This article presents a fresh investigation into the formation of the dual systems of the Flame Thearch (Yan Di
1
Looked at from the perspective of the textual tradition, the structure of ancient Chinese history appears perfectly well ordered. The âChang maiâ
é»å¸ä»¥å§¬æ°´æï¼çå¸ä»¥å§æ°´æãæèç°å¾·ï¼æ é»å¸çºå§¬ï¼çå¸çºå§ï¼äºå¸ç¨å¸«ä»¥ç¸æ¿ä¹ï¼ç°å¾·ä¹æ ä¹ã
The Yellow Thearch grew up relying on the Ji river; the Flame Thearch grew up relying on the Jiang river. They grew up [obtaining] different essential properties (de), thus the Yellow Thearch came to embody [the essential properties] of Ji; the Flame Thearch came to embody [the essential properties] of Jiang. That the two thearchs raised armies to destroy each other was due to their diverging essential properties.3
Many more sources mention the struggle between the Flame Thearch and the Yellow Thearch which, in general terms, appears as the antagonism between two paradigms. This problem has been addressed before by numerous archaeologists and experts on the history of antiquity.4
In recent decades a plethora of new material has been unearthed that needs to be combined and integrated with the old evidence, calling for the subject to be discussed anew. Having pointed this out, I would now like to present my views on the matter for everyone to comment on.
In the Guicang
å人æ°æè é»å» (å¸ )ä¸ (è )çå» (å¸ )æ (æ° )â¡
âTongrenâ
å人 (Fellow men) says: âIn former times, the Yellow Thearch and the Flame Thearch did battle.â5
This comes from the Yin-period Guicang text. The âsection on thearchs and kingsâ (huang wang bu
æï¼é»ç¥ (å¸ )èçå¸ç鬥涿鹿ä¹éï¼å°æ°ï¼ç®æ¼å·«å¸æ°: æåèæåã
In the past, the Yellow Spirit (Thearch) fought with the Flame Thearch in the Wastes of Zhuolu. As they were about to engage in battle, [the Yellow Thearch] had Shaman Xian (Wu Xian) divine the matter by means of stalk divination. The latter exclaimed: âAs expected, indeed there will be calamities.â6
If the Chu manuscript âTongrenâ line statement does in fact belong to the Guicang text from the Three Changes (San Yi
A passage from the recovered Sunzi
ãé»å¸åä¼ã赤å¸æ°æ¼åå±± (å³éªæ³ )
[The Yellow Thearch to the south attacked] the Red Thearch [â¦] and did battle in the steppes of Mount Fan (i.e. the springs of Ban [Ban quan]) [â¦].
æ±ä¼ãéãå¸è³æ¼è¥å¹³ï¼æ°æ¼å¹³â¡
To the east he attacked the [Green] Thearch, penetrated as far as Xiangping, and did battle at Ping [â¦].
åä¼é»å¸ â¦â¦è³æ¼æ¦é§
To the north he attacked the Black Thearch, penetrated as far as Wusui [â¦].
西ä¼ç½å¸ï¼è³æ¼æ¦åã以ååå¸ï¼å¤§æ天ä¸ï¼ â¦â¦å¤©ä¸åé¢æ¸ä¹ã
To the west he attacked the White Thearch, penetrated as far as Wugang. [â¦] Having defeated the four thearchs he greatly possessed All-under-Heaven, [â¦] those from All-under-Heaven turned to him from the four cardinal directions.
湯ä¹ä¼æ¡ä¹ï¼ â¦â¦æ°æ¼èç°ï¼
When Tang attacked Jie, [â¦] he did battle at Botian. [â¦]
æ¦ä¹ä¼ç´ â¦â¦è³æ¼ éï¼æ°ç§ä¹éã
When King Wu attacked Zhou, he penetrated as far as Jinsui,7 and did battle on the Plains of Mu.8
This passage recounts how the Yellow Thearch pacified the Thearchs from the four cardinal regions. Hence it appears as if initially there had been the Thearchs of the five colors, from which the topic of a struggle between the Flame and the Yellow Thearch emerged later on.
