However, in the records of ancient documents, the image of Chiyou is very complicated and chaotic, and there are many contradictions in it, which makes people have many questions. Is Chiyou an ancient historical figure or a mythical figure? Is he a brave god of war or a great national hero, or is he a "greedy" and "rogue" who enjoys fighting? Are Chiyou and Yan Di the same person? Is it just a hostile relationship between him and the Yellow Emperor? What is the relationship between the history of Chiyou and Miao nationality and the ethnic integration in ancient China? What influence did he have on Miao folk customs? These are all very important questions. This paper intends to make a preliminary study on this kind of problem based on literature and investigation materials.
First, Chiyou and the Yellow Emperor
The battle of Zhuolu between Chiyou and Huangdi was an important event in the ancient history of China. It was because of this war that the Yellow Emperor defeated Chiyou, laid the foundation of the Chinese nation, and made him the first of the five emperors. In the related literature, the image of Chiyou is a tyrant and a thief, which is quite ugly. Guangya Shi: "Bitter, chaotic." Dialect: The Fly Paradox (Volume 12) talks about Excellence, and the same is true for Excellence. The worm in the stomach is very ugly. The detailed records in Shangshu Lv Xing can be regarded as the representative of this view: measures.
Chiyou only launched an uprising, which extended to the common people. He doesn't blame thieves, but is righteous, treacherous and pious. Miao people use the spirit (order) system to punish, but the punishment of five abuses is called the law. Kill innocent people and you will become a prostitute. The punishments in the confinement are combined, and there is no difference.
This is the "old adage" that Zhou Muwang first mentioned when describing the origin of criminal law, saying that Chiyou made an insurrection and ruled the Miao nationality by torture and killing. Speak ill of Miao Chiyou. Chiyou was originally the "King of Jiuli" and the leader of Jiuli Tribal Alliance. He clashed with Xuanyuan Huangdi and was regarded as "insurrection" by historians. Sima Qian's Historical Records 2 Biography of Five Emperors;
The rebellion of Chiyou didn't need the emperor's command, so the Yellow Emperor was a teacher and fought Chiyou in the land of Zhuolu, so the birds killed Chiyou, and Hou Xian honored Xuanyuan as the son of heaven, replacing Shennong (Yan Di) as the Yellow Emperor.
All these are recorded in the orthodox history books, which makes the mythical figures become history, and also makes Chiyou an autocratic and ruthless thief with orthodox views. In fact, Chiyou is not only a historical figure in ancient legends, but also a mythical image with strange divine power. According to the map of Arowana River:
Before the Regency of the Yellow Emperor, eighty-one Chiyou brothers were famous all over the world for their animal words, copper heads and iron heads, eating sand and stones, making big crossbows and standing sticks and horses. There is no killing, no mercy. Everyone wants the Yellow Emperor to do the right thing. The Yellow Emperor's benevolence and righteousness could not ban Chiyou, so he was defeated and sighed. God forbid Xuan Nv to grant the soldiers of the Yellow Emperor the belief in divine symbols, and subdue Chiyou to control the four sides. ...
The dragon fish river map in the Han Xuetang series is slightly different, saying: "At the beginning of the Yellow Emperor, there were seventy-two Chiyou brothers, with bronze heads and iron heads, eating sand and stones, which turned the five soldiers into clouds." Although "seventy-two people" and "eighty-one people" are different, they are both divisors of "many", and the digits of nine are the same, which shows that Chiyou is a representative of a large collective and a strange figure with great divinity. There are many such records in ancient books, such as:
Return to Tibet:
"Chiyou comes from amniotic fluid, with eight elbows and eight toes." (revised)
"Describe different records":
"There is a Chiyou. As the saying goes, a man has four eyes and six hands. Today, people in Jizhou dug up the ground and got a skull as copper and iron, which is the bone of Chiyou. Today, there is a tooth of Chiyou, which is two inches long and unbreakable. Qin and Han dynasties said that Chiyou's sideburns were like halberds with horns. He fought against Xuanyuan, and his horn reached out to people. People can't ... "
Obviously, the images of "bronze head and iron forehead", "eight arms and eight toes", "human hoof with four eyes and six hands" and "eating sand and stones" are very strange, and "Dragon Fish River Map" also says that Chiyou's "weapon of controlling five soldiers and turning clouds" is so powerful that the Yellow Emperor can't beat him, so he has to pray for the help of the gods. Shan Hai Jing Huang Da Bei Jing:
Chiyou fought against the Yellow Emperor, who ordered Ying Long to attack the wild land of Jizhou, Ying Long raised livestock to drink water, and Chiyou invited Fengbo Rain Master to make a scene in the Heavenly Palace. The Yellow Emperor was a goddess, and when the rain stopped, he killed Chiyou.
