Emperor Xin of the Shang Dynasty punished Ji Chang and made his son into a meat soup, did he really eat it?

After marrying Emperor Yi's sister, the State of Zhou maintained a harmonious relationship with the Shang Dynasty, which was busy conquering Dongyi, for more than ten years. Although after experiencing many previous storms, both of them inevitably became suspicious, but after Emperor Yi restored the status of "Xi Bo" as the head of the Western princes of the Ji clan, Ji Chang seemed to gradually intervene in the daily political affairs of the Shang Dynasty center. This was particularly evident after Emperor Yi died of illness and was succeeded to the throne by his young son Di Xin (纣).

According to the "History of Yin Benji", in the early days of Di Xin's reign, he once named "Xibo" JiChang, the ghost leader Jiuhou, and the lu state chief Ehou as the "three dukes". Although the "Records of History" does not clearly inform the three of them of their specific powers, judging from the process of the Ninth Marquis and the Marquis of Ehou being tortured and ji Chang being arrested and imprisoned in Qiuli, all three of them should have stayed for a long time in the new capital "Chaoge" (which said that Chaoge was built by Emperor Yi in his later years) created by Di Xin.

The exact time of Ji Chang's imprisonment in Qiuli is no longer known, and historians still debate whether he perfected the ancient Bu gua system during his detention and thus formed the "Zhou Yi". However, judging from the words "Emperor Yi Gui Mei, in order to zhi yuan ji" in the "Tai Gua" representing Daji, Ji Chang may have been listing his political plus and minus points for the Shang Dynasty at that time, in order to measure the possibility that Di Xin would kill him. Just like the male protagonist in "Robinson Crusoe", he calculates his survival probability by borrowing money alone on a desert island.

Although Di Xin did not execute Ji Chang in the end, he brutally killed Ji Chang's eldest son Bo Yi kao. Regarding this matter, the more common theory is naturally that Di Xin rewarded Ji Chang with the so-called "saint should not eat his son", and gave Ji Kao "cooking as a soup". As for how Ji Chang is "anti-routine" Di Xin, or the "performance art" that shows "spitting", it is mostly interpreted by later generations.

Interestingly, there was such a detail in the "Century of Emperors" written by Emperor Fu Mi of the Western Jin Dynasty, who recorded this story earlier. Boyikao was sent to Chaoge by the State of Zhou as a proton, and for a time became Di Xin's "carriage driver" (King Wen's eldest son, Bo Yikao, was given the title of Emperor Yin). The practice of princely states sending heirs to the Central Dynasty as hostages is not uncommon in history. However, among these hostages, there are very few who can become the king's close attendants, and in addition to Ji Chang's transcendent political status in the Shang Dynasty before he was arrested and imprisoned, it is probably related to Bo Yikao's own bloodline.

Although the "History of Guan Cai Shijia" states that Bo Yikao and the later Zhou Wu kings Ji Fa and Zhou Gong Ji Dan were half-brothers. However, judging from the fact that all of Ji Fa's brothers later had fiefs, and even the fourth brother Cai Shudu and his son Ji Hu (Cai Zhong), who later colluded with Wu Geng's rebellion, were still sealed in Cai Di, but only Bo Yi kao "did not know what he was later sealed", it is likely that he was not born from Ji Fa's mother, Ji Shi, but was born to Ji Chang and Emperor Yi's sister. Perhaps it was precisely because Ji Kao was his cousin in terms of blood relations that Di Xin left him by his side.

From the perspective of later generations, after di Xin imprisoned Ji Chang, he could have sent Bo Yikao back to the Zhou Kingdom to act as his agent. However, this conceited king who "knows enough to refuse advice, and speaks enough to play a game of trampling human nature" is going to use a life that is alive and politically valuable to himself. When Ji Chang struggled to eat the meat soup in front of him, Di Xin thought that he saw foolishness and cowardice, but he never seemed to think about how stoic and determined a man who swallowed his own flesh and bones was.

In the end, Di Xin chose to release Ji Chang, because the "History of Yin Benji" simply described this process as: "The disciples of Xi Bo (Ji Chang), the courtiers of Xi Bo (Ji Chang), ask for beautiful women, strange things, and good horses to sacrifice, and forgive Xi Bo." Therefore, later generations understood that Di Xin was only greedy for small profits, so he chose to let the tiger return to the mountain.

However, in the "Zhou Benji" in the same book, we find that Ji Chang's side, known as one of the "Four Friends", hongyao, has actually offered these things from a long history: "The disciples of Hong Yao suffer." It is to ask for the beauty of the Xin clan, the Wenma of Li Rong, and the bear Jiusi, who is a strange thing, and he is sacrificed because of Yin's courtier Fei Zhong. ”

The Xin clan, also known as the You clan and the You clan, are ancient tribes that existed long before the establishment of the Xia Dynasty. Dayu, who was entrusted by Emperor Shun for his merits in controlling water, was born from the Youxin clan. Yi Yin, a famous minister who assisted Cheng Tang in overthrowing the xia dynasty, was also a concubine of the Youxin clan. Although after the fall of the Xia Dynasty, the Youxin clan was also forced to move west, from the northwest of Cao County in Shandong to the vicinity of Heyang County in Shaanxi, it was still a force to be reckoned with. At this time, Ji Chang had already married the Youxin clan and married the daughter of his clan, Ji Shi, as his wife, which was called "Tai Ji" in later generations.

Li Rong ( Li Rong ) was an important branch of the Rong Di clan , active between the present-day Shanxi Mountains of Yancheng and Wangwu. Youxiong, on the other hand, was a descendant of the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan and is generally believed to have located his kingdom in Xinzheng Jishui. Hong Yao's offering of the specialties of the above three kingdoms to Di Xin was undoubtedly an indication of the extraordinary alliance between the Ji Zhou clan and them. If Di Xin continued to detain Ji Chang, or if Ji Chang died in prison like his father Ji Li, then the war that broke out again between Shang and Zhou must be unprecedented in scale.

It is precisely because he understood the sound of Hong Yao's strings that Di Xin said very modestly: "This one thing is enough to release Xi Bo, and there are many things!" Not only did he immediately pardon Ji Chang, but he also "gave him a bow and arrow." To show that it has been granted the privilege of wanton conquest. Later generations did not understand this, but in fact, the answer was already given in the "Zhou Benji". At the same time as releasing Ji Chang, Di Xin specifically stated that the misunderstanding between himself and the other party was entirely due to Chonghou Hu's false accusations. The purpose of this sentence is obviously to bring misfortune to the west and provoke confrontation between Ji Zhou and Chongguo.