The âWu zhengâ
æ°æ (å )ãé¹åä¹ä¸èµ·é»å¸æ°: ãå¯ä»¥ã â¦â¦ã
War broke out. Yan Ran raised the Yellow Thearch exclaiming: âNow it is time to act.â [â¦]
é»å¸æ¼æ¯åºå ¶é (ð£ )龯ï¼å¥®å ¶æå µï¼èº«æé¼é (æ¹ )ï¼ä»¥ç¦º (é )ä¹ (è© )å°¤ï¼å è禽 (æ )ä¹ãå¸ç®¸ (è )ä¹æ ̳ (çï¼ç )æ°: ãå義éæï¼å ¶åè¦ä¹ (è© )å°¤ãã
Thereupon the Yellow Thearch brought out his battle ax and set his troops in motion. He personally took up drums and drumsticks to meet Chi You.10 Therefore Chi You was taken prisoner and the Thearch swore and announced an oath. Its words were: âThose who go against proper conduct and act untimely will face the same punishment as Chi You.â11
Moreover, in the âZheng luanâ
åé» (ç§ )æ°: ãå® (æ° )æ¸çå åèé«é½æªå¤«ï¼ â¦â¦ã
Li Hei (Mu) proclaimed:12 âThe number of wars increased to sixteen and Gao Yang had yet not lost any battle.â13
æ°çæ (å )ã大 (太 )å±±ä¹ç¨½æ°: ãå¯ä»¥ããæ¼æ¯åºäº (å ¶ )é (ð£ )龯ï¼å¥®äº (å ¶ )æå µ ãé»å¸èº«ç¦º (é )ä¹ (è© )å°¤ï¼å è禽 (æ )ä¹ ãåäº (å ¶ )â¡é©ä»¥çºå¹²ä¾¯ï¼ä½¿äººå°ä¹ï¼å¤ä¸è è³ ãð (翦 )äº (å ¶ )é«®è建ä¹å¤©ï¼åæ°ä¹ (è© )å°¤ä¹ð¦ (æ ) ãâ¦â¦
War broke out fully. Taishanzhiji exclaimed: âNow it is time to act.â Thereupon, bringing out his battle ax and rousing his troops, the Yellow Thearch personally encountered Chi You and captured him. He peeled off Chi Youâs [â¦] skin and turned it into a target for shooting arrows. He had people shoot at it and awarded those who hit the target more accurately. He cut off Chi Youâs hair and set it up high (on a flagpole) towards Heaven. He named it âFlag of Chi You.â [â¦]
è äº (å ¶ )骨èï¼æä¹è¦é (é¢ )ï¼ä½¿å¤©ä¸ð© (ã± )ä¹ãä¸å¸ä»¥ç¦ãâ¦â¦
He minced Chi Youâs bones and flesh, threw them into a bitter sauce, and ordered those from All-under-Heaven to drink from it. Thence, the Prohibition of Di on High (Shangdi
ä¸å¸ ) was proclaimed. [â¦]
äº (å ¶ )ä¸å¸æªå èæ èå µï¼è¦ä¹ (è© )å°¤å ±å·¥ãå±äº (å ¶ )èï¼ä½¿çäº (å ¶ )(
ä¿ ) ã
He who initiates military action prior to (the decision of) Di on High will be treated the same as Chi You. He will be forced to bend his back and made to consume feces.14
Among the depictions of the pacification of Chi You the above passage counts as the most detailed description. Many more literary sources record the struggle between the Flame- and the Yellow Thearch, such as the following:
The Zuozhuan
å·¦å³ (Zuo Tradition) notes for the 25th year of Patriarch Xiå (634 BC):
çåè¨æ¼æ侯æ°: ãæ±è«¸ä¾¯è«å¦å¤çãâ¦â¦ã Hu Yan said to the Prince of Jin, âFor seeking the support of the princes no action is better than working on behalf of the Zhou king.â [â¦]
使åååä¹ï¼æ°: ãåãéé»å¸æ°äºéªæ³ä¹å ãã
In section two of the âWei ceâ
é»å¸æ°æ¼æ¶¿é¹¿ä¹éï¼è西æä¹å µä¸è³ã
The Yellow Thearch did battle in the wastes of Zhuolu, but the armies of the Western Rong did not arrive.17
The âDao Zhiâ
çè· (Robber Zhi) passage in the Zhuangzièå relates:
é»å¸ä¸è½è´å¾·ï¼èè©å°¤æ°æ¼æ¶¿é¹¿ä¹éï¼æµè¡ç¾éã But the Yellow Thearch could not attain such virtue. He fought with Chi You in the wastes of Zhuolu until the blood ï¬owed for a hundred li.18
