Su Daji: The difference between historical truth and legend When you mention Su Daji, what is the impression in your mind? Scourge country demon concubine, beautiful fox demon, red face scourge? It is believed that under the influence of historical records and the mythical novel "Romance of the Gods", Su Daji in the minds of most people is a beautiful scourge, it is she who made King Feng cruel and unkind and does not care about political affairs, and it was she who led to the demise of the Shang Dynasty. In everyone's heart, there is such an impression that although Daji is good-looking, his heart is ugly, and he corrupts the soul of King Feng every day. Su Daji, a woman who has been packaged as a legend by later history and literature, how true is her story? Is she really a cold-blooded and cruel demon concubine? Let's look at the truth of history.
At the end of the 20th century, the tomb of King Shang was discovered in Qi County, Henan, and on both sides of the tomb were his wife Empress Jiang and his favorite concubine Su Daji. Among the cultural relics unearthed, there is an epitaph of King Shuo, which clearly records the life of King Shuo. We know everything in more detail, so we have a clearer understanding of that history. Su Daji, she is actually not the daughter of Hou Suhu of Jizhou as mentioned in the "Romance of the Gods", but the name Daji surnamed herself, and calling her Su Daji is only because she is a woman from the Su tribe, so this point is not consistent with the facts. However, it is certain that Daji's beauty should be real, otherwise she would not have been given to the king as a trophy.
It turned out that in 1047 BC, King Shun relied on his strong army to defeat the Su tribe, and Daji, as one of the spoils of this war, was brought back to the Yin Shang Palace by King Shun and made a concubine. Di Xin was a well-known tyrant long before he met Su Daji, and although he was fierce and powerful, he was also proficient in music and conducting battles. But he is still a beautiful and self-serving person. At the time of Di Xin's succession, the Shang Dynasty had developed for 600 years and could be described as a great power with strong national strength. However, due to the absurdity of Di Xin, the Shang Dynasty soon went into decline. Therefore, it can only be said that Daji has increased his tyrannical behavior, and Di Xin is just to show his ability, but in the final analysis, it is his nature, and Daji only plays the role of pushing the boat along the water.
Legend has it that after Su Daji entered the palace, Di Xin was obsessed with Daji's beauty and obeyed Daji. So Di Xin did a lot of cruel things in order to spoil himself, and finally took pleasure in it. This is the version that came to be known. One of the famous bridges is that Daji likes to watch the "cannon burning punishment", this criminal law is to paint the copper pillar with oil, burn the copper pillar red with charcoal fire, and then take off the condemned person naked and tie it to the copper pillar, and when the skin touches the red-hot copper pillar, the skin of the tortured person is instantly cooked. And Daji liked to listen to the screams of the tortured, so in order to please Daji, he often arrested people for cannon burning. It is rumored that Daji also likes to explore some strange things.
Similarly, there are folk rumors that the shape of a pregnant woman's belly can determine the sex of the fetus, among which the pointed ones are boys and the round ones are girls. So Daji wanted to verify this rumor, so King Shun grabbed pregnant women and opened their stomachs on the spot to verify. However, this is just a bridge in "Romance of the Gods" after all, and the probability of historical facts is not large. As the concubine of King Shu, Su Daji did have a certain degree of influence. However, the demise of the Shang Dynasty could not be her responsibility alone, and King Shun himself was also a tyrant, and he also had a certain responsibility for the oppression of the people and the expansion of war. Instead of blaming the demise on a single woman, look at the context of the entire era and the influence of internal and external factors. The demise of the Shang Dynasty was not a simple causal relationship, but a combination of factors.
Since ancient times, the fate of a tyrant has inevitably been to lose the hearts of the people and be crusaded, and the king is no exception. On the one hand, King Feng was keen on opening up the territory, and after years of conquest, the people did not have a good life, King Feng completely lost the hearts of the people, and the people everywhere talked about the change of color for King Shu. On the other hand, the Shang Dynasty was too large and neglected to manage the various vassal states. So in 1046 BC, King Wu of Zhou attacked Yin Shang and won the support of the people everywhere, so he entered the city of Chaoga effortlessly. In the end, Di Xin the king of Shun died by self-immolation, Daji was also killed, and the Shang Dynasty was overthrown.
Through the timeline, we can know that it was only one year from Daji's entry into the palace to the fall of the Shang Dynasty, and in history, when Daji was given to King Feng as a trophy, King Feng was about 60 years old, and Daji was still a 16-year-old Miaoling woman, for the king of destroying his tribe, Daji's true thoughts may not be difficult to guess, she must be very afraid and helpless. At that time, the status of women was already very low, and living people were treated as trophies, so why was Daji not a miserable woman who was at the mercy of others and could not control her own destiny? Therefore, in history, if the Shang Dynasty destroyed the country because of Daji's red face and trouble, it was naturally wronged by Daji, and even if a woman has great skills, she will not let a country be full of holes in a year.
However, because of the fabrication of later novels, the changes of the entire Shang and Zhou dynasty were overshadowed by mythology, and the facts were naturally misinterpreted, and Daji was wronged for more than 3,000 years. Looking at history, we should remain objective and rational, and not be misled by a single story. Sudaji's story is a complex historical event that should not simply be attributed to one person. We need to learn more about historical facts, focusing on the changes of the entire era and the combined role of various factors. In this way, history can be understood more accurately and not be blinded by legends. So, what do you think of Sudaji? Is she a cruel demon concubine or a tragic woman misunderstood by history? Welcome to leave a message to share your views and ideas.