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Sage King Yu 禹 and the Bin Gong XU 豳公盨
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 August 2014
Abstract
The recent discovery of an unusual ninth century B.C.E. bronze inscription dedicated to Yu as a founder deity has reopened discussions regarding the historicity of legendary figures. This article examines the occult role of this figure in Zhou society and suggests that the inscription be read as a song used in a harvest ceremony of thanksgiving to Yu. The author suggests that Yu once functioned along the same lines as Houji, as both ancestral founder and earth deity, but was eventually suppressed in favor of Houji.
新近發現的公元前九世紀的豳公盨 , 其獨特的銘文尊奉大禹為具有神性的先祖 , 使學者們重新開始討論有關神話人物的歷史性 。 與此不同 , 本文側重分析大禹在周代社會中的神秘角色 , 同時認為該銘文應讀為一首對禹具有感恩性質的詩頌 。 本文認為 , 大禹在東周之前也可能像傳統的周代祖神后稷一樣 , 具有雙重角色 , 既為祖神又為地神 , 但後來其地位與重要性均為后稷所掩 。
- Type
- Articles
- Information
- Early China , Volume 35: Dedicated to LI Xueqin on the occasion of his eightieth birthday , 2013 , pp. 69 - 103
- Copyright
- Copyright © Society for the Study of Early China 2013
References
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17. I suspect this name was inserted into the legend later.
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58. “Astronomical Dates in the Shang and Western Zhou,” Early China 7 (1981–1982), 2–37 CrossRefGoogle Scholar. For a study of the dances associated with individual sage kings, see McCurley, D., “Performing Patterns and Numinous relations in Shang and Zhou China,” The Drama Review 49 (Fall 2005) 3, 135–56CrossRefGoogle Scholar; for a study of the importance of musical performance in ceremonies for founder ancestors for the transmission of literacy, see Cook, C., “Education and the Way of the Former Kings,” Literacy in Early China, ed. Feng, Li and Branner, D. (Seattle: University of Washington, 2011), 302–36Google Scholar.
59. The Zuo zhuan records that in order to “restore the work of Yu, one performed the matching ritual to Heaven while sacrificing to Xia,” see Chun qiu Zuo zhuan zhengyi (Shisanjing zhushu), (“Ai Gong” 1, 57.452). The “Si wen” 思文 ode in the Shi jing “Zhou song” section notes that Hou Ji performed the “matching” ritual to Heaven and established the people Mao shi zhengyi (Shisanjing zhushu), 19.2.322.
60. Shang shu zhengyi (Shisanjing zhushu), 4.25.
61. Shang shu zhengyi (Shisanjing zhushu), 4.32.
62. See Chun qiu Zuo zhuan zhengyi (Shisanjin zhushu), (“Yin Gong” 隱公 8, 4.31; “Zhao Gong” 昭公 7, 44.349). In the first example, when sending a woman in marriage, one first performs the pei ritual and then the zu 祖 ritual, understood as a travel ritual. In the second example, a chen 辰 is defined as the pei of the sun by the moon.
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65. Shang shu zhengyi (Shisanjing zhushu) 5, 29.
66. According to the Kong Yingda commentary on a passage in the Zuozhuan (remarking how the grand music of the songs of Bin, being joyful but not loose make one think of Zhou Gong's mission to the East) notes the connection of Bin music to the tale of how Hou Ji's descendant, Gong Liu, settled among the Rong and Di peoples in Bin and how that paralleled Zhou Gong's going off to the east to continue the agricultural work of Hou Ji and the Xian Gong (Gong Liu). Kong claimed that the difficulties Zhou Gong ran into there led to the ode “Qi Yue,” see Mao shi zhengyi (Shisanjing zhushu) 8.1, 120–26. The “Gong Liu” is found in Mao shi zhengyi (Shisanjing zhushu) 17.3, 273–76Google Scholar.
67. Zhou li zhushu 周禮注疏 ed. Xuan, Zheng 鄭玄 (Shisanjing zhushu) 24.163–64Google Scholar. Kong Yingda notes that both ceremonies were to agricultural deities. The earth drum was a hand-held earthenware drum with a large funnel shape on one end and a small one on the other, both ends covered with leather.