The Yellow River Chart (Hetu
æ²³å ) says:
ç女åºå µç¬¦èé»å¸ï¼æ°è©å°¤ã
In the âShijiâ
å²è¨ (Historical Records) chapter from the Lost Documents of Zhou we read:
æéªæ³æ°ç¨å µç¡å·²ï¼èª æ°ä¸ä¼ï¼ â¦â¦å¾å± è³äºç¨é¹¿ï¼è«¸ä¾¯åä¹ï¼éªæ³ä»¥äº¡ã
The âDa huang bei jingâ
è©å°¤ä½å µï¼ä¼é»å¸ï¼é»å¸ä¹ä»¤æé¾æ»ä¹åå·ä¹éãæé¾çæ°´ï¼è©å°¤è«é¢¨ä¼¯ãé¨å¸«ï¼ç¸±å¤§é¢¨é¨ãé»å¸ä¹ä¸å¤©å¥³æ°éãé¨æ¢ï¼é殺è©å°¤ã
Chi You fashioned weapons in order to attack the Yellow Thearch, so the Yellow Thearch commanded Yinglong (Responding Dragon) to launch an attack against him in the wastes of Jizhou. Yinglong stored up all the water, but Chi You asked the Lord of the Wind and the Master of Rain to unleash a great storm. The Yellow Thearch then sent down his heavenly daughter who was named Ba (Drought Fury), and then the rain ceased.23 Afterwards [Yinglong] killed Chi You.24
The legend of Chi You, also known as the Red Thearch, engaging in battle with the Yellow Thearch was presumably already quite poplar during the pre-Qin period. However, the name Chi You first appeared in the âLü xingâ
è©å°¤æå§ä½äºï¼å»¶åäºå¹³æ°ã â¦â¦èæ°å¼ç¨éï¼å¶ä»¥åã
It was Chi You who began to create disorder, which then extended to the general populace. [â¦] The [rulers of the] Miao people (Miao min)25 did not employ [Di on Highâs] mandate and exercised their power by means of punishments.26
Hence, it seems that Chi You was the chief of the Miao people. The âChang maiâ chapter from the Yi Zhoushu relates the war between the Yellow Thearch and Chi You in some detail:
å½èµ¤å¸åæ£äºå¿ï¼å½è©å°¤å®äºå°æï¼ä»¥è¨åæ¹ã â¦â¦è©å°¤ä¹éå¸ï¼çäºæ¶¿é¹¿ä¹é¿ãâ¦â¦
[Heaven] ordered the Red Thearch to distribute the [power of] government among two lords. [The Red Thearch thus] ordered Chi You to go and assist/reside with Shao Hao in order to oversee the four cardinal regions.27 [â¦] Chi You thereupon chased the [Red] Thearch and fought with him in the hills of Zhuolu. [â¦]
赤å¸å¤§æ¾ï¼ä¹èªªäºé»å¸ï¼å·è©å°¤æ®ºä¹äºä¸å â¦â¦åä¹æ°çµè½¡ä¹éã
The Red Thearch became greatly frightened and turned to the Yellow Thearch for help. [Subsequently, the Yellow Thearch] captured Chi You and killed him on the plains of Ji. [â¦] This place was henceforth called âThe wastes of Juepei (lit. cut reins).â
ä¹å½å°æè«å¸ (å£ )馬 (çº )鳥師ï¼ä»¥æ£äºå¸ä¹å®ã
The Yellow Thearch ordered Shao Hao to act as âBird Masterâ minister and to put the offices of the Five Thearchs in order.28
The place where Chi You had reportedly been killed is variously given as Banquan, the wastes of Zhuolu, the wastes of Jizhou, or the Wastes of Juepei in different sources. The âZhengluanâ passage from the recovered Mawangdui manuscripts also has Li Hei (Mu) mention the name âGao Yang.â
By the time of the Han period, at the beginning of the reign of Emperor Wen
çå¸è ï¼é»å¸åç¶æ¯å¼ä¹ï¼åæ天ä¸ä¹åãé»å¸è¡éèçå¸ä¸è½ï¼æ æ°æ¶¿é¹¿ä¹éï¼è¡æµæ¼æµã
