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Jizi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Ji Zi)
Jizi
A sculpture depicting a modern interpretation of Jizi in Perak, Malaysia
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese箕子
Simplified Chinese箕子
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinJīzǐ
Wade–GilesChi-tzu
Korean name
Hangul기자
Hanja箕子
Transcriptions
Revised RomanizationKija
McCune–ReischauerKija

Jizi, Qizi, or Kizi (Chinese: 箕子; Wade–Giles: Chi-tzu)[a], called in Korean Kija (Korean: 기자; RR: Gija), was a semi-legendary[1] Chinese sage who is said to have ruled Kija Chosŏn in the 11th century BCE. Early Chinese documents like the Book of Documents and the Bamboo Annals described him as a virtuous relative of the last king of the Shang dynasty who was punished for remonstrating with the king. After Shang was overthrown by Zhou in the 1040s BCE, he allegedly gave political advice to King Wu,[2] the first Zhou king. Chinese texts from the Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE) onwards claimed that King Wu enfeoffed Jizi as ruler of Chaoxian (朝鮮, pronounced "Chosŏn" in Korean).[3] According to the Book of Han (1st century CE), Jizi brought agriculture, sericulture, and many other facets of Chinese civilization to Chosŏn. His family name was Zi/Ja (子) and given name was Xuyu/Suyu (胥餘; xūyú/ 胥餘, 서여 seoyeo, or 須臾; xūyú/須臾, 수유 suyu).[citation needed]

Kija (the Korean pronunciation of "Jizi") may have been the object of a state cult in sixth-century Goguryeo,[4] and a mausoleum to him was established in Goryeo in 1102, but the first extant Korean text to mention Kija was the Samguk sagi (1145). Starting in the late thirteenth century, Kija was fully integrated into Korean history, being described as a successor to the descendants of Tan'gun in the state of Old Chosŏn. Following the spread of Neo-Confucianism in Korea in the fourteenth century, scholars of the Chosŏn period (est. 1392) promoted Kija as a culture hero alongside Tan'gun, with Kwŏn Kŭn's preface of Sambong chip writing,

爰自箕子八條之敎。俗尙廉恥。文物之懿。人材之作。侔擬中夏。[5]

[Ever since the teaching of Kija's Eight Prohibitions, our customs have esteemed integrity and a sense of shame; the excellence of our culture and institutions and the emergence of talented people have been comparable to those of the Central States (China).]

However, with the development of radiocarbon dating and newly found excavations, modern Korean historians started to question the legitimacy of his enfeoffment as ruler of Old Chosŏn. Sin Ch'aeho (1880–1936) was the first to question the extent of Kija's cultural contributions and many followed as Kija's historical claims did not align with archeological evidence found during the time of his supposed rule.[6] Additionally, post-war Korean scholars in both North and South Korea have strongly criticized the story of Kija's migration to Korea in the eleventh century BCE, claiming that his involvement in the history of Korea was widely exaggerated.

In recent times, both North and South Korea, and their respective historians do not officially recognize Jizi and his supposed accomplishments.[7]

In ancient Chinese texts

[edit]

Pre-Qin sources

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The earliest known mention of Jizi is in the "Mingyi" 明夷 hexagram of the Book of Change.[8] According to other ancient Chinese texts like the Book of Documents, the Analects, and the Bamboo Annals, Jizi was a relative of King Zhou, the last ruler of the Shang dynasty, and one of the three wise men of Shang, along with Weizi (微子) and Bi Gan.[9] Many identify him as Grand Tutor of the king. Jizi was either imprisoned or enslaved for remonstrating against King Zhou's misrule.[9] (One later version states that he pretended to be mad after Bigan had been killed by King Zhou.)[10] After Shang was overthrown by the Zhou dynasty in the mid eleventh century BCE, Jizi was released by King Wu, to whom he gave advice on how to rule the new polity.[9]

These texts mention neither Chosŏn nor Jizi's descendants; they simply describe Jizi as a virtuous man who was trusted by King Wu of Zhou after having been mistreated by the last Shang king.[9]

Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji; ca 100 BCE) was one of the earliest works to claim that Jizi was enfeoffed by King Wu of Zhou as ruler of Chaoxian (= Chosŏn).