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70. M. Kern saw increasing “euphonic features” in Western Zhou inscriptions as a function of “the consolidation of the royal institution of ancestral sacrifice during the mid- and late Western Zhou” (“Bronze Inscriptions, the Shi jing and the Shang shu,” Lagerwey, and Kalinowski, , Early Chinese Religion, 194–95Google Scholar).
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74. The archaic graph is generally interpreted as consisting of 日 on top of 水 on the left and 頁 on the right. Li Xueqin read it as 貴 and Li Ling 李零 as mei 昧 *mˤət-s a graphic loan for mo 沫, used as a descriptive for pan vessels in other bronze inscriptions (“Lun X Gong xu faxian de yiyi” 論 公盨發現的意義, Zhongguo lishi wenwu
2002.6, 38
Google Scholar, see my discussion in
Cook, , “Bing gong xu
,” Wen, Xing, Newsletter, 25n.10)Google Scholar. This latter reading is also found in
Yu, Liu and Zhibin, Yan ed., Jinchu Yin Zhou jinwen jilu er bian 2, 139
Google Scholar. Earlier I have followed this, but in this essay, I test the idea that it should really be read as simplified variant of xian 顯 *qʰˤen? , “to make lustrous, manifest.” The immediate problem with this idea is that xian almost always appears after pi 丕 in the bronze inscriptions. This is true for many transmitted textual usages as well, however the Shi jing does also use it in a verbal sense of “to be visible, manifest” as in the presence of an ancestral spirit (see “Si qi” 思齊 and “Yi” 抑, Mao shi zhengyi (Shisanjing zhushu), 16.3.249; 18.1.288). There are two Zhou eulogies preserved in the Shi jing that describe de as being “manifest” (xian). The first example also includes the phrase wei de 維德. This occurs in the “Lie Wen” 烈文 (Mao 269, Mao shi zhengyi (Shisanjing zhushu), 19.1.317): “Limitless are the people, obedient in all quadrants of the world; So manifest is the de modeled by the 100 Rulers” 無競維人、四方其訓之; 不顯維德、百辟其刑之. In the second example, xian is the desired quality of de, a quality conferred by the ancestors, see “Jing zhi” 敬之 (Mao 288, Mao shi zhengyi (Shisanjing zhushu), 19.3.331): “reveal to us the way of making manifest our de” 示我顯德行.
75. This phrase is full of problems. Inscriptions with Tianxia indicating a location (versus a subject + verb) date to the late Warring States period. On the Zhongshan bronze fangding inscription, we find “protect all things (located in) Under Heaven” 閈 (閑) 於天下之物矣. The archaic graph for the first word in the Bin Gong phrase was composed of 頁 (*lep) with 飠 (*s-mə-lək) underneath and is read as 憂 (*ʔiw) “anxiety, concern” (see Shaughnessy, , “The Bin Gong Xu Inscription,” Idema, , Books in Numbers, 18–19)Google Scholar or 優 by Chen Yingjie in the sense of widespread harmony (following Mao 304; support can also be found in the “Gaozi, xia” in Mengzi in the line 好善優於天下, “Bin Gong xu mingwen zaikao”). While these readings are convenient, neither interpretation works with either element in the original graph phonetically. A weak case could be made for 閑 (*gˤren) (as seen in the Zhongshan inscription) if we assume fluidity in the element 飠 as all commentators have done so far in their attempts to interpret this graph. If, one the other hand, we retain the 飠 element but consider it a mistake for the graphically similar phonetic 含 (*Cə-m-kˤəm-s), then we come up with the graph 頷 (“the jaw,” “lower the head” in Zuozhuan) or loan word 頇 (“bald”) both read *ɢˤəm and possible dialect loans for 閈 or 捍 (both read *kˤar) for 閑 (*gˤran) “to protect, bar against trespass” (with the shared phonetic 干). However, it is much less convoluted to go with the original ignored element 食 and look for words compatible with the common theme of feeding the world in transmitted texts, hence the choice of 飤 (*s-mə-lək) “to feed.” Liu Yu and Yan Zhibin transcribe ren 任 (*nəm-s), but the rationale is unclear (Jinchu Yin Zhou jicheng erbian 2, 139).
