Character Profile
Bo Yi (BC? -About 1973), also known as Bo Ying, was a native of Feixian County, Shandong Province. He was given the surname Ying by Shun for helping Yu to heal the water and was given a daughter with the surname Yao as his wife. After Emperor Shun’s meditation on Yu, Bo Yi was appointed to be the ruler of the court. Bo Yi continued to be the secretary of King Qi of Xia, and his status was just below that of King Qi of Xia, until he died in the sixth year of Xia Qi at the age of more than 100, when the Xia Dynasty gave him a grand ritual. Both Bo Yi and Xia Wang Qi were descendants of the Yellow Emperor.
According to the article “Thick Father” of Tsinghua University’s Research and Conservation Center for Excavated Documents, Bo Yi and Gaotao overlapped in terms of chronology and were in the same historical period. In the chapter of “Hou father” of Tsinghua University, there is “Qi but after, the emperor is also afraid that the virtue of Qi’s scripture is less, so he ordered the blame and carelessness of the next, as the secretary”. The vernacular translation reads: “When Qi became the king, God did not worry about the lack of righteousness and virtue of Qi, and ordered Gaotao to descend again and become the minister of Qi”. In fact, Bo Yi and Gaotao are not the same person. In fact, Yi and Bo Yi are one and the same person. There is an account of Bo Yi in the Records of the Five Emperors. Therefore, Bo Yi is Yi, it is not right to forcefully distinguish the two.
In addition, according to the Warring States Chu State on the Bo Jane “Yung Cheng’s” record, “Yu has five sons, not to his son as the queen, see the blame carefree of the virtuous, but want to be the queen. The five sons of Yu did not want their sons to be their descendants, but wanted to be their descendants. Yu then let benefit, Kai then attacked benefit from taking.” The content of this bamboo sketch is consistent with the record of Gaotao’s early death in the Historical Records – Xia Benji. Scholars believe that this is the result of the differentiation and variation of legends between different cultural regions, but it is more likely that Gaotao and Bo Yi were actually two unrelated people, and there are different records of “Gaotao as a punishment” and “Bo Yi as a well” in ancient literature.
Bo Yi statue
Family members
Father: Daye
Mother: Nina Hua
Wife: Yao
Sons: Dalian (eldest son), Ruomu (second son)
Descendants: Feichang (at the end of Xia, after Wakagi), Meng play, Zhongyan (in the middle of Shang, after Dalian), Zhong bubble (at the end of Shang, after Zhongyan), Goulian (at the time of King Zhou of Shang, son of Zhongyan, ancestor of Qin), Evil Lai (at the time of King Zhou of Shang, son of Goulian).
Main deeds
Helping Yu to heal water
The most outstanding contribution of Boyi is to help Yu to heal the water and land, which can be seen in “The Records of the Grand Historian” (Xia Benji) and “Qin Benji”. Not only was Bo Yi successful in healing water, but he also made other achievements in the process of healing water. For one thing, Bo Yi taught the people to cultivate rice and promoted the development of agriculture according to the low-lying terrain of the area that was hit by the flood. As a result, when Yu calmed the floods, Emperor Shun rewarded Bo Yi with a soap tour (a black flag) and also promised a woman from his own family to Bo Yi. Thereafter, Bo Yi served as a Yu official under Shun (Shang Shu – Yao Dian), in charge of mountains and ponds and breeding birds and animals. The descendants of Bo Yi, including Feichang, Zhongyan, Zuofu, and Difu, were established in the world for their expertise in training birds and animals. Secondly, the legend says that Bo Yi invented the technology of drilling wells. “Classical Interpretation” Volume II well trigrams due to the “Shi Ben” cloud: “Huayi made well.” Lv’s Spring and Autumn – Do not bow chapter: “Bo Yi made wells.” This is probably not unrelated to its Zuoyu water treatment, after all, in the long-term process of dealing with water and soil, is easy to find the secrets of underground water. Contemporary archaeological excavations prove that the emergence of China’s wells properly and Yao Shun period not far from the Longshan era, you can see that the legend has its basis. The invention of well-drilling technology is of great significance, because before this technology was invented, people had to settle close to rivers and endure the threat of river flooding. After the invention of well-drilling technology, the vast plain areas in the north of China in ancient times were gradually filled with various clans and developed. Thirdly, Bo Yi participated in the pacification of floods, which also promoted the development of the clan. According to testimony, the Xia and Shang dynasties “its clan” is the clan of Bo Yi, and the origin of its clan, is closely related to the treatment of water.
