Wu Zixu
Wu Zixu | ||
---|---|---|
Hanyu Pinyin | Tāo Shén |
- Note: names are in simplified characters followed by traditional and Pinyin transliteration.
Wu Yun (died 484 BC), better known by his courtesy name Zixu, was a Chinese military general and politician of the Wu kingdom in the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 BC). Since his death, he has evolved into a model of loyalty in Chinese culture. He is the best known historical figure with the Chinese family name "Wu" (伍). All branches of the Wu clan claim that he was their "first ancestor".
Classical sources
The historical records of Wu are found in the famous Chinese classics: Records of the Grand Historian (史記; Shǐjì) by Sima Qian, The Art of War by Sun Tzu and The Annals of Lü Buwei. He is also mentioned in Guliang Zhuan and Gongyang Zhuan.[3] The accounts differ, showing the significant influence of folklore on his historical character.
Life
Early life
Wu Zixu was the second son of Wu She, the Grand Tutor of the crown prince Jian of the state of Chu. In 522 BC, Fei Wuji, a corrupt official was sent to Qin to select a bride for the prince. King Ping of Chu received a princess from the state of Qin as a bride for his son, but decided to keep her for himself upon seeing her beauty. Fei Wuji, having gained favour from the King, convinced King Ping that Wu She and the crown prince himself would start a rebellion due to the bride being from Qin, and persuaded the king to execute Wu She. Before his death, Wu She was forced, under duress, to send a letter to his sons, Wu Shang (伍尚) and Wu Zixu, which asked them to join him in the capital. While both realized that this was a trap, Wu Shang decided to go to the capital to die with his father. Wu Zixu, promising revenge, fled to the state of Wu.
Escape
Wu Zixu, along with Prince Jian's son, Prince Sheng, hoped to flee to the state of Wu. Wu Zixu, however, was a wanted man. He and the young prince were constantly pursued by soldiers. King Ping also ordered a very tight controls over the state's borders to catch Wu Zixu. As Wu Zixu approached Zhaoguan (昭关), the last pass to the state of Wu, he sought the help of the physician Donggao Gong (东皋公), who recognized him as Wu She's son. Donggao Gong felt deep sympathy for Wu Zixu's plight and offered to help him escape across the border.
According to legend, Donggao Gong gave refuge to Wu Zixu in his home for a week. Under enormous stress, Wu Zixu's hair turned completely white and his facial features aged greatly. The change was a blessing in disguise as Wu Zixu's changed appearance helped him to escape and head to the state of Wu.
Campaign Against the State of Chu
In the state of Wu, Wu Zixu became a trusted advisor of Prince Guang and helped him assassinate his uncle
In 506 BCE, during the reign of
The military victory led to Wu Zixu's elevation to Duke of Shen and his alias Shenxu.
Death
Bo Pi, whose grandfather had also been unjustly killed in Chu, arrived in the state of Wu. Despite warnings about Bo Pi's character, Wu Zixu recommended him to the king of Wu, who made Bo Pi a minister.
After the death of King Helü, Wu Zixu did not earn the trust of
Ten years after Wu Zixu's death, as Wu Zixu had predicted,
. Faced with the demise of his state, King Fuchai committed suicide. He lamented that he did not heed the counsel of Wu Zixu and covered his face as he died because he dared not face Wu in the afterlife.Legacy
Wu Zixu is worshipped in eastern China as Taoshen, "God of the Waves".
Double Fifth festival
Some Chinese believe that the
Confucian analysis
The parallel lives of Wu Zixu and Qu Yuan have been noted, not just being cast into water, but being "Confucian martyrs",[9] both deaths being the result of acting as scrupled ministers giving his king cautionary advice. While both were propped up by the "Confucian literati", Zixu seems to be the more favored of the two to Confucian minds, though later Qu Yuan later became more popular and supplanted Zixu as water deity.[9]
The story of Wu Zixu is prominent in Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian, where it is used as a foil of the author's own choice to accept castration for the sake of a greater goal instead of having chosen honorable suicide.
Arts and monuments
A memorial in honor of Wu Zixu was recently built in Suzhou.[15]
See also
Explanatory notes
References
- Citations
- ^ 1[permanent dead link]
- ^ 2.
- ^ Durrant, The Cloudy Mirror, p.182 n.35
- ^ Hu Junsheng (胡军生) (March 1997). "吴王僚和公子光的关系考辨" [An Examination of the Kinship Between King Liao of Wu and Prince Guang]. Journal of Youjiang Teachers' College for Nationalities (广西右江民族师专学报). 10 (1): 22–25. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2020 – via CNKI.
- ^ a b Sima Qian. "伍子胥列传 (Biography of Wu Zixu)". Records of the Grand Historian (in Chinese). Retrieved 30 November 2011.
- ^ a b "Legend for Wu Zixu", eBeijing, Beijing: Beijing Foreign Affairs Information Center, archived from the original on 13 August 2010, retrieved 15 December 2016. (in Chinese) & (in English)
- ISBN 9780674007826
- ^ a b "Shuexian Deities", Official site, Tainan: Grand Matsu Temple, 2007. (in Chinese) & (in English)
- ^ a b c Hawkes (1985), p. 65.
- ^ ISBN 9780231531009
- ^ Chan (2009), pp. 386–387.
- ^ The 6th century source (荊楚歲時記; Jingchu Suishiji, "Record of the Year and Seasons of Jing-Chu") claims "[Wu] Zixu is the correct antecedent", citing a pseudo-Han Period documentary evidence ("Stele Inscription on the Filial Daughter Maiden [Cao E]").[10] The stele writing is purportedly attributable to a man named 邯鄲子禮/邯鄲淳; Handan Zili/ in the year 153, but scholars conclude that the existence of such stele was a fabrication, and there was never anything but the calligrapher's copy, which can be dated to the year 358.[11]
- ^ ISBN 9781438428994
- ^ The excerpt from the Cao E stele inscriptions are given by Chapman (2014)[10] and by Chittick (2020)[13]
- ^ archived.
- Bibliography
- Chan, Timothy Wai Keung (July–September 2009). "Searching for the Bodies of the Drowned: A Folk Tradition of Early China Recovered". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 129 (3): 385–401. JSTOR 20789417.
- ISBN 9780140443752.
External links
Media related to Wu Zixu at Wikimedia Commons
- The Story of Ng Gee Sui
- Biography of Wu Zixu, Shiji Vol. 66, in Chinese (Wikisource) [dead link]