Yi (

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

: , ''Yì''; millennium BCE) was a tribal leader of

Longshan culture The Longshan (or Lung-shan) culture, also sometimes referred to as the Black Pottery Culture, was a late Neolithic culture in the middle and lower Yellow River valley areas of northern China from about 3000 to 1900 BC. The first archaeological fi ...

and a

culture hero A culture hero is a mythological hero specific to some group ( cultural, ethnic, religious, etc.) who changes the world through invention or discovery. Although many culture heroes help with the creation of the world, most culture heroes are imp ...

Chinese mythology Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature in the geographic area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology includes many varied myths from regional and cultural traditions. Much of t ...

who helped

Shun Shun may refer to one of the following: *To shun, which means avoiding association with an individual or group * Shun (given name), a masculine Japanese given name *Seasonality in Japanese cuisine (''shun'', 旬) Emperor Shun * Emperor Shun (� ...

and

Yu the Great Yu the Great (大禹) was a legendary king in ancient China who was famed for his introduction of flood control, his establishment of the Xia dynasty which inaugurated dynastic rule in China, and his upright moral character. He figures prominen ...

control the

Great Flood A flood myth or a deluge myth is a myth in which a great flood, usually sent by a deity or deities, destroys civilization, often in an act of divine retribution. Parallels are often drawn between the flood waters of these myths and the primaeval ...

; he served afterwards as a government minister and a successor as ruler of the empire. Yi is also credited with the invention of digging wells (although

Shennong Shennong (), variously translated as "Divine Farmer" or "Divine Husbandman", born Jiang Shinian (), was a mythological Chinese ruler known as the first Yan Emperor who has become a deity in Chinese and Vietnamese folk religion. He is venerat ...

is also credited with this). He is the ancestor of royal family of Zhao,

Qin Qin may refer to: Dynasties and states * Qin (state) (秦), a major state during the Zhou Dynasty of ancient China * Qin dynasty (秦), founded by the Qin state in 221 BC and ended in 206 BC * Daqin (大秦), ancient Chinese name for the Roman Emp ...

, Xu and Liang.

Names

Yi was also known as Boyi or Bo Yi, written variously as , , , and . He was also known as Fei the Great (, ''Dafei'').

Sima Qian Sima Qian (; ; ) was a Chinese historian of the early Han dynasty (206AD220). He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for his ''Records of the Grand Historian'', a general history of China covering more than two thousand years b ...

. ''

Records of the Grand Historian ''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese hist ...

''. Translated by William H. Nienhauser as ''The Grand Scribe's Records: The Basic Annals of Pre-Han China''. Indiana University Press, 1994.

History

In the ''

'',

's account of the origins of the

House of Ying This is a family tree of Chinese monarchs during the Warring States period. Warring States period In 771 BC, a coalition of feudal lords and the Western Rong tribes overthrew King You and drove the Zhou out of the Wei valley. During ...

states that Fei the Great was the son of

Ye the Great Ye or Yeh the Great () was a figure in Chinese mythology. In the ''Records of the Grand Historian'', Sima Qian's account of the origin of the House of Ying made him the son of Lady Xiu and the egg of a black bird. He was said to have been the ...

and

Lady Hua Lady Hua () was a figure in Chinese mythology. In the ''Records of the Grand Historian'', Sima Qian's account of the origin of the House of Ying says that she was the wife of Ye the Great and the mother of Fei the Great, who was later known as ...

