigod, divine ancestor, or superhuman. This title may have been used in the Shang and Xia dynasties, though oracle bones were found from the Shang dynasty showing

1150-620: The difficulties, he wasn't buried. His descendants buried him with no corpse, only Six Chapters of Jade Tactics were placed to the coffin. Lü Shang hid and fished, blessed with pale-red scales. Passed in a dream of Lord Zhou , and was carried to him to become a minister. He carefully planned his years, refined his body with lotus. For generations it'll be said, "Oh, beautiful saint!" King of China The characters Huang (皇 huáng "august (ruler)") and Di (帝 dì "divine ruler") had been used separately and never consecutively (see Three August Ones and Five Emperors ). The character

1196-522: The elevation of Qi to a duchy , he was given the posthumous name 齊太公 Grand ~ Great Lord of Qi , on occasions left untranslated as "Duke Tai". It is under this name that he appears in Sima Qian 's Records of the Grand Historian . He is also less often known as "Grand Lord Jiang" ( 姜太公 ; Jiang Taigong), Taigong Wang ( 太公望 ), and the "Hoped-for Lü" (Lü Wang; 呂望). as Jiang Ziya was seen as

1242-414: The emperor varied between emperors and dynasties, with some emperors being absolute rulers and others being figureheads with actual power lying in the hands of court factions, eunuchs , the bureaucracy or noble families. In principle, the title of emperor was transmitted from father to son via primogeniture , as endorsed by Confucianism . However, there are many exceptions to this rule. For example, because

1288-541: The end of the Sui dynasty are mainly referred to by their posthumous names , monarchs from the Tang dynasty to the Yuan dynasty are generally known by their temple names , while rulers from the Ming dynasty onwards are typically known by their era names . As some of these titles were used repeatedly throughout history, historians often reference the name of the regime to avoid potential confusion. The same monarchical tradition

1334-419: The fact that many surrendered or revolted, enabled Zhou to take the capital. King Zhou set fire to his palace and perished in it, and King Wu and his successors as the Zhou dynasty established rule over all of China. As for Daji, one version has it that she was captured and executed by the order of Jiang Taigong himself, another that she took her own life, another that she was killed by King Zhou. Jiang Taigong

1380-488: The king would be successful. The divinations revealed that, "'While hunting on the north bank of the Wei river you will get a great catch. It will not be any form of dragon, nor a tiger or great bear. According to the signs, you will find a duke or marquis there whom Heaven has sent to be your teacher. If employed as your assistant, you will flourish and the benefits will extend to three generations of Zhou Kings.'" Recognizing that

1426-634: The purpose of ancestor worship . Temple names consisted of two or three Chinese characters , with the last word being either zǔ ( 祖 ; "progenitor") or zōng ( 宗 ; "ancestor"). Posthumous names ( 謚號 ; shì hào ) were accorded to Chinese monarchs after their death. These were adjectives originally intended to determine the achievements and moral values, or the lack thereof, of one's life. Historians sometimes refer to certain Chinese rulers using generic terms, mostly due to their lack of regnal name, temple name or posthumous name. These terms describe

Jiang Ziya - Misplaced Pages Continue

1472-556: The purpose of identifying and numbering years since 140 BC, during the reign of the Emperor Wu of Han . Strictly speaking, era names were not personal titles of Chinese monarchs per se. However, as most rulers of the Ming and Qing dynasties adopted only one era name throughout the entirety of their reigns, era names have come to be closely associated with Ming and Qing monarchs, to the extent that they are frequently referenced using their respective era names by historians. Although

1518-435: The result of this divination was similar to the result of divinations given to his eldest ancestor, King Wen observed a vegetarian diet for three days in order to spiritually purify himself for the meeting. While on the hunt, King Wen encountered Jiang fishing on a grass mat, and courteously began a conversation with him concerning military tactics and statecraft. The subsequent conversation between Jiang Ziya and King Wen forms

1564-408: The ruler's power. Jiang was an expert in military affairs and hoped that someday someone would call on him to help overthrow the king. Jiang disappeared, only to resurface in the Zhou countryside at the apocryphal age of seventy-two, when he was recruited by King Wen of Zhou and became instrumental in Zhou affairs. It is said that, while in exile, he continued to wait placidly, fishing in a tributary of

1610-520: The sage – whom King Wen of Zhou 's ancestor Revered Uncle Ancestor Lei ( 公叔祖類 ) (also titled 太公 "Great ~ Grand Lord") had prophesied about and hoped for – to help the Zhou prosper. The last ruler of the Shang dynasty, King Zhou of Shang , was a tyrant who spent his days with his favorite concubine Daji and executing or punishing officials. After faithfully serving the Shang court for approximately twenty years, Jiang came to find King Zhou insufferable, and feigned madness in order to escape court life and