76. Chen Yingjie reads 亡 as 無 as a loan for 娛 which seems unlikely, however his reading 不 as 丕 in bronze inscriptions finds strong support in the inscriptions. In the case where the people and not the king is the subject, Shaughnessy's reading of “dili-gent” or perhaps “energetic” is probably better—the sense being that they are diligent in performing the sacrifices (“The Bin Gong Xu Inscription,” Idema, , Books in Numbers, 15 Google Scholar; Chen Yingjie, “Bin Gong xu mingwen zaikao,”). In this case, I would read 亡 more like 罔 as in the Shang shu “Duofang” 多方 line 罔不明德慎罰 or the “Lü xing” 呂刑 line 罔不惟德之勤, see Shang shu zhengyi (Shisanjing zhushu), 17.116, 19.136.
77. The word yu written with a “heart” semantic and the phonetic 盂 (*Gwa) and is read as xu 訏 (*qwha) “big, ample, to enlarge” by most scholars and as found in a number of odes in the Shi jing (in Mao no. 245, “Shengmin,” for example, it describes infant Hou Ji's loud crying). Chen Jieying suggests xu 卹 (*s-mit) in the sense of “take care with” (the rites, etc.) (“Bin Gong xu mingwen zaikao,”) but that ignores the phonetic 于.
78. Baxter pointed out that *bˤot 祓 cannot be a loan for *pək 福 (personal com-munication). Most scholars prefer to read it as 福祿 because this phrase is extremely common in both the bronze inscriptions and the Shi jing. The word fu 祓 is found only on a handful of inscriptions from the Fufeng 扶風 region in Shaanxi 陝西. The unusual phrase fulu 祓祿 is found also on a Xing bell inscription (Jicheng 246). Xing was a descendent of Shi Qiang whose lineage narrative is mentioned above. This helps to confirm a time period and regional affiliation for the Bin Gong inscription, although still leaves us in doubt as to how to interpret the phrase.
79. This is Schussler's second reading (see Minimal Old Chinese, 227, no. 20–8). The other is *nhet, however since the word in front ends with a –ij, a similar initial following it seems most likely.
80. This is Schussler's second reading (see Minimal Old Chinese, 105, no. 4-64). The other is *mô?, which rhymes less well.
81. Following Shaughnessy, “The Bin Gong Xu,” Idema, Books in Numbers, 19n.12 for the reading of 無期.
82. See n. 11 above.
83. Linchang, Jiang 江林昌, “X gong xu mingwen de xueshu jiazhi zonglun” 公盨銘文的學術價值綜論, Huaxue 6 (2003), 35–49 Google Scholar.
84. Qinghua daxue cang Zhanguo zhujian 清華大學藏戰國竹簡, zhongxin, Qinghua daxue chutu wenxian yanjiu yu baohu and Xueqin, Li, ed. (Shanghai: Shanghai wenyi, 2010) 2, 74 Google Scholar (“Zhai Gong zhi guming” 祭公之顧命 strip 13).
85. See The Stele Inscriptions of Ch'in Shih-huang: Text and Ritual in Early Chinese imperial Representation (New Haven, American Oriental Society, 2000), 59–105 Google Scholar.
86. Shi Qiang pan (Jicheng 10175), Group B Xing bells (Jicheng 251–56).
87. The Western Zhou meaning of yi 懿 is no doubt lost to us. Han scholars explain it as something that that becomes “beautiful” after a long time or is “deep” as in a basket, see Shuowen jiezi 說文解字, ed. Shen, Xu 許慎 (Shuowen jiezi gulin zhengbu hebian, comp. Dingwen, Zhongguo xueshu Series, Taipei: Dingwen, 1977), 8, 989–90Google Scholar and commentary to “Qi Yue” 七月 in Mao shi zhengyi (Shisanjing zhushu), 8.1.121. Since de was the product of merit and wealth (awarded for merit) accumulated over time, I translate the adjective yi as “refined.”
88. See the discussions by Yu, Liu, “Bin Gong kao,” 6–7 Google Scholar and Linchang, Jiang, “Sui gong xu mingwen,” 46–48 Google Scholar.
89. Shang shu zhengyi (Shisanjing zhushu), 4.26.
90. Zhou li zhushu (Shisanjing zhushu), 10.68, 23.158.
91. Guo yu 國語 (Sibu beiyao 四部備要 ed.), 5.1-2a.
92. He sees reflections of these de in the “Daya” odes: Juan A” 卷阿, “Min Lao” 民勞, “Huang yi” 皇矣, and “Ban” 板. Although some of these odes address Heaven or the Happy Junzi (who might be spirits), the odes are not celebratory in the same manner as this inscription (see “X gong xu,” 45).