After the Great Yu succeeded Shun, Bo Yi and assisted the Great Yu to control the water and soil, reclaim the wasteland, plant rice, digging water wells. Bo Yi was also very accomplished in politics. He warned Dayu to be forward-looking in everything and to think things through. Don’t violate the laws and systems, don’t enjoy excessive pleasure, don’t go against the laws to seek the people’s praise, and don’t violate public opinion to satisfy your own desires. You should not be slack in ruling the country, you should not waste your time in politics, you should be humble and be benefited, but complacency can lead to failure, you should select the best and appoint the best, remove the evil. In dealing with ethnic conflicts, Bo Yi also showed foresight and insight. When Shun sent Dayu to conquer the three Miao tribes by force, the three Miao were not convinced, so Boyi suggested that both grace and power should be used to help each other. Dayu accepted Bo Yi’s advice, retreated his army, and practiced civilization and moral rule. Bo Yi also recorded the geography, mountains, trees, birds and animals, strange customs, and anecdotes that he experienced while following Dayu in his water treatment, which became the material for the Shanhaijing.
Writing the Shanhaijing
The Xia Dynasty novel “Shanhaijing” is a mythological novel that has been called a miracle book by later generations. Modern scholars agree that the book was not written at one time, and that four of the volumes were added to the work by later generations. The original author was probably Bo Yi of the Xia Dynasty. In the Western Han Dynasty, Liu Xin’s “Shanhaijing Table”: “has set the “Shanhaijing”, out of the Tang and Yu times …… Yu, the other nine states, any earth for tribute, and Yi and other categories of good and bad things, wrote the “Shanhaijing”. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Wang Chong’s book “On Heng – The Book of the Other” reads: “Yu was the master of water, and Yi was the master of the record of foreign objects, and he went to all the overseas mountains, so he wrote “Shanhaijing” with what he remembered. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Zhao Ye’s “The Biography of Yue Wang Wuyu”: “(Yu) conspired with Yi and Kui to travel to famous mountains and rivers, and called their gods and asked them about the pulses of mountains and rivers, all the gold and jade, birds and animals and insects, and the folklore of eight places, different countries and foreign regions, and the number of miles of land: so Yi sparse and recorded them, so the name was “Shanhaijing”.
Shanhaijing
Character Ideology
The main political views of Bo Yi can be found in “Shangshu – Dayumu”. Bo Yi advocated virtue and benevolence like Emperor Yao, and believed that ruling the country should be done carefully and faithfully. He emphasized the importance of planning ahead so that one would not be unprepared for the eventuality. Principles and laws should be in place, and pleasure should not be pursued. You should not be so pleased with yourself as to go against your natural nature, and you should not go against the wishes of the people to yield to the selfish desires of the powerful. In this way, the four barbarians can be pacified.
Character Evaluation
Mozi – Shangxian: “Yu lifted up Yi in the midst of the Yinfang, and granted the government, and nine states became.”