Han and later texts

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The first texts that make an explicit connection between Jizi and Chosŏn date from the second century BCE, under the Han dynasty.[11] The earliest known source stating that Jizi went to Chosŏn is the Shangshu dazhuan [ch] (尙書大傳), a commentary on the Book of Documents attributed to Fu Sheng of the second century BCE.[9] In that account, King Wu enfeoffed Jizi as the ruler of Chosŏn and Jizi became the subject of King Wu.[12] In a similar story recorded in Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian (or Shiji, compiled between 109 and 91 BCE), Jizi was enfeoffed by King Wu but did not become his subject.[11] Sima Qian did not mention Jizi in his section on contemporary Chosŏn (i.e. northwestern Korea), where Wei Man's kingdom had flourished since about 194 BCE until it was conquered by the Han dynasty in 108 BCE.[11] Thus the location of Chosŏn as in these earlier sources is not clear. Among other Han dynasty sources, the Han shi waizhuan mentions to Jizi but not his migration to Chosŏn.

The "Monograph on Geography" (Dili zhi 地理志) of the Book of Han (1st century CE) claims that Jizi had taught the people of Chosŏn agriculture, sericulture, and weaving, as well as proper ceremony.[13] Jae-hoon Shim interprets the following sentence in that section of the Hanshu as claiming that Jizi also introduced the law of "Eight Prohibitions" (犯禁八條) in Chosŏn.[14] The Records of Three Kingdoms (first published in the early fifth century) claims that the descendants of Jizi reigned as kings of Chosŏn for forty generations until they were overthrown by Wei Man, a man from the state of Yan, in 194 BCE.[15]

According to his commentary to the Shiji, Du Yu (first half of the 3rd century) states that the tomb of Jizi was located in Meng Prefecture of the State of Liang (modern-day Henan). This suggests that the story of Jizi's association with Chosŏn was not necessarily prevailing although the narrative seen in the Hanshu later became common.[citation needed]

As historian Jae-hoon Shim concludes, only during the Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE) did Jizi begin to be associated with Chosŏn, and only after the Han were his descendants identified as the Chosŏn royal family.[11]

Interpretations of Kija

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Ancient Korean accounts

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The first extant Korean text to mention Kija (the Korean pronunciation of Jizi) was Kim Pusik's Samguk sagi (completed in 1145), which claimed that Kija had been enfeoffed in Haedong (海東: Korea) by the Zhou court, but commented that this account was uncertain because of the brevity of the sources.[16] Only in the thirteenth century did Korean texts start to integrate Kija more fully into Korean history. The Samguk yusa (1281) explained that after being enfeoffed by King Wu of Zhou, Kija replaced Tan'gun's descendants as the ruler of Chosŏn, whereas Jewang Ungi (1287) identified Tan'gun and Kija as the first rulers of former and latter Chosŏn respectively.[16] Most premodern Korean historians after that accepted that Kija had replaced another indigenous power (represented by Tan'gun) in Old Chosŏn.[16]

In 1102, during the Goryeo period, King Sukjong built a mausoleum to Kija in a place near Pyongyang that had been identified as Kija's tomb.[17]Sadang for Kija called Kijasa (箕子祠) was also built in Pyongyang.[18] The mausoleum was rebuilt in 1324 and was repaired in 1355, but the cult of Kija spread most widely after the establishment of the Chosŏn Dynasty in 1392. Because Chosŏn's state ideology was Neo-Confucianism borrowed from China, Chosŏn intellectuals promoted Kija as a culture hero who had raised Korean civilization to the same level as China.[19]

From the second half of the sixteenth century to the eighteenth century, Chosŏn scholars published a number of books on Kija. In 1580, Yun Tusu collated all available material on him and published his research as the Kijaji (箕子志; "Record of Kija").[19] On the same year, eminent scholar Yi I used Yun's book to compile the Kija Silgi (箕子實記), or True Account of Kija.[19] Yi praised Kija for introducing agriculture, sericulture, decorum, the well-field system, and the Eight Prohibitions.[20] Though he emphasized Kija's independence from King Wu of Zhou, Yi believed that Kija's teachings helped Korea to reach the same level of civilization as China.[21] The cult of Kija also continued as temples which worshiped Kija portraits called Kijayeongjeon (箕子影殿), were built in the 18th century in South Pyongan Province.[22]

Although Korean scholars became more critical of Kija's role in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, this account of Kija as the "bearer of civilization from China" became widely accepted, so much that by the late Chosŏn, the worship of Kija "had become an integral part of Korean cultural identity."[23] Some Korean clans claim to be direct descendants of Kija himself.[24]

Twentieth century accounts

[edit]
Sin Ch'aeho (1880–1936) was the first historian to question Kija's role in ancient Korea according to his New Reading of History (1908).[25]