The Flame Thearch had the same father and mother as the Yellow Thearch, whose younger brother he was. Each of them possessed one half of the Universe. Whereas the Yellow Thearch followed the way (dao), the Flame Thearch did not obey. Thus they fought each other on the wastes of Zhuolu, the blood flowing in streams from their clubs.29
This indicates that the two paradigms associated with the Flame and the Yellow Thearch respectively had already been officially established by that time. The âWu Di deâ
è©å°¤ä½äºï¼ä¸ç¨å¸å½ãæ¼æ¯é»å¸ä¹å¾µå¸«è«¸ä¾¯ï¼èè©å°¤æ°æ¼æ¶¿é¹¿ä¹éï¼é禽殺è©å°¤ã
Chi You created disorder and did not employ the Thearchâs charges. It was thereupon that the Yellow Thearch recruited troops among the various allied lords and did battle with Chi You on the wastes of Zhuolu.30
He thus equated the Flame Thearch with Chi You, treating them as one and the same person. The Jingfa passage belongs to the Warring States Huang Di shu
To summarize the evidence from the above quoted material, it can be noted that the concept of the Thearchs of the five colors had been reduced to that of the Flame Thearch and Yellow Thearch, which subsequently led to the fundamental dualism in early Chinese history. This view was extremely popular during the Spring and Autumn period, yet its origins are much older than that.
2
From the Spring and Autumn period onwards, the opposition between the Flame- and the Yellow Thearch gained political support as well. This started with the institutionalization of the upper and lower zhi
秦è¥å ¬æ¢ä¾¯ï¼å± 西åï¼èªä»¥çºä¸»å°çä¹ç¥ï¼ä½è¥¿ç¤ç¥ ç½å¸ã
After Patriarch Xiang of Qin had become a vassal lord, since his domain was on the western borders [of the confederacy], he adopted the spirit of Shao Hao as his patron deity and set up the zhi-altar of the west where he offered sacrifices to the White Thearch.
秦æå ¬ â¦â¦ä½éç¤ï¼ â¦â¦ç¥ç½å¸çã
Patriarch Wen [â¦] constructed the zhi-altar of Fu, where he [â¦] conducted sacrifices to the White Thearch.
ç§¦å®£å ¬ä½å¯ç¤æ¼æ¸åï¼ç¥éå¸ã
Patriarch Xuan set up the zhi-altar at Mi, south of the Wei river, where he sacrificed to the Green Thearch.
秦éå ¬ä½å³é½ä¸ç¤ï¼ç¥é»å¸ãä½ä¸ç¤ï¼ç¥çå¸ã
Patriarch Ling constructed at the southern slope of Mt. Wu an upper zhi-altar, where he sacrificed to the Yellow Thearch, and a lower zhi-altar, where he sacrificed to the Flame Thearch.
秦ç»å ¬ â¦â¦æ ä½ç¦ç¤æ«é½èç¥ç½å¸ã
Patriarch Xian [â¦] set up the field and garden zhi-altar at Yueyang, where he offered sacrifice to the White Thearch.31
The Qin only knew of four Thearchs. Moreover, due to Qinâs location in the west, offerings made to the White Thearch were especially numerous. That Patriarch Ling constructed an upper and a lower zhi-altar at the southern slope of Mt. Wu was because the Yellow Thearch belonged to the realm above and the Flame Thearch to the realm below. The opposition between the two Thearchs was thus for the first time acknowledged and reflected in the official ritual institutions.
