As the saying goes, "Jiang Taigong fishing - willing to take the bait", this Taigong once fished in the magnetic spring with a straight hook. Everyone wondered, why is this man so stupid? Who knows that taigong is fishing for a prince, not the things in the pool. Of course, these are just folklore and mythological interpretations. So does this Jiang Taigong really have someone in history? How much is the god Jiang Shang in the "Fengshen Yanyi" written by the Ming dynasty Xu Zhonglin true? To solve this historical mystery, it is still necessary to wait until a pre-Qin tomb in Shandong is excavated...
The time came in 2003, just as the construction of the North China section of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project began. Suddenly, in Chenzhuang Village, Gaoqing County, Shandong Province, it was suddenly filled with professionals such as archaeological teams, television stations, and scholars. Where did such a big battle come from? This means that in the southeast of Chenzhuang Village, there was suddenly a ruins of the ancient city of Western Zhou about three thousand years ago that were excavated, which attracted the attention of the whole society for a time. At that time, because the south-to-north water diversion project had to pass through the wasteland southeast of Chenzhuang Village, large-scale construction began. It was during this construction that the workers excavated a small number of pottery and strange bronze artifacts. Therefore, the panicked construction department immediately notified the local archaeological team. When the archaeologists cleaned up the site a little, what was displayed in front of everyone was a shocking ancient site with a total area of more than 90,000 square meters.
Subsequently, when the archaeological team cleaned up, 9 Western Zhou tombs were discovered one after another. After identification, it was found that 2 of them were monarch-level tombs. After careful selection and cleaning, the artifacts spanning thousands of years finally surfaced: delicate pottery and jade were filled with long-decaying coffins, while the remaining eight particularly conspicuous bronzes were inscribed with inscriptions and clear textures, which were of great archaeological and scientific value. Of course, in order to know the identity of the owner of this ancient tomb and the background of the times, it is most important to interpret the bronze inscription. Thus, in the eyes of these experts, this is not only the excavation of several artifacts, but the acquisition of precious first-hand historical materials.
Among the bronzes unearthed this time, there is a bronze pendant, which is very clearly engraved with nine characters of "Feng qiao composition zujia Qi gong", which is favored and valued by archaeology and history experts. So what information can this inscription really bring us? The title of "Qi Gong" in the inscription is the first time it has appeared according to academic research. After careful investigation and determination, scholars finally concluded that the owner of the tomb was the Jiang Qi royal family in the Spring and Autumn Period, and this should be the first generation of monarch Taigong wang.
During the two-week period, there were strict social hierarchies. And whoever adds the name of a fief before the "gong" can largely be sure to be the first monarch of this princely state. If he is a marquis, he will always be called a marquis but not a prince, otherwise it will be an extremely serious act of trespassing. Then the name of "Duke of Qi" that appears here should be the first monarch of the State of Qi, Tai Gongwang. According to historical records, Taigongwang was surnamed Jiang, Lü, Shang, and Ziya, so later generations called him "Jiang Shang" or "Jiang Ziya".
After this archaeological excavation, with the interpretation of first-hand historical materials and precious cultural relics, Jiang Ziya's mythical aura was finally liberated. Of course, this common national memory should be passed on forever.