King Shang was the last king of the Shang Dynasty, and his reign is said to be different, but his historical merits are full of mysteries. First of all, let's talk about the title of King of Lu, who is the slanderous evaluation of him by posterity, of which the word 纣 is the meaning of cruelty and damage to goodness. In history, many people have commented that the king of Lu was faint, addicted to wine, and lived a life of erosion and luxury. King Wu has always been a well-known story, and in the "Fengshen Yanyi", this incident is used as the main clue to publicize and inspire merit and blame the fainting of king Huan. But in real history, is there really only cruelty in a generation of Shang Dynasty kings? For this answer, let's not share it for the time being, and first analyze the character of the King of Shang with the following points.
In fact, the disparagement of king Huan has been expounded in both historical and literary works, and although the statements are not exactly the same, their fundamental significance is mostly the same. Although the saying that the King of Lu was faint has always existed, in the long river of history, there are always people who question this. Among them, Confucius's disciple Zigong had doubted this statement, and he believed that it was caused by people with hearts maliciously planting stolen goods. Among the kings of ancient history, there has always been a phenomenon of malicious slander and planting of stolen goods, and the King of Shang is by no means the only victim, but compared with other kings, the degree of slander can be described as extremely serious. Secondly, among modern historians, there have been people who have observed these historical accounts, and they have found that the crimes of the King of Lu have become more and more numerous over time. It can be seen from this that the claim that the King of Shang was faint and excessive cannot be fully believed.
In addition, some people say that he reuses villains, is tyrannical and cruel, and does not even value his ancestors. It is in this situation that more and more people are disappointed in the king. It is precisely because of the loss of the hearts of the people and the hearts of the army that in the final Battle of Makino, the warriors turned against each other and were defeated by the King of Wu, and buried their lives with a cremat.
Here we would like to talk about Sima Qian's judgment of the King of Sui in the Records of History. Sima Qian once commented on the King of Shang, saying that it was convenient and sick, that he was very sensitive to smell, that he had a good resume, that he had a fierce hand, that he knew enough to refuse, and that his advice was enough to be right and wrong. Through such an evaluation, it can also be learned that the King of Shang was a king who could write and fight, and at the same time, his thinking was quick, he had extraordinary courage, and he was good at distinguishing talented people, not the faintness of historical rumors.
Finally, we have to mention the person of DaiJi. In many rumors, Dai Ji was the root of the Shang King's fainting. But historically, Dai Ji was originally a woman of the Su Shi tribe. Chinese Jin dynasty records that the King of Shang launched a large army to attack the Su tribe, and the Su tribe could not resist the attack of the powerful Shang army, and between the destruction and the knee, the leader of the Su tribe chose to bend the knee, and he sacrificed cattle, sheep and horses and beautiful women to himself. In addition, this has also been elaborated in the Bamboo Book Chronicle and the Imperial Century. It can be seen from this that Dai Ji was just a plaything of the Su Shi tribe's peace and dedication. If you say that he is the leader of the Shang Dynasty, it is really too much to overestimate this woman. Everyone still holds different views on the merits and faults of the Shang King, but in fact, further investigation is needed as to whether he is a good king or a tyrant.
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