Houji
Encyclopedia
Houji, Lord of Millet, also variant , or Qi (棄; personal name Zhou Qi (周棄) or Ji Qi (姬棄), is credited either with original or exemplary cultivation of millet and wheat, or with the original provision of millet to humanity, obtained from heaven. Houji is particularly remembered as Minister of Agriculture, in connection with the Great Flood.
. Another version is that his was a virgin birth, after his mother Jiang Yuan, one of Di Ku's wives, stepped in a divine footprint. He was posthumously elevated to Prince of Millet (houji) by King Chen Tang of Shang
, founder of the Shang dynasty
,.
, whose surname was Ji
. The Zhou were successors to the Shang dynasty
.
es alternatively or accumulatively credited with originating or first cultivating crops among the Five Cereals (China).As Houji, Ji Qi was worshipped as one of the patron gods of abundant harvests, like Lai Cho.
An ode in commemoration of Houji appears in The Book of Poetry. Besides its interest as one of the poems/odes of this classic foundational to Classical Chinese poetry
; as one of the Confucian Classics, it is also a primary historical source on Houji (whether as a mythical or historical character). The ode begins, in the translation of James Legge
, with his miraculous birth
(note that "our people" refers to the House of Zhou):
After a miraculously easy birth, Houji came out "like a lamb
". For some reason, perhaps shame, Houji's mother then abandoned him, thus he is also known as the "Abandoned One". After his abandonment,the miracles continued:
When Houji grew older he became famous for (in Legge's translation) his luxuriant crops of beans, rice, hemp, wheat, and gourds.
Then he specialized in grain, in particular being credited with the introduction of several types of millet. Houji is then praised for introducing the annual spring sacrifice in which millet is converted to an alcoholic beverage and served with a roasted sacrificial sheep and the herb southernwood
:
Name
As a child, before receiving the name of Houji, he was originally given the name Qi, meaning "the Abandoned One". After growing up and becoming famous, he became known as Ji, having been awarded a surname, which then had not yet become a usual possession: thus, his Chinese name was Ji Qi. Posthumously, he was better known as Houji, from hou, "prince/deity/spirit" and ji meaning "agriculture".Ancestry
The ancestry of Houji is sometimes given that he was one of the Four Sons of Di Ku, each of whom founded a dynasty; thus being a Great-great grandson of the Yellow EmperorYellow Emperor
The Yellow Emperor or Huangdi1 is a legendary Chinese sovereign and culture hero, included among the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. Tradition holds that he reigned from 2697–2597 or 2696–2598 BC...
. Another version is that his was a virgin birth, after his mother Jiang Yuan, one of Di Ku's wives, stepped in a divine footprint. He was posthumously elevated to Prince of Millet (houji) by King Chen Tang of Shang
Tang of Shang
King Cheng Tang of Shang was the first ruling king of the Shang dynasty in Chinese history. He overthrew Jie, the last ruler of the Xia dynasty.-Early life:...
, founder of the Shang dynasty
Shang Dynasty
The Shang Dynasty or Yin Dynasty was, according to traditional sources, the second Chinese dynasty, after the Xia. They ruled in the northeastern regions of the area known as "China proper" in the Yellow River valley...
,.
Ancestor of Zhou dynasty
Ji Qi, or Houji, is considered to be the founding ancestor of the royal house of the Zhou dynastyZhou Dynasty
The Zhou Dynasty was a Chinese dynasty that followed the Shang Dynasty and preceded the Qin Dynasty. Although the Zhou Dynasty lasted longer than any other dynasty in Chinese history, the actual political and military control of China by the Ji family lasted only until 771 BC, a period known as...
, whose surname was Ji
Ji (surname)
姬=Ji is the family name of the family in control of the Zhou Dynasty , which followed the Shang Dynasty and preceded the Qin Dynasty in China.Thirty-nine members of the family ruled over China during this period.Ji has...
. The Zhou were successors to the Shang dynasty
Shang Dynasty
The Shang Dynasty or Yin Dynasty was, according to traditional sources, the second Chinese dynasty, after the Xia. They ruled in the northeastern regions of the area known as "China proper" in the Yellow River valley...
.