Under the Qin there was no notion of a Black Thearch. When Han Gaozu
That Patriarch Ling of Qin conjoined [the sacrifices for] the Yellow Thearch and the Flame Thearch with the construction of an upper and lower zhi-altar, seems to have been influenced by the legend concerning the dual opposition between the two thearchs, which had been popular from the Shang to the Spring and Autumn period.
This dualistic paradigm finds its manifestation in the ritual ordinances. In Yin oracle bone writing one comes across the terms âUpper Ancestorsâ (Shangshi 
and those from Zu Xin 
, thereby combining the appellations of the various temple hosts into two groups.34 This is different from the Qin peopleâs practice of using an upper and a lower zhi-altar to conduct offerings to the two thearchs.
If we look into the ancient history of the West, we find that this dualism also surfaces in epics of the Near East. Linguistic studies found evidence for this dualism going back to the division of the realms of heaven and earth into above and below. In the Near Eastern Creation Epic, which I have translated into Chinese, the slaughtered opponent Tiamat is associated with the negative; she represents the abyss, the primeval ocean, in fact, even hell and the nether world.
Tiamat and the division of the realms of heaven and earth into above and below in the Near Eastern Creation Epic
The Semitic term ensetu (earth) has its origins here. The âZheng luanâ passageâs depiction of Chi You having his hair cut off and his flesh and bones minced and pickled after he was captured closely resembles the situation Tiamat was facing. Since ancient times, defeated [gods] unanimously sink into an abyss, serving as the roots of all evil. This is the same in legends all over the world.
3
Sikong Jizi
æå°å ¸å¨¶äºæèæ°ï¼çé»å¸ãçå¸ãé»å¸ä»¥å§¬æ°´æï¼çå¸ä»¥å§æ°´æã â¦â¦æ é»å¸çºå§¬
Formerly, Shaodian took a wife from the Youjiao clan and gave birth to the Yellow Thearch and to the Flame Thearch. The Yellow Thearch grew up relying on the Ji river; the Flame Thearch grew up relying on the Jiang river. [â¦] Hence the Yellow Thearch became known as Ji and the Flame Thearch as Jiang.35
Ji and Jiang serve as place and river names in Yin oracle bone inscriptions (hereafter OBI), with mentions of Qiang
The name Leifang appears on the Li juzun
Tongyu is perhaps a compound place name. In Shang times there has been a Yu
A number of extant texts and archaeologically retrieved artifacts may serve to confirm the geographical locations as well as the clan- and surnames associated with the origins of the Flame and Yellow traditions in the sources listed above.
When analyzing the paradigms of ancient history, one needs to take into consideration their various geographical origins. Moreover, apart from the different interpretations of historians and ritualists, there further exist the sayings of planetary prognosticators (xingzhanjia
The names Taihao
This period saw the integration of the cosmologies of the five planets and the five agents (wuxing
Before it speaks about the Yellow Thearch and Chi You, the âZheng luanâ passage mentions the name âGao Yang.â If one looks at the rhymed passage from the inscription on the stone chime of Patriarch Jing
é¡é 娶æ¼é¨°éæ°å¥³èçèå®ï¼çºæ¥äººä¹å ã
Zhuanxu wedded a woman from the Tenghuang clan and gave birth to Laotong, who became the ancestor of the Chu people.46
In comparison, the genealogical tables from the various sources mentioned read as follows:
The genealogy of thearchs in the account of Sikong Jizi å¸ç©ºå£å in the âJin yuâ æèª ; in the âDa huang dong jingâ 大èæ±ç¶ ; and in âDi xiâ å¸ç³» from the Da Dai Liji 大æ´ç¦®è¨
