Xuan You, a legendary figure of ancient Chinese culture, was an outstanding tribal leader of the same era as Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang, and was also known as one of the Three Ancestors of China. Xuan You led the Jiuli tribe to duel with the Yanhuang United Tribe, and was finally defeated and became a tragic figure. Due to the far-reaching influence of the orthodox history and traditional culture of the Central Plains, Xuan you's contribution to Chinese civilization has long been belittled and buried.
Many scholars today have re-evaluated Xuanyu's contributions, but an in-depth examination of the ancient figures is no easy task. In addition, although the records of the legend of Xuanyu in ancient Chinese historical books are very rich, there are often contradictions, and the credibility of ancient books is questionable, which makes it more difficult to investigate in depth. The evaluation of the contribution of many scholars is very different from the villain evil Xuanyu that has been circulated in the folk world, and many scholars have re-evaluated xuanyou and called it,
"One of the Three Ancestors of China", "A Generation of Heroes of the Northern Wei Earthquake", "Outstanding Leader of the Ancient Chinese Tribes", "The First Ancestor of the Chinese Nation"
Wait a minute. Xuan You's "notoriety" seems to have been rehabilitated, and many scholars have highly praised Xuan You, so what outstanding contributions did Xuan You make to Chinese civilization?
We often call ourselves the descendants of Yan Huang and the sons and daughters of Huaxia, and think that we are descendants of the Yan Emperor and the Yellow Emperor clan, and seem to have nothing to do with the Xuan you tribe, but it seems that this is not entirely the case. 5,000 years ago, there were three main tribes in the land of China, namely the Yandi clan, the Yellow Emperor clan and the Xuanyou Jiuli clan.
The Yellow Emperor defeated the Yan Emperor, and then formed a joint tribe to conquer the Jiuli tribe of Xuan you, xuan you was invincible, the Yellow Emperor gained political dominance, and after the great war, the exchanges between the tribes began to become frequent, and ethnic integration slowly formed.
According to the "Historical Records", the Huaxia people originated from the Yellow Emperor and were the concubines of the Yellow Emperor's clan, but the most basic ethnic composition was the Yandi clan. After the defeat of the Jiuli tribe, it was scattered and separated, and some of the tribes submitted to the Yellow Emperor, and constantly integrated into the Yanhuang tribe, the tribal ethnic group was integrated, and the Jiuli tribe also became an important part of the ancestors of the Huaxia ethnic group. The Jiuli tribe that did not submit to the Yellow Emperor formed the surrounding ethnic minorities outside the Central Plains region over time, and the Huaxia tribe grew bigger and bigger like a snowball, and in the long river of history, many ethnic minorities were promoted by the historical process to integrate the Huaxia, including perhaps many descendants of the former Jiuli tribe.
After the investigation of scholars, many ethnic minorities now have a relationship with the Jiuli people, of which the Jiuli are the ancestors of the Miao people have been recognized by many scholars, in addition to the Li, Zhuang, Qiang, Tibetan, etc. all have a relationship with the Jiuli.
The Jiuli ethnic group led by Xuan You has become an important part of the Chinese nation and the Chinese nation, and it seems that Xuan You himself has not directly contributed, so what contribution has Xuan You personally made to Chinese civilization? Shennong's Yandi, the contribution to Chinese agricultural civilization is well known, and Xuan you's contribution to ancient agricultural civilization is not inferior to that of Yandi.
5,000 years ago, the Jiuli tribal alliance led by Xuan You, living in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, with the help of local geography, climate, water source and other superior conditions, xing farming, smelting copper and iron, making five soldiers, creating hundred arts, tomorrow's Tao, and rationalization, making outstanding contributions to the early Chinese civilization.
The Xuanyu tribe invented grain cultivation, especially rice cultivation, and began to change from gathering, fishing and herding, and nomadic to farming.
The development of agricultural civilization is a major progress of civilization and a major contribution to China's ancient agricultural civilization. Xuanyu is praised as the god of war, and his martial arts and tactics must be good, and the weapons and equipment that support the battle must be good. In the Warring States Lu Corpse", it is said that
"Smelter, Yuya."
At that time, the Xuanyu tribe had taken the lead in entering the metal age, and smelting technologies such as copper and iron had emerged, which was a technological revolution and a leap in productivity. With smelting technology, the casting of weapons is naturally put on the agenda, and it is said in the "Shiben Zuo" that:
"There are five soldiers: Ge, Yu, Ji, Chief, and Yi."
Many paintings, stone tablets and other cultural relics show that Xuan You was wearing armor and holding a sword, and Xuan You's invention of weapons undoubtedly greatly improved the fighting survivability of the tribe at that time.
Tomorrow's Tao, that is, tomorrow's time, is extremely important for the ancient farming peoples, affecting the harvest of crops and the emergence and development of agricultural civilization.
The "Pipe four hours" said: "The Yellow Emperor has the wisdom of the Dao. The Commentary on the Classic of Mountains and Seas and the Great Wilderness of the North Classic says: "Xuan You asked the Wind And Rain Master to let the rain fall heavily." ”
It shows that Xuanyu mastered the changes of the heavens, in addition to the legend that Xuanyu created the calendar, which is undoubtedly a great innovation.
Xuan You was also the founder of Chinese law, and in the Zhou Shu Lü Punishment, it is said: "Xuan You punished the Miao people. "Corpse" said: "Rectification, Xuan Youye." ”
Xuan You formulated the earliest criminal law, and later generations evolved the ancient "five punishments", especially the early Chinese law laid the foundation. In particular, the clan was better commanded by the clans, and took the lead in inventing religion, and the most primitive religion of the Jiuli tribe was still witchcraft, which had a profound impact on future generations. In addition, Xuanyu is also an entertainment talent, he is the creator of acrobatics, dance, and opera, and is known as the "ancestor of a hundred plays".
Therefore, Xuan You is not a big traitor and a big evil person, but the literary and artistic creation of later generations has made him a villain in the eyes of the world. It can be said that Xuan You was an outstanding representative of that era, not inferior to the Yan Emperor and the Yellow Emperor, let alone a demon or ghost. He has made an important contribution to the creation of the Chinese nation, Chinese civilization, and ancient Chinese scientific and technological civilization, and it is no exaggeration to call him one of the three ancestors of China.