In the beginning of the twentieth century, Korean historians started to doubt the authenticity of his supposed influence.[21] Sin Ch'aeho (1880–1936), a Korean independence nationalistic activist historian during the Japanese occupation, was the first to question the extent of Kija's contributions.[21] In an essay titled Doksa Sillon ("New Reading of History"; 1908), he argued that Korean history was revolved around Tan'gun, the legendary founder of the state of Old Chosŏn.[26] Sin dismissed Kija's contributions due to his foreign origin.[27] Sin also argued that Kija had become a vassal of the kings of Buyeo and was only given control of a small territory.[28]

Other historians such as Choe Nam-seon (1890–1957) and Lee Byeong-do (1896–1989) started to notice discrepancies between pre-Qin Chinese records of Jizi/Kija, and later accounts (both Chinese and Korean) of his role in Chosŏn.[29] In 1973, archeologist Kim Cheong-bae (金貞培) denied Chinese influence on Korea because no ancient Chinese bronzes had been found on the peninsula.[6]

In addition, Ri Chirin, a leading North Korean historian of ancient Korea, argued that the Kija legend had been forged in Han times when the Chinese started to occupy part of Chosŏn.[30] Most North Korean scholars have followed Ri in doubting the authenticity of Kija's migration to Chosŏn.[31]

Ryū Imanishi (1875–1932), author of the Kishichōsen Densetsu Kō who also questioned the existence of Kija Chosŏn.

20th century Japanese historian and anthropologist, Ryū Imanishi [ja] (今西 龍), also stated that Kija Chosŏn was a fabrication created by the Cheongju Han Clan (alleged descendants of Jizi/Kija) of the Lelang Commandery in order to elevate their social status to that of royalty in his 1922 book, Kishichōsen Densetsu Kō (箕子朝鮮伝説考; Analysis of the legend of Kija Chosŏn).[32] Imanishi asserted that Koreans and Jizi had no direct relations outside of unverifiable claims, and that they were not to be taken literally.

Imanishi, who is known to be the pioneer of discovering much of the remains of the Lelang Commandery in Pyongyang, emphasized in his book that though the remnants of Chinese influence (specifically Han dynasty) is clear especially in the northern regions of the peninsula, the likelihood of Kija Chosŏn's existence is improbable as actual evidence of Jizi's Shang dynasty relics are nowhere to be seen.

Modern Korean accounts

[edit]

Modern Korean scholars also deny the existence of Kija's involvement in Kija Chosŏn for various reasons.[33] The main reason comes from the fact that Kija Chosŏn's first introduction stems from a Chinese book called Shangshu dazhuan [ch] (尙書大傳), an interpretive work on the Book of Documents written much later by an unknown author and date of publication.[34] Another Chinese book, the Records of the Three Kingdoms, also parrots the existence of the Kija dynasty of Chosŏn by proclaiming that Wiman overthrew King Chun, a descendant of Jizi/Kija, when he entered Korea. However, due to the nature of the books being of Chinese origin, and having no historical documents in Korea that supports the existence of Kija Chosŏn, Korean historians consider these claims as an attempt of Sinicization and do not recognize his existence, at least within the history of Korea.

Others also point to the Bamboo Annals and the Confucian Analects, which were among the first works to mention Kija, but do not mention his migration to Old Chosŏn.[35] However, some Kija enthusiasts suggest that Kija Chosŏn may have coexisted with Tan'gun, and that Kija Chosŏn was established at the western end of Old Chosŏn.[36] This claim is also mostly denied by modern Korean historians due to lack of archaeological evidence.

In addition, detractors of the Kija Chosŏn theory also point out that the cultural artifacts found in the region do not appear to have Chinese origins. An example of such an artifact is found in a Old Chosŏn mandolin-shaped bronze dagger. Its shape and bronze composition are different from similar artifacts found in China being described as "The detachable handle is a key feature for distinguishing Liaoning daggers from other Chinese daggers, which were typically produced in one piece."[37]

Currently, Korean historians (from both nations) reject the previously held belief of Kija's involvement in Korea and thus many high school textbooks applied these recent studies reevaluating Kija and his influence with him now only being mentioned in a foot note.[7] Additionally, the 7th edition of the Korean textbooks do not mention Jizi/Kija. The general consensus is that Old Chosŏn only consisted of two dynasties; one stemming from the ancient indigenous Yemaek people, and the other after Wiman naturalized and overthrew the original dynasty and became ruler which lasted until the Han dynasty subjugated it and formed the Four Commanderies of Han.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ↑ The character "zi" in "Jizi" does not mean a rank of nobility. It was Shang dynasty tradition that royal family members were called by the combination of the place at which they were enfeoffed and the suffix "zi." (Chen 2003, pp. 92–93)