The name Laotong also appears in the wooden slips excavated from tomb 1 at Wangshan
å èð§ãç¥ãèã (ä¸äº â)ï¼åª¸â¡åä¸ç (ä¸äºä¸ )ï¼å èð§â¡ (ä¸äºäº )ï¼èåä¸ (
ä¸äºä¸ ) ã
First [offerings to] Laochong, Zhu (Rong) (120); [Offer to] Chi and [â¦] one female sheep each (121); First [offerings to] Laochong and [â¦] (122); [Offer to] Rong one he-goat each (123).47
The graph is written with the signifier shi
I very much suspect that the reason for the âDa huang dong jingâ to name the Yellow Thearch as ancestor of the Rong people goes back to the Western Rong people supporting this version. The variant of Zhuanxu being the descendant of the Yellow Thearch finds further backing in the Chu bamboo manuscript âWu Wang jian zuoâ
ç (
å )å¸ (師 )ä¸ (å° )ç¶æ°: ãä¸æº (ç¥ )é»å¸ â¡ ()
å ¯ (
è )ä¹éæ (å¨ )(
ä¹ ) ã
The King inquired with Master Shangfu saying: âI do not know where the way of the Yellow Thearch, of Zhuanxu and of Yao and Shun lies.â48
is to be understood here as a variant of Zhuanxu
As to the name âFlame Thearch,â the Warring States Silk Manuscript excavated from Zidanku 
. The respective passage goes: âGongong moves with large stepsâ (
The Genealogy of the Flame Thearch in the âHai nei jingâ æµ·å
§ç¶ chapter from the Shanhaijing 山海ç¶
The records of ancient history are diverse and confused, which makes it very hard to manage them completely. Now, with the help of newly available insights, there gradually emerges an outline, yet it is still impossible to reach final conclusions. One must wait for future archaeological finds to become available in order to conduct further investigations and to re-formulate the results.
The âJinyuâ records that among the sons of the Yellow Thearch, there were two with the name Qing Yang. One shared the surname Ji
The Lüli zhi
è£èçå¸æ天ä¸ï¼ä»¥å³é»å¸ â¦â¦æ å°æ治西æ¹ï¼è©å°¤ä½ä¹ï¼ä½¿ä¸»éã
I have heard that the Flame Thearch had All-under-Heaven and passed it on to the Yellow Thearch [â¦] Thus Shao Hao administered the western region, supported by Chi You, whom he put in charge over [the element] metal.56
The âWu xingâ
As to the legend of the two Haoâs, Tai Hao
Qiao Zhouâs
çå¸å¤§åºæ°ï¼è«±æ ¶ç²ï¼å¤©ä¸é¬¼ç¥ä¹å®ï¼æ²»ç¾ é å±±ã
The Yellow Thearch-Dating shi, known by the posthumous title Qingjia, was the Master of ghosts and spirits in All-under-Heaven. He had been in charge of administering Mount Luofeng.59
The Paleolithic ruins of Yandunbao 
, composed with the radical cao
To follow Qiao Zhouâs assumption and to regard the Flame Thearch as supreme deity of Fengdu would seem somewhat too fantastic. But if we look at the new and old historical material laid out comprehensively above, we may arrive at two insights:
-
The names of the Thearchs of antiquity mentioned in transmitted texts can all be verified in the accounts from excavated manuscripts; hence they are certainly not completely without basis.
-
From as far back as the line statements from the Yin-period Guicang, to as recent as the early Han Huangdi shu
é»å¸æ¸ (Books of the Yellow Thearch) and the astrological charts from Mawangdui, as well as in the Warring States bamboo and silk manuscripts, do we find evidence for the long pedigree of the story of the struggle between the Flame and the Yellow Thearchs and the respective strands they constitute in ancient Chinese history.
This dualist paradigm must therefore be seen as the result of the collation work of scribes and historians. The paradigm presumably developed from a theogony into a genealogy of ruling Thearchs. The establishment of the upper and lower zhi sacrifices by the Qin people led to the deification of the Yellow and the Flame Thearchs, at the same time that the notion of a theocracy in the human realm began to take shape.
