Since its excavation, the Biography of Mu Tianzi has been regarded as a record of the Western Zhou Dynasty historians, and like the Bamboo Book Chronicle, it is a history of faith. However, some of the content in the text is easy to remind the reader of the myths and legends in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" and "Chu Ci", the Ming dynasty Hu Yinglin took the lead in doubting its authenticity, believing that it was a forgery book made up by later generations, King Mu of Zhou had never been to so many places, and the so-called Queen Mother of the West, flowers, flowers, grasses, birds and beasts were all made up for children to see. Hu Yinglin called it "novel abuse." In the Qing Dynasty, the Siku Guanchen was "not carried by the classics" and included the "Biography of Mu Tianzi" in the category of novelists. Since then, scholars have discussed the historical nature and age of the book for a long time, and unanimously agreed that the "Biography of Mu Tianzi" is by no means a fiction to the wall, and it can be confirmed from other pre-Qin classics and excavated cultural relics - it is a historical document with historical value.
Taking the pre-Qin classics as an example, the Chinese has always been considered an important classic for understanding and studying the history of the Western Zhou and Spring and Autumn periods, according to the "Chinese Zhou Yu": "King Mu will march on the dog Rong, and sacrifice the father of the gong to advise: No." The former King Yaode did not observe the soldiers. ...... The king did not listen, so he marched on it. The side confirms the authenticity of the Zhou Mu King's Northern Expedition to Inuyasha in the "Biography of Mu Tianzi". The Bamboo Book Chronicle also has a clear record of the Western Expedition of King Mu of Zhou. Sima Qianzuo's "Records of History" once explicitly stated that "all the monsters in the Yu Benji and the Classic of Mountains and Seas, Yu dare not say anything about it", but in the "Qin Benji" and "Zhao Shijia", it is quoted that the founding father drove west for King Mu of Zhou, and King Mu saw the Queen Mother of the West and was happy to forget it. The most direct evidence is the minister "Mao Ban" who followed Tianzi to the west in the "Biography of Mu Tianzi", which is not found in other ancient books, but appears in the bronze Ban Gui inscription made in the era of King Mu of Zhou, which is enough to prove that the journey of King Mu of Zhou to the west is not nonsense, as tang Lan, a bronze expert and historian, said: "Mao Ban saw the "Biography of Mu Tianzi", although this book is exaggerated, it was written in a later era,...... Generally speaking, there is a historical basis, and this correction can be verified by mutual evidence. ”
Painting (partial), depicting the meeting between King Mu of Zhou and the Queen Mother of the West.
Just as the historian Cen Zhongmian said: "There are many people who suspect that the "Mu Zhuan" is a pseudo-author, resulting in misunderstandings, which are nothing more than speculation and not combined with reality. Even if it is done, it will be full of omissions. "If this is the case, how to explain the existence of the Queen Mother of the West?" After all, the story of the Queen Mother of the West was first found in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, and the Classic of Mountains and Seas was written in the Warring States. Historian Yang Kuan gave a reasonable speculation in the History of the Western Zhou Dynasty, arguing that the Biography of Mu Tianzi would therefore have real historical value, "because the author took from the ancestral myths and legends of a nomadic tribe of Hezong that survived from the Western Zhou to the Warring States." Since the Western Zhou Dynasty, they have been verbally passing on the myths and legends of their ancestors Hezong Baiyao (i.e., Bo Yao) participating in the long journey of King Zhou Mu to the west, from a guide to an official of King Zhou Mu's entourage, and as a result, they were given the official position of 'Hezong Zheng', thus enabling the tribe to prosper. They believed that this was the glorious history of their entire clan, passed down from generation to generation orally, and it was not until the early Warring States period that it was interviewed by the Wei state historians and became the main content of the "Biography of Mu Tianzi". ”
In other words, "King Mu of Zhou, under the guidance of several nomadic tribes, with the so-called six divisions, traveled west along the upper reaches of the Yellow River, crossed the Rong and Di regions, experienced many Rongdi tribes, gave gifts to each other, and did the work of appeasement, all of which are true stories", but the Hezong clan put on a layer of mythological clothing for this true story, they considered themselves to be the descendants of the god of Hebo, and the river out of Kunlun was the legend of their faith, so in their discourse system, the main purpose of Mu Tianzi's western expedition was God's command- As for the Kunlun Hill, take a view of the treasure of the Mountain. As a work of the Warring States period, it is inevitable that the "Biography of Mu Tianzi" will add the popular mythological element "The Queen Mother of the West" at that time, which is why it will present a fantasy journey full of gods and monsters.