References

[edit]
  1. ↑
    • Stark, Miriam T. (2008). Archaeology of Asia. John Wiley & Sons. p. 49. ISBN 978-1-4051-5303-4.
    "Although Kija may have truly existed as a historical figure, Tangun is more problematical."
    "The Tangun myth became more popular with groups that wanted Korea to be independent; the Kija myth was more useful to those who wanted to show that Korea had a strong affinity to China."
    "If a choice is to be made between them, one is faced with the fact that the Tangun, with his supernatural origin, is more clearly a mythological figure than Kija."
  2. ↑ https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/29740/1/Han_Hee_Yeon_C_201105_PhD_thesis.pdf p. 271
  3. ↑ Sima, Qian. "宋微子世家". 史記 [Records of the Grand Historian] (in Literary Chinese). Chinese Text Project. Retrieved 11 April 2026. 於是武王乃封箕子於朝鮮而不臣也。
  4. ↑ No, Tae-don (1995). "기자동래설" [=]. Encyclopedia of Korean Culture (in Korean).
  5. ↑ "삼봉집 서" [Preface to the Sambongjip]. The Database of Korean Classics (in Korean). Korean Classics Research Institute. 1990.
  6. 1 2 Shim 2002, p. 279.
  7. 1 2 The theory introduced in the national history textbooks of the 5th and 6th Curricula considers "Kija" to be the name of a Korean tribe.
  8. ↑ Shim 2002, pp. 273–274
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Shim 2002, p. 274.
  10. ↑ Shim 2002, p. 274. This version appears in the Huainanzi, a text that was compiled in the second century BC.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Shim 2002, p. 275.
  12. ↑ Shim 2002, pp. 274–275
  13. ↑ Shim 2002, p. 275. Original text: 殷道衰，箕子去之朝鮮，教其民以禮義，田蠶織作 (Hanshu 漢書 [Book of Han], chapter 28.2, p. 1658 of the standard Zhonghua shuju edition).
  14. ↑ Shim 2002, p. 275. Original text: 樂浪朝鮮民犯禁八條：相殺以當時償殺；相傷以穀償；相盜者男沒入為其家奴，女子為婢，欲自贖者，人五十萬 (Hanshu 漢書 [Book of Han], chapter 28.2, p. 1658 of the standard Zhonghua shuju edition). The Records of Three Kingdoms (late 3rd century AD) and other later documents interpret these "Eight Prohibitions" as Jizi's teachings, but it is also possible that the Hanshu was describing the early phase of Lelang Commandery, and not Jizi's initiatives.
  15. ↑ Shim 2002, p. 275. Record of Three Kingdoms (chapter 30, p. 848): 昔箕子既適朝鮮，作八條之教以教之，無門戶之閉而民不為盜。其後四十餘世，朝鮮侯準僭號稱王. The overthrowing of the kings of Joseon by Wei Man is also recorded in the Brief History of Wei (third century), which is cited in Sanguozhi, chapter 30, p. 850.
  16. 1 2 3 Shim 2002, p. 276.
  17. ↑ Shim 2002, p. 276, citing the Goryeosa, the official history of Goryeo compiled in the fifteenth century under the Joseon period.
  18. ↑ 기자사. Encyclopedia of Korean Culture. Retrieved 2021-02-07.
  19. 1 2 3 Shim 2002, p. 277.
  20. ↑ Shim 2002, pp. 277–278
  21. 1 2 3 Shim 2002, p. 278.
  22. ↑ 기자영전. Encyclopedia of Korean Culture. Retrieved 2021-02-07.
  23. ↑ Historians more critical: Shim 2002, p. 278, citing Pak 1986. Kija as "bearer of civilization: Ch'oe, Lee & de Bary 2000, pages 37 ("Korean transmission from the sage Kija at the founding of civilization in Korea") and 43 (Kija as "the bearer of civilization from China"); and Pai 2000, p. 117. "Integral part of Korean cultural identity": Kim 2007, p. 55.
  24. ↑ Shim 2002, p. 278. These families were the Han (한) of Sangdang 上黨韓氏, the Ki (기) of Deogyang 德陽奇氏, and the Seonu (선우) of Daewŏn 太原鮮于氏.
  25. ↑ Schmid 1997, pp. 33–34
  26. ↑ Schmid 1997, p. 33.
  27. ↑ Schmid 1997, pp. 33–34
  28. ↑ Schmid 1997, p. 34.
  29. ↑ Shim 2002, pp. 278–279
  30. ↑ Shim 2002, pp. 279–280
  31. ↑ Shim 2002, p. 280.
  32. ↑ 한겨레. "中国が基礎をつくり日帝が釘を刺した '平壌' の漢四郡". ハンギョレ. そこで今西龍は1922年 '箕子朝鮮伝説考' で箕子は楽浪の韓氏が家門を輝かせるために箕子の後えいだとかこつけただけであり、朝鮮人の先祖ではないと否認した。
  33. ↑ DBpia - 연구를 돕는 똑똑한 학술콘텐츠 플랫폼. Archived from the original on 2020-12-20. Retrieved 2010-11-20.
  34. ↑ 谷颖:伏生及《尚书大传》研究
  35. ↑ 네이버 백과사전
  36. ↑ Shim 2002, pp. 283–284
  37. ↑ "Liaoning-type Bronze Dagger". National Museum of Korea.