In antiquity the recording of history rested in the hands of ritualists in charge of fixing the genealogies of ruling houses. The Shiben ranges among the genealogical treatises that are still extant today. Important ritualist writings, such as the âWu Wang jian zuoâ preserved in the Da Dai Liji, have also been discovered in Chu burial mounds. Hence, we know this text took its form during the Warring States period and did not originate from the hands of the Han people as some scholars previously doubted. Sima Qianâs âWu Di jiâ discusses the Yellow Thearch, Zhuanxu and Di Ku
Although the theory of the dualism of Ancient Chinese history laid out in the pages above presents but an attempt to arrange a vast array of different sayings into a coherent order, there are in fact numerous regional thearchs of antiquity that have not yet been accounted for. To name one example, the discovery of the Sanxingdui
éæãç«ãï¼èæ°å¢å¸ï¼å¢å¸çç§å¸ï¼ç§å¸æ»ç§¦ï¼è³éï¼çä¿åå¸ï¼å¸æ»éè¡£ï¼éå¼µç å°ã
Kaiming (Enlightened, i.e. Duyuâs likewise mythological successor Bieling
é±é [Turtle Spirit] [tr. note])63 was installed; his reign title was Cong Di (Thearch of thickets). Cong Di gave birth to Lu Di (Thearch of the hut). Lu Di attacked Qin, reaching as far as Yong. [Lu Di] gave birth to Baozi Di (Thearch protecting the son). [Baozi] Di attacked Qingyi and boldly spread his rule to include the Liao and the Bo tribes.64
The Fengsu tongyi refers to the latter as âLubaoâ
ç¿ç²åä¼ç§ â¦â¦
ä¼ 
å¸ (HJ 33086)
Attacking Lu on the next jia-zi day [â¦] there while lodging (?) in X, [before] attacking Lu Di.65
â¡ â¦â¦åâ¡èèâ¡ (TN2118)
[â¦] crack-making [â¦] reward (?) Lu [â¦]
ä¼å¨ã壴 (å½ ) ã
æ¹ (YC02425)Attacking Zhou, Peng and Lu Fang.66
The character
As there exists no easy solution to the topic under discussion, the above account shall merely present a new perspective, one which may serve to put the issue on somewhat firmer ground. At least the very last passage, which complements the studyâs argument with a discussion on Lu Di in the ancient Ba-Shu
âGushi de eryuan shuoâ
This phrase does not actually appear in the transmitted version of the âChang maiâ chapter. Compare Huang Huaixin
The quote has been slightly expanded based on Xu Yuangao
Jao explicitly lists here only Yan Wenming
Jingzhou diqu bowuguan
Taiping Yulan, 79.4a, in Wenyuange siku quanshu, 893.752.
The pronunciation of the graph 
follows Bai Yulan
Yinqueshan hanmu zhujian zhengli xiaozu
The passage actually belongs to the jing
For the mythological figure of Chi You see Birrell, Chinese Mythology, 50â3, and 296.
My English translation of this passage is based on the transcription and annotation in Qiu Xigui
Li Mu is associated with the chief minister of the Yellow Thearch.
Gao Yang is an alternative name of the sky god Zhuanxu
The English translation of this passage has been adapted from Zhang and Feng, trans., The Four Political Treatises of the Yellow Emperor, 157â60, based on the transcription and notes in Qiu Xigui et al., eds., Changsha Mawangdui Hanmu jianbo jicheng, 4: 159â61.
Presumably quoting this passage from memory, Jaoâs original version up to this point reads: âPatriarch Mu of Qin divined about [the prospect] of working on behalf of the Zhou king and had Huyan prognosticate its auspiciousness (
Zuo, Xi 25.2, 431. The English translation has been adapted from Stephen Durrant, Wai-yee Li, and David Schaberg, trans., Zuo Tradition. Zuozhuan
Fan Xiangyong
Guo Qingfan
Cf. Birrell, Chinese Mythology, 137, for the identity of the Dark Lady.
This line has been cited by Jao from the Ju Song Guangyun
Jao notes here that scroll 113 from the Beitang shuchao
Again, presumably quoting from memory, Jao gives the phrase âWhen he moved his residence to Duluâ as âhe penetrated as far as the wastes of Zhuolu (
Cf. Birrell, Chinese Mythology, 132: âBesides his other functions as the god of war and inventor of military weapons, Chi You is a rain god with power over the Wind God (Feng Bo
The original quote has been slightly expanded based on Yuan Ke
For the necessary interpretation of the term Miao min
Shu 47.26â56. Compare also the translation in Bernhard Karlgren, âThe Book of Documents,â Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities 22 (1950): 74. My paronomastic reading of ling (*[r]ˤeÅ)
Cf. Birrell, Chinese Mythology, 309â10, for the god Shao Hao.
