3 replies to this topic

[Hei Xin]

I would like more information on THe legend of Yi the Eastern Barbarian, as well as Ping Yi the Chariot driver who drowned himself in the Yellow river. Can anyone recommend a solid piece of literature about these pre Qin legendary type figures?

[Henry Tom]

Dear CHF Members,

I am a new member and I am in awe of the scholarship and expertise of CHF members.

I have information indicating: Tan ( 譚) is the clan name of Zhurong（祝 融）, the fifth generation branch of Yandi（燄 帝）.

Is Zhurong one of the "9 Li" / "Jiu Li" tribe ( 九 黎 部 落) of the Dongyi alliance and can anybody provide more details on the Zhurong?

Thank you in advance


Henry Tom

[Bao Pu]

Hi Henry Tom,

I don't much about this, but from what I've read, Zhu Rong was "originally a fire god, euhermerized as a Master of Fire and said to be First Ancestor of a number of lineages, including the Mi clan from which the Chu [state] nobility were all descended. He was identified with Zhong Li [Chong Li?], sometimes thought of as two persons, Zhong and Li, and also with the guardian spirit of the south [Chu was in the south], whose theriomorphic form was the Scarlet Bird." David Hawkes

Gopal Sukhu writes: "Most specialists in the field agree that Zhu Rong was the ancestral spirit of the Chu royal house. In the Shiji, in the section on the Chu hereditary house, it says, 'The ancestors of Chu originate from Zhuan Xu Gao Yang (顓頊高陽). Gao Yang was the grandson of Huang Di (黃帝), and the son of Chang Yi (昌意). Gao Yang begat Cheng (稱). Cheng begat Juan Zhang (卷章). Juan Zhang begat Chong Li (重黎). Chong Li occupied the office of Governor of Fire (火正) for Di Ku Gao Xin (帝嚳高辛) and had very great accomplishments. He was able to light and warm (rong) the world. Di Ku named him Zhu Rong (祝融). When Gong Gong rebelled, Di Ku sent Chong Li to punish him but he did not complete his mission. So Di Ku punished Chong Li on the geng-yin day, made his younger brother Wu Hui (吳回) his descendant, and appointed him to the post of Governor of Fire, and he (Wu Hui) became Zhu Rong.' From this passage we learn that Zhu Rong is a designation, like Gao Yang, that is not limited to one person. In a recently discovered Bao Shan document, Zhu Rong figures as one of the distant ancestors of Chu called upon in divination."

[Yun]

Is Zhurong one of the "9 Li" / "Jiu Li" tribe ( 九 黎 部 落) of the Dongyi alliance

There is so little reliable information about the Jiuli that I would hesitate to even link them with the Eastern Yi (Dongyi) in the first place. In fact, there is also so little information about the early Eastern Yi (i.e. those who lived before Western Zhou) that many of the Chinese theories about who they were, where they lived, and what they did are built on very shaky ground, despite being routinely stated as fact in Chinese history books.