93. Pointed out by Linchang, Jiang, “X gong xu,” 45 Google Scholar
94. Shang shu zhengyi (Shisanjing zhushu), 19.135–137.
95. Mao shi zhengyi (Shisanjing zhushu), 20.4.359–360.
96. Traditional commentaries read feng 封 as either meaning “great” or “land grant.” The Western Zhou meaning was simply to prescribe a territory with a boundary as with mounded earth and trees. By the Warring States period, feng could refer to a land grant or a grave mound. Based on the Zuo zhuan, Li Feng understands that fengjian was a Zhou policy of setting up a fence of polities run by relatives with clear obligations to the Zhou court around the Zhou center for protection (see Landscape and Power in Early China: The Crises and Fall of the Western Zhou, 1045–771 BC, [Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University, 2006], 110–16)Google Scholar. I suggest that there was a relationship between mortuary ritual, tombs, and the rights to rule a territory (“Ancestor Worship in Eastern Zhou,” 241–44).
97. Mao shi zhengyi (Shisanjing zhushu), 16.2.239.
98. In the Shi jing, “matching” is performed by various regime rulers; the Shang could “match” the mandate and Shang Di before they lost it (“Wen Wang”); in “Huang yi,” the ruler after hacking down trees was set up by Shang Di to “match” his mandate; King Wu matched the mandate in the capital (“Xia Wu” 下武), and, in “Si Wen” 思文, Hou Ji matched Heaven providing grain to the people, see Mao shi zhengyi (Shisanjing zhushu), 16.1.237, 16.4.251, 16.5.257, 19.2.322.
99. Li ji zhengyi (Shisanjing zhushu), 17.156.
100. Jicheng 88.
101. Jicheng 4448.
102. Shang shu zhengyi (Shisanjing zhushu), 14.91.
103. Lun yu zhushu 論語注疏, ed. He Yan 何晏 (Shisanjing zhushu), (“Xue er” 學而, 1.1).
104. Mao shi zhengyi (Shisanjing zhushu), 10.2.157. Noted by Ling, Li in “Lun X Gong xu,” 38 Google Scholar.
105. Shang shu zhengyi (Shisanjing zhushu), 18.124. This line from the Shang shu is quoted differently in the Lun yu, see Lun yu zhushu (Shisanjing zhushu), (“Wei Zheng” 為政 2.7).
106. Zhou li zhushu (Shisanjing zhushu), 22.149.
107. Jicheng 9715.
108. Jicheng 10171.
109. Cook, “Ancestor Worship in the Eastern Zhou,” 260–71and “Education and the Way.”
110. Mengzi zhushu (Shisanjing zhushu), (“Lilou, xia” 離婁下, 8b.66). For a discussion of the purification ritual in pre-Qin China, see Heli, Ke 柯鶴立 (Cook, C.), “Gudai Zhong guo de zhai yishi yu shensheng kongjian gainian” 古代中國的齋意識与神聖空間概念, Disijie guoji Zhongguo guwenzixue yantaohui lunwenji 第四屆國際中國古文字學研討會論文集 (Hong Kong: Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2003), 653–62Google Scholar; Cook, C., “Moonshine and Millet: Feasting and Purification Rituals in Ancient China,” Of Tripod and Palate: Food, Politics, and Religion in Traditional China, ed. Sterckx, Roel (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005), 9–33 CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
111. Mao shi zhengyi (Shisanjing zhushu), 20.1.341. The first five words of this phrase may have sounded something like *sə maga mˁra? revealing an almost chant-like quality to the song.
112. See Qu Wanli 屈萬里, Shi jing shiyi 詩經釋義 (Taipei: Huagang, 1977), 183n.12; Mao shi zhengyi (Shisanjing zhushu), 14.1.26.
113. Li ji zhengyi (Shisanjing zhushu), 46.362.
114. Shang shu zhengyi (Shisanjing zhushu), 19.136.
115. Mao shi zhengyi (Shisanjing zhushu), 14.1. 208–9, 16.3.247–48, 19.3.327.