Gong Liu

Duke Liu[1] (traditional Chinese: 公劉; simplified Chinese: 公刘; pinyin: Gōng Liú) was a noble of ancient China. He was an important early leader of the Ji clan, which later founded the Zhou dynasty. His father was Ji Ju.

Gōng Liú
ChildrenQingjie
ParentJi Ju

Ancestry

In Chinese mythology, the Zhou lineage traditionally began with a consort of the Emperor Ku, who miraculously conceived "the Abandoned One" after stepping into a divine footprint.[2][3] His son Buzhu was said to be displeased with the decadence of the Xia court and to have resigned his post as director of agriculture, moving the clan to Tai. Either Buzhu or his heir Ji Ju abandoned agriculture entirely and enjoyed living the nomadic lifestyle of their Rong and Di barbarian neighbors.[4]

History

Gong Liu was credited with restoring agriculture among his people and leading them to their subsequent prosperity. He led his people away from their new home at Tai to a new place called Bin, where they prospered[5] at the expense of neighboring Rong tribes.[6] His son was Qingjie.[7] After Zhou’s defeat of the Shang at Muye and the establishment of the Kingdom of Zhou, Gong Liu was commemorated with an ode among the Great Hymns in the Chinese classic Book of Songs. This ode tells the story of the preparations and move to Bin.[8]

See also

References
  1. Wu (1982:237).
  2. Shijing, Ode 245.
  3. Encyclopædia Britannica. "Hou Ji".
  4. Sima Qian. Records of the Grand Historian, Annals of Zhou, §3.
  5. Wu (1982:236–237)
  6. Bamboo Annals.
  7. Shiji, 周本紀; Wu Yue Chunqiu, 吳太伯傳.
  8. Book of Songs, III.2.6.
  • Wu, K. C. (1982), The Chinese Heritage, New York: Crown Publishers, ISBN 0-517-54475-X
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