1656-464: The sky, nothing isn't the king's land; the people who lead the lands, no one isn't the king's subjects." "Son of Heaven" was a title of the Emperor based on the Mandate of Heaven . The Son of Heaven is a universal emperor who rules tianxia comprising "all under heaven". The title was not interpreted literally. The monarch is a mortal chosen by Heaven, not its actual descendant. The title comes from

1702-517: The threat of losing the mandate. Unlike with over sovereigns such as the Emperor of Japan , Chinese political theory allowed for dynastic change, based on the concept of the Mandate of Heaven . The theory behind this was that the Chinese emperor acted as the Son of Heaven . As the only legitimate ruler, his authority extended to " all under heaven " and had neighbors only in a geographical sense. He holds

1748-463: The throne, decided to send troops to overthrow the King of Shang. But Jiang Taigong stopped him, saying: "While I was fishing at Panxi, I realised one truth – if you want to succeed you need to be patient. We must wait for the appropriate opportunity to eliminate the King of Shang". Soon it was reported that the people of Shang were so oppressed that no one dared speak. King Wu and Jiang Taigong decided this

1794-676: The title 王 (wáng, "king"). The king (王, wáng ) was the Chinese head of state during the Zhou dynasty . Its use during the Xia and Shang is uncertain but possible: the character has been found upon oracle bones . It was abolished under the Qin and, after that, the same term was used for (and translated as) royal princes . The title was commonly given to members of the Emperor's family and could be inherited. A poem from about 2,500 years ago said "普天之下,莫非王土.率土之賓,莫非王臣" which roughly translates as "Under

1840-514: Was adopted throughout the Chinese cultural sphere . General format in Mandarin Chinese: Regnal names ( 尊號 ; zūn hào ) were monarchical titles adopted during the reign of monarchs or after their abdication. Due to naming taboo , regnal names were the most straightforward method Chinese rulers could be referred to during the rule of his/her regime. Era names ( 年號 ; nián hào ) were proclaimed by Chinese sovereigns for

1886-532: Was crowned Tian Kehan 天可汗, or " heavenly Khagan ", after defeating the Gokturks , ( Tujue ). Chinese monarchs possessed an elaborate set of monarchical titles, both when they were alive and after their death. Based on Chinese historiographical convention, monarchs of China are typically referred to by one of their many titles, although it is not incorrect per se to reference them using other titles that they held. Even though exceptions exist, Chinese rulers until

Jiang Ziya - Misplaced Pages Continue

1932-604: Was from Jizhou . Born with inherent wisdom, he could foresee life and death. Avoiding the chaos of king Zhou , he has been hiding in Liaodong for 40 [or 30] years. Then at Western Zhou he fled to Nanshan , and fished in mountain creeks [or in Panxi , or in Bianxi]. For three years he hadn't caught any fish, and the villagers told him, "You maybe should stop". But he said: "That's not what you can understand". And after

1978-515: Was made duke of the State of Qi (today's Shandong province), which thrived with better communications and exploitation of its fish and salt resources under him. As the most notable prime minister employed by King Wen and King Wu, he was declared "the master of strategy"—resulting in the Zhou government growing far stronger than that of the Shang dynasty as the years elapsed. An account of Jiang Ziya's life written long after his time says he held that

2024-489: Was one of the key reasons why imperial China in many ways had the most efficient system of government in ancient times. It was generally not possible for a woman to succeed to the throne and in the history of China; there has only been one reigning Empress, Wu Zetian (624–705), who usurped the throne of the Tang dynasty by establishing her own Wu Zhou dynasty. Xiang Yu styled himself Xīchǔ Bàwáng ( 西楚霸王 , lit. Hegemon-King of Western Chu). Emperor Taizong of Tang

2070-636: Was reserved for mythological rulers until the first emperor of Qin ( Qin Shi Huang ), who created a new title Huangdi (皇帝 in pinyin : huáng dì) for himself in 221 BCE, which is commonly translated as Emperor in English. This title continued in use until the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1912. From the Han dynasty , the title Huangdi could also be abbreviated to huang or di . The former nobility titles Qing (卿), Daifu (大夫) and Shi (仕) became synonyms for court officials. The power of

2116-468: Was the time to attack, for the people had lost faith in the ruler. The bloody Battle of Muye then ensued some 35 kilometres from the Shang capital Yin (modern day Anyang, Henan Province). Jiang Taigong charged at the head of the troops, beat the battle drums and then with 100 of his men drew the Shang troops to the southwest. King Wu's troops moved quickly and surrounded the capital. The Shang King had sent relatively untrained slaves to fight. This, plus

#319680