Ping Sien Si - 031 Mei bo of Shang (15949283449)

Mei Bo ( Chinese: 梅伯;

Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese fo ...

: Méi Bó) was an official of

Shang dynasty The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty a ...

and was killed by

Di Xin King Zhou (; ) was the pejorative posthumous name given to Di Xin of Shang () or King Shou of Shang (), the last king of the Shang dynasty of ancient China. He is also called Zhou Xin (). In Chinese, his name Zhòu ( 紂) also refers to a horse cr ...

, King Zhou of Shang.

Plot in fiction

In ''Fengshen Yanyi'', Mei Bo is renowned as the Number One Grand Counselor to King Zhou himself; thus Mei Bo is a very high-ranking official under the Shang dynasty. After Mei Bo had seen Royal Astrologer Du being escorted by guards through the Noon Gate, Mei Bo questioned Du and then ran off quickly to discuss matters with the king. With the assisted help of Prime Minister

Shang Rong The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and ...

, Mei Bo effectively seized the chance to talk matters with the ignorant king. Mei Bo first barks at the king about the unjust punishment and soon death of Du, who was a loyal astrologer serving under the kingdom for over three generations. Mei Bo constantly tells the king that wiping out one of your most loyal officials without just cause is such that of removing a section of your own body. After the king ignored Mei Bo's words, he sentenced him to death through beating. The king's favorite concubine, Daji, tells King Zhou it would be best to burn him alive in a large toaster for his "evil ways". When the toaster was finished, it had been over twenty feet tall with three levels of burning fire from three levels of burning charcoal; and two wheels to move it around like a chariot. Before Mei Bo was to be burned alive in the toaster, he uttered the words "''You stupid king! My death is as light as a feather. It matters very little whether I die or live. I am one of your highest ranking counselors. I have served three generations of kings in this dynasty. What crime have I committed? I only fear that Cheng Tang's glorious reign will end by your stupidity and cruelty!''" Thus, the poor Mei Bo was stripped of all his clothes and was immediately thrown into the very large toaster. While in the toaster, large blood-curdling screams could be heard emitting from the toaster – thus instilling complete horror into the fellow officials and marking the death of one of many Shang loyalists. Mei Bo was appointed as the deity of Tiande Star (天德星) in the end.''

Fengshen Yanyi ''The Investiture of the Gods'', also known by its Chinese names () and is a 16th-century Chinese novel and one of the major vernacular Chinese works in the gods and demons (''shenmo'') genre written during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Cons ...

'' Chapter 99.

Notes

References

* '' Investiture of the Gods'' – Chapter 6 (pages 67–71) Investiture of the Gods characters Chinese gods Shang dynasty politicians {{novel-char-stub