. His father is given as Gao Yao, but this seems to have been a mistake of various scholars in reading the original sources. He was eventually titled Boyi or

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Yi. Yi was appointed by Shun to assist in controlling the great flood through the

controlled burn A controlled or prescribed burn, also known as hazard reduction burning, backfire, swailing, or a burn-off, is a fire set intentionally for purposes of forest management, farming, prairie restoration or greenhouse gas abatement. A control ...

use of fire to clear the land forests, overgrowth, and marshes; and, also, to provide meat to feed the workers involved in the disaster management effort: he thus became a close companion of Yu, with whom he worked closely for thirteen years in this effort. Then, after the successful struggle against the flood, and the subsequent reorganization of government, Yi was appointed Minister of Animal Husbandry. According to the more mythical accounts, Yi could domesticate animals and birds due to knowing their languages. Alternately, Yi is credited by creation of the canon of laws, while his relationship to the flood quelling is not underlined. This presentation is provided in the "

Lü xing Lu, Lü, or LU may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Lu (music), Tibetan folk music * Lu (duo), a Mexican band ** ''Lu'' (album) * Character from Mike, Lu & Og * Lupe Fiasco or Lu (born 1982), American musician * Lebor na hUidre, a manuscrip ...

" 呂刑 chapter of the ''

Book of Documents The ''Book of Documents'' (''Shūjīng'', earlier ''Shu King'') or ''Classic of History'', also known as the ''Shangshu'' (“Venerated Documents”), is one of the Five Classics of ancient Chinese literature. It is a collection of rhetorica ...

'', where he is listed together with

and

Houji Hou Ji (or Houji; ) was a legendary Chinese culture hero credited with introducing millet to humanity during the time of the Xia dynasty.. Millet was the original staple grain of northern China, prior to the introduction of wheat. His name tran ...

as "three princes" 三后. After the succession of Yu as sole emperor, Yu initially designated Yi as his successor, in preference to his son Qi. Versions vary as to whether Yu later changed his mind or if instead Yi was killed in the course of a struggle for the throne, as well as to whether Yi ever served as emperor. According to

, Boyi's children by a 'jade lady of the Yao' included

Lian the Great Lian or Lien the Great () was a figure in Chinese mythology. In the ''Records of the Grand Historian'', Sima Qian's account of the origins of the House of Ying states that he was one of Fei the Great's two sons, along with Ruomu. He is said to be ...

and

Ruomu Ruomu () was a figure in Chinese mythology. In the ''Records of the Grand Historian'', Sima Qian's account of the origins of the House of Ying makes him the son of Fei the Great and the brother of Lian the Great Lian or Lien the Great () was a ...

. According to the

Bamboo Annals The ''Bamboo Annals'' (), also known as the ''Ji Tomb Annals'' (), is a chronicle of ancient China. It begins in the earliest legendary time (the age of the Yellow Emperor) and extends to 299 BC, with the later centuries focusing on the history ...

, a temple(祠) was made for him after he died during the 6th year of Qi.

Descendants

His son Ruomu was appointed lord of Xu in approximately 2061 BC by King

Qi of Xia Qi () was a Chinese king, the son of Yu the Great and the second sovereign of the Xia dynasty. He ruled for roughly nine to ten years.戴逸, 龔書鐸. 002(2003) 中國通史. 史前夏商西周. Intelligence press. . p. 40. Biography ...

. Yi was believed to be the ancestor of Zhao clan and Qin clan as well. The state of Zhao and

were ruled by the two clans respectively. Descendants of Zhao clan were known as Zhao clan of Tianshui.

Qin Shi Huang Qin Shi Huang (, ; 259–210 BC) was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of a unified China. Rather than maintain the title of "king" ( ''wáng'') borne by the previous Shang and Zhou rulers, he ruled as the First Emperor ( ...

was one of his descendant from Qin clan. Other Ying clansmen, descended from Ruomu, formed

Pei clan of Hedong The Pei clan of Hedong(河東裴氏) was a notable Chinese clan politically active from the Han dynasty to the end of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Their ancestral home was in Hedong Commandery. Their founding father was Pei Ling (裴� ...

Notes

References

* Mengzi. ''滕文公上 (Teng Wen Gong I)''. * Wu, K. C. (1982). ''The Chinese Heritage''. New York: Crown Publishers. . *Yang, Lihui, ''et al.'' (2005). ''Handbook of Chinese Mythology''. New York: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN, 978-0-19-533263-6 Xia dynasty people Agriculture in China

Names

History

Descendants

See also

Notes

References