Family Lineage
Pan Gu (Ji Gu, mated to Tai Yuan Sheng Mu) → You Chao (Ji Chao, mated to Velvet Clan) → Su Ren (Ji Sui, one of the “Three Kings”, mated to Huaxu Clan) → Fu Xi (Ji Xi, one of the “Three Kings”, historically known as Tai Hao, revered as Emperor Xi, mated to Nuwa)
→ Shaodian (Ji Dian, mated with Niang Deng, born Yan Di; mated with Bao, born Huang Di) → Huang Di (Ji Yuan, word: Xuanyuan, one of the Five Emperors) → Shao Hao (also known as Xuan Hao) → Jiaoji → Yefu (mated with Niu Xiu) → Daye (mated with Niu Hua) → Bo Yi (also known as Dafei, mated with Yao) → Dalian (the eldest son)
→Huaiwen→Wenzhong→Yin→ZhongYan→Xuanzu(grandfather of RongXuXuan)→XuanFu(father of RongXuXuan)→RongXuXuan→Zhong bubble up→FuLian(one as FeiLian)→Evilai→Women’s defense→Pungao
→ Taiji → Dailuo → Qin Feizi (Ying Fei, the first ruler of Qin) → Marquis of Qin → Qin Gongbo (Ying Bo) → Qin Zhong (Ying Zhong) → Duke Zhuang of Qin (Ying Qi) → Duke Xiang of Qin (Ying Kai) → Duke Wen of Qin (Ying Kang) → Duke Jing of Qin (Ying Ding, not yet reigning)
→ Duke Xian of Qin (Ying Li) → Duke De of Qin (Ying Jia) → Duke Mu of Qin (Ying Renhao) → Duke Kang of Qin (Ying earthen) → Duke Gong of Qin (Ying Tao/Ying ape) → Duke Huan of Qin (Ying Rong) → Duke Jing of Qin (Ying Shi) → Duke Liao of Qin (Ying Ji) → Duke Yi of Qin (Ying Guang, not yet reigning) → Duke Hui of Qin (Ying Ning)
→ Duke Mourning of Qin (Ying Pan) → Duke Li of Qin (Ying Zing) → Duke Huai of Qin (Ying Feng) → Duke Zhaozi of Qin (Ying Zhao) → Duke Ling of Qin (Ying Su) → Duke Xian of Qin (Ying Shi Shi/Ying Lian) → Duke Xiao of Qin (Ying Quliang) → King Huaiwen of Qin (Ying Qi)
→ King Zhaoxiang of Qin/King Zhaoxiang of Qin (Ying Ze/Ying Ji) → King Xiaowen of Qin (Ying Zhu) → King Zhuangxiang of Qin (Ying Zichu, who was posthumously honored as the Supreme Emperor when Ying Zheng became the emperor) → First Emperor of Qin (abbreviated as Qin Shi Huang, name: Ying Zheng, founder of Qin Dynasty, the first emperor of China)
→ Ying Fusu (Ying Su, known as Duke Fusu) → Qin III (Ying Ziying, known as Qin Prince Ying)
Pan Gu (Ji Gu, mated to Tai Yuan Sheng Mu) → You Chao (Ji Chao, mated to Velvet Clan) → Sui Ren (Ji Sui, one of the “Three Emperors”, mated to Huaxu Clan) → Fu Xi (Ji Xi, one of the “Three Emperors”, known as Tai Hao in history, revered as Emperor Xi, mated to Nuwa)
→ Shaodian (Ji Dian, mated to Niang Deng, born Yan Di; mated to Bei Bao, born Huang Di) → Huang Di (Ji Yuan, word: Xuanyuan, one of the Five Emperors) → Shao Hao (also known as Xuan Hao) → Jiao Ji → Ye Father (mated to Niu Xiu) → Da Ye (mated to Niu Hua) → Bo Yi (also known as Da Fei) → Da Lian (eldest son)
→Huaiwen→Wen Zhong→Yin→Zhong Yan→Xuanzu(grandfather of Rongxuxuan)→Xuan father(father of Rongxuxuan)→Rongxuxuan→Zhong bubble up→Fu Lian(one as Fei Lian)→→Jisheng→Meng Zeng→Heng father
→ Zuofu (Zhao’s father) → Quofu → Anfu → Liangfu → Jufu → Amfu → Shubai (the founder of Zhao) → Mingzu (grandfather of Gongming) → Mingfu (father of Gongming) → Gongming → Zhao Chengzi (Zhao’s failure) → Zhao Xuanzi (Zhao’s shield) → Zhao Zhuangzi (Zhao’s Shuo)
→ Zhao Wenzi (Zhao Wu) → Zhao Jingzi (Zhao Cheng) → Zhao Jianzi (Zhao Yang) → Zhao Bolu → Daichengjun (Zhao Zhou) → Zhao Xianhou (Zhao Lax) → Zhao Liehou (Zhao Ji) → Zhao Jinghou (Zhao Zhang) → Zhao Chenghou (Zhao Seed) → Zhao Suhou (Zhao Yue) → Zhao Wu Lingwang (Zhao Yong)
→ King Huiwen of Zhao (Zhao He) → King Xiaocheng of Zhao (Zhao Dan) → King Xiangxiang of Zhao (Zhao Yan) → King Youmu of Zhao (Zhao Qian)
Pan Gu → You Chao → Sui Ren → Fu Xi → Shaodian → Huang Di → Shao Hao → Jiao Ji → Ye Fu → Da Ye → Bo Yi → Ru Mu (the second son of Bo Yi) → Am Yan → Chen → Hao → Fei Chang (the ancestor of the surname Fei)