Gongliu of Zhou

Gongliu (traditional Chinese: 公劉; simplified Chinese: 公刘; pinyin: Gōng​liú​) was a semi-legendary person of ancient China. Before the founding of the Zhou Dynasty, in BCE 1046, the Zhou clan already had a long history. As Gong was a title used by the ancients to refer to a rank of nobility, Gongliu is often translated into English as Duke Liu.[1]

Contents

Ancestry

The Zhou lineage traditionally begins with Di Ku;[2] however, Chinese legend depicts Di Ku as the grandson of Shaohao, the son of the Yellow Emperor and his principal wife Leizu.[3] The lineage proceeds from Di Ku to Ji Qi, Buku, Ju, and then Gongliu.[4]

Ode to Gongliu

Gongliu led his people from their former homeland (the exact reason for its unsuitability is unknown) to a new place called Bin, where they prospered.[5] This prosperity would be an essential part of the rise of the Zhou Dynasty, which later, in gratitude, commemorated Gongliu with an ode that appeared in the Chinese Book of Songs. This ode tells the story of the preparations for the move to Bin:[6]

Of generous devotion to the people was duke Liu,
Unable to rest or take his ease [where he was],
He divided and subdivided the country into fields;
He stored up the produce in the fields and in barns;
He tied up dried meat and grain,
In bottomless bags and in sacks; –
That he might hold [the people] together, and glorify [his tribe].
Then with bows and arrows all ready,
With shields and spears, and axes, large and small,
He commenced his march.
....
Of generous devotion to the people was duke Liu,
Having settled in temporary lodging houses in Bin,
He crossed the Wei by means of boats,
And gathered whetstones and iron.
When his settlement was fixed, and all boundaries defined,
The people became numerous and prosperous,
Occupying both sides of the Huang valley,
And pushing on up that of Guo ;
And as the population became dense,
They went on to the country beyond the Ju.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Wu (1982:237). Wu favours gong as meaning duke, in consideration that Gugong Danfu and Gongji also share the gong moniker.
  2. ^ Wu (1982:235)
  3. ^ Wu (1982:60–64)
  4. ^ Wu (1982:235)
  5. ^ Wu (1982:236–237)
  6. ^ Translation by James Legge

References

External links