Sources

[edit]
  • Chen, Puqing 陈蒲清 (2003), "Lun Jizi de 'zi' bu shi juewei" 论箕子的"子"不是爵位 [The character 'zi' in Jizi is not a nobility title], Hunan shifan daxue shehui kexue xuebao 湖南师范大学社会科学学报 [Journal of Social Science of Hunan Normal University], 32 (2): 92–93.
  • Ch'oe, Yŏng-ho; Lee, Peter H.; de Bary, William Theodore (2000), Sources of Korean Tradition, Volume II: From the Sixteenth to the Twentieth Century, New York: Columbia University Press, ISBN 0-231-10567-3.
  • Imanishi Ryū 今西龍 (1970), "Kishi Chōsen densetsu kō" 箕子朝鮮伝説考 [On the legend of Kija Chosŏn (Jizi Chaoxian)], Chōsen koshi no kenkyū 朝鮮古史の研究 [Research in ancient Korean history], pp. 131–173
  • Kim, Sun Joo (2007), Marginality and subversion in Korea: the Hong Kyŏngnae rebellion of 1812, Seattle: University of Washington Press.
  • Kuwano Eiji 桑野栄治 (1959), "Richō shoki no shiten wo tōshite mita Dankun saishi" 李朝初期の祀典を通してみた檀君祭祀 [The worship of Dangun as seen through the state sacrifices of the early Joseon period], Chōsen Gakuhō 朝鮮学報 [Journal of the Academic Association of Koreanology in Japan], 14: 57–101.
  • Sassa Mitsuaki 佐々充昭 (2000), "Dankun nashonarizumu no keisei" 檀君ナショナリズムの形成 [The Formation of Dangun nationalism], Chōsen Gakuhō 朝鮮学報 [Journal of the Academic Association of Koreanology in Japan], 174: 61–107.
  • Pai, Hyung Il (2000), Constructing "Korean" Origins: A Critical Review of Archaeology, Historiography, and Racial Myth in Korean State-Formation Theories, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Asia Center, ISBN 0-674-00244-X.
  • Pak, Kwangnyong (1986), "Kija Chosŏn e taehan insik ŭi pyŏnch'ŏn: Koryŏ put'ŏ Hanmal kkaji ŭi sasŏ rŭl chungsim ŭro" [Changes in the knowledge of Kija Chosŏn: focusing on historical books from Goryeo to the late Joseon period], Han'guk Saron 韓國史論, 6: 276–292.
  • Schmid, Andre (1997), "Rediscovering Manchuria: Sin Ch'aeho and the Politics of Territorial History in Korea", Journal of Asian Studies, 56 (1): 26–46, doi:10.2307/2646342, JSTOR 2646342, S2CID 162879663.
  • Shim, Jae-hoon (2002), "A New Understanding of Kija Chosŏn as a Historical Anachronism", Journal of Asian Studies, 62 (2): 271–305, doi:10.2307/4126600, JSTOR 4126600.
  • Sima Zhen 司馬貞, Shiji suoyin 史記索隱, 中山國 鮮虞, 鮮于氏 姬姓 [Zhongshan Seon Woo clan are Kei Ji (surname) like Zhou dynasty royal].
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