In mythology and religion
Houji is only one of several culture heroCulture hero
A culture hero is a mythological hero specific to some group who changes the world through invention or discovery...
es alternatively or accumulatively credited with originating or first cultivating crops among the Five Cereals (China).As Houji, Ji Qi was worshipped as one of the patron gods of abundant harvests, like Lai Cho.
An ode in commemoration of Houji appears in The Book of Poetry. Besides its interest as one of the poems/odes of this classic foundational to Classical Chinese poetry
Classical Chinese poetry
thumb|right|300px|Attributed to [[Han Gan]], Huiyebai , about 750CE .Classical Chinese poetry is that type of poetry that is the traditional Chinese poetry written in Classical Chinese. It is typified by certain traditional forms, or modes, and certain traditional genres...
; as one of the Confucian Classics, it is also a primary historical source on Houji (whether as a mythical or historical character). The ode begins, in the translation of James Legge
James Legge
James Legge was a noted Scottish sinologist, a Scottish Congregationalist, representative of the London Missionary Society in Malacca and Hong Kong , and first professor of Chinese at Oxford University...
, with his miraculous birth
Miraculous births
Miraculous births are a common motif in historical literature and religious texts. Stories of miracle births often include miraculous conceptions and features such as intervention by a deity, supernatural elements, astronomical signs, hardship or in the case of some mythologies complex plots...
(note that "our people" refers to the House of Zhou):
- The first birth of [our] people,
- Was from Jiang Yuan.
- How did she give birth to [our] people ?
- She had presented a pure offering and sacrificed,
- That her childlessness might be taken away.
- She then trod on a toe-print made by God, and was moved,
- In the large place where she rested.
- She became pregnant....
After a miraculously easy birth, Houji came out "like a lamb
". For some reason, perhaps shame, Houji's mother then abandoned him, thus he is also known as the "Abandoned One". After his abandonment,the miracles continued:
- He was placed in a narrow lane,
- But the sheep and oxen protected him with loving care.
- He was placed in a wide forest,
- Where he was met with by the wood-cutters.
- He was placed on the cold ice,
- And a bird screened and supported him with its wings.
- When the bird went away,
- Hou-ji began to wail....
When Houji grew older he became famous for (in Legge's translation) his luxuriant crops of beans, rice, hemp, wheat, and gourds.
Then he specialized in grain, in particular being credited with the introduction of several types of millet. Houji is then praised for introducing the annual spring sacrifice in which millet is converted to an alcoholic beverage and served with a roasted sacrificial sheep and the herb southernwood
Southernwood
Southernwood is a flowering plant. Found in Europe, the genus Artemisia was named for the goddess Artemis. Southernwood is known by many other names including Old Man, Boy's Love, Oldman Wormwood, Lover's Plant, Appleringie, Garderobe, Our Lord's Wood, Maid's Ruin, Garden Sagebrush, European Sage,...
:
- And how as to our sacrifices [to him] ?
- Some hull [the grain] ; some take it from the mortar ;
- Some sift it ; some tread it.
- It is rattling in the dishes ;
- It is distilled, and the steam floats about.
- We consult ; we observe the rites of purification ;
- We take southernwood and offer it with the fat ;
- We sacrifice a ram to the Spirit of the path ;
- We offer roast flesh and broiled : –
- And thus introduce the coming year.
- We load the stands with the offerings,
- The stands both of wood and of earthenware.
- As soon as the fragrance ascends,
- God, well pleased, smells the sweet savour.
- Fragrant is it, and in its due season !
- Hou-ji founded the sacrifice,
- And no one, we presume, has given occasion for blame or regret in regret to it,
- Down to the present day.
See also
- Di Ku
- Five Cereals (China)
- ShennongShennongShennong , which names mean "Divine Farmer", but also known as the Emperor of the Five Grains , was a legendary ruler of China and culture hero reputed to have lived some 5,000 years ago...
- Shijing
- Zhou DynastyZhou DynastyThe Zhou Dynasty was a Chinese dynasty that followed the Shang Dynasty and preceded the Qin Dynasty. Although the Zhou Dynasty lasted longer than any other dynasty in Chinese history, the actual political and military control of China by the Ji family lasted only until 771 BC, a period known as...
- AgriculturalismAgriculturalismAgriculturalism, also known as the School of Agrarianism, the School of Agronomists, the School of Tillers, and in Chinese as the Nongjia , was an early agrarian Chinese philosophy that advocated peasant utopian communalism and egalitarianism...