My translation of this difficult passage is based on my evaluation of the collected annotations in Huang Huaixin, Zhang Maorong et al., Yi Zhoushu huijiao jizhu, 6.731â36.
Yan Zhenyi
Sima Qian
Shiji, 28.1358, 1360, 1364, 1365. My English translation has been adapted from Burton Watson, trans., Records of the Grand Historian: Han Dynasty II, rev. ed. (New York: Columbia University Press, 1993 [1961]), 7â11.
Much of this passage is a more or less verbatim quote from the Shijiâs âFengshan shu.â Compare also the translation in Watson, trans., Records of the Grand Historian: Han Dynasty II, 18â9.
Cf. David N. Keightley, Working for His Majesty: Research Notes on Labor Mobilization in Late Shang China (ca. 1200â1045 BC), as Seen in the Oracle-Bone Inscriptions, with Particular Attention to Handicraft Industries, Agriculture, Warfare, Hunting, Construction, and the Shangâs Legacies (Berkeley: Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, 2012), 334, 347â48.
Cao Dingyun
Guoyu jijie, 10.336â7.
Jao refers the reader here to his introduction to the chapter on government officials (zhiguan renwu
JC 6011â2. See also Constance A. Cook and Paul R. Goldin, eds., A Source Book of Ancient Chinese Bronze Inscriptions (Berkeley: The Society for the Study of Early China, 2016), 80â3 for an English translation of the inscription.
Cf. Cao Wei
Guoyu jijie, 4.172.
Jao refers the reader here to the following publication: Liu Hengwu
Shiji, 15.723.
Wang Liqi
The English translation of this passage has been adapted from Martin Kern, The Stele Inscriptions of Châin Shih-huang: Text and Ritual in Early Chinese Imperial Representation (New Haven: American Oriental Society, 2000), 89â90.
Hong Xingzu
Chuci buzhu, 3.
Jaoâs quote slightly differs from the original version. See Wang Pinzhen
See Hubei sheng wenwu kaogu yanjiusuo
Cf. Liao Mingchun
This line is quoted is quoted in Lu Demingâs
My English translation of this passage follows Watson, trans., The Complete Works of Zhuangzi, 46.
See Wang Xianqian, Zhuangzi jijie, 2.60.
Compare Jao, âChu Boshu xinzheng,â in idem, Xuantang jilin: Shilin xin bian, 3. 860â911.
Compare ibid.
Lei Xueqi
Ban Gu
Li Bujia
Li Xiangfeng
Jao refers the reader here to his âZhongguo gudai dongfang niaozu de chuanshuo: jianlun taihao, shaohaoâ
Xu Yimin
Zuo, Zhao 18.3, 1394. The English translation of this passage follows Durrant, Li, and Schaberg, trans., Zuo Tradition, 1553.
The entire question reads: âThe Yellow Thearch asked Li Hei (Mu): âWhen Dating possessed All-under-Heaven he did not differentiate between yin and yang, he did not count the days, neither did he know the four seasons. And yet heaven opened up timely and the earth brought forth its riches. How did this come about?ââ (
(
Guo Qingfan
Cf. Terry F. Kleeman, Great Perfection: Religion and Ethnicity in a Chinese Millennial Kingdom (Honolulu: University of Hawaiâi Press, 1998), 22â3.
Liu Lin
The graph 
is missing in the original. A blank between 
and
I have updated the transcription of this OBI fragment according to Jaoâs more recent interpretation of this passage found in his âYindai lishi dili san tiâ
In his âYindai lishi dili san tiâ (96) Jao amends his view on the last variant, claiming it is composed of
Cf. the more detailed discussion on this issue in Jaoâs âYindai lishi dili san ti,â 95â100.
The last paragraph has been shortened in the English translation, for it includes many lines that Jao addressed directly to the audience present during his first presentation of this article.