"Dragon Fish River Map" also said that in this war, Chiyou was "defeated" because of the benevolence and righteousness of the Yellow Emperor, and "God sent Xuan Nv to give the Yellow Emperor the letter of the ice god", which is the only way to subdue Chiyou. The yellow emperor and xuan Nv methods cloud:
The Yellow Emperor and Chiyou are invincible in nine battles. The Yellow Emperor returned to Mount Tai, and it was foggy for three days and nights. There was a bird-headed woman, and the Yellow Emperor bowed down and dared not get up. The woman said,' I'm Xuan Nv. What do you want?' The Yellow Emperor said,' Boy will conquer everything', so he won't fight.
The Law on Female Soldiers in the Xuan Dynasty also said that "the Yellow Emperor attacked Chiyou, but the city could not be attacked in three years ..." "Nine wars and nine defeats" and "the city could not be captured in three years". It can be seen that Chiyou is a very powerful opponent, and his strength is comparable to that of the Yellow Emperor. The Yellow Emperor won the victory only by asking the help of the goddess. From the records of this war, we can see the mythical image of Chiyou. He is not only a "man speaks like an animal, with an iron head and an iron forehead", but also a "bull-hoofed man with four eyes and six hands", and he "calmed the Fengbo storm" and "worked in fog for three days" so that the Yellow Emperor can take him as a guide to defeat after the wind blows. Not only Chiyou has divinity, but the Yellow Emperor also has divine power, which can give orders to the gods such as the queen of the wind.
Thus, Chiyou is not only a historical figure in ancient legends, but also a mythical figure. "God Chiyou" was not only enshrined by later generations, but also regarded as an "immortal" god at that time, which made the world know. According to the above-mentioned dragon fish river map, the mysterious female soldier of the Yellow Emperor believed in the spell, captured and killed Chiyou:
(There is no Queen Chiyou), and the world is disturbed and restless, so the Yellow Emperor painted the image of Chiyou to dominate the world, meaning that Chiyou is immortal, and all countries in all directions are precious clothes.
It can be seen that the power of "God Chiyou" is so great that he is respected not only in Jiuli tribe, but also in "the world" and "the people" that the Yellow Emperor can only serve the world by painting his god. Later, the God Chiyou was more in charge of rain and dew, farming and diseases. "Spring and Autumn Dew Begging for Rain": "Summer Begging for Rain ... Its God is Chiyou."
Ren Fang in the Liang Dynasty recorded the sacrifice of the Han nationality in northern China to the God Chiyou in the Southern and Northern Dynasties.
Nowadays, there is a kind of musical name "Chiyou Opera" in Jizhou, with people in twos and threes and horns, which cancel each other out. The Han dynasty set up a corner to cover its legacy. Between villages in Taiyuan, you don't need a cow's head to sacrifice to God Chiyou. There is Chiyou River in Jizhou today, which is the field of Zhuolu. During the Hanwu period, there was a God Chiyou in Taiyuan who saw the snake head during the day. The main epidemic, its custom was established as a shrine.
The book also said, "Zhuolu is in Jizhou today, and there is a God of Chiyou. The common cloud is a cow's hoof, with four eyes and six hands." It also shows that in Zhuolu during the Great War, Jizhou people sacrificed to God Chiyou for a long time, and other places such as Taiyuan and North Korea also sacrificed to God Chiyou, which is undoubtedly a mythical figure. So is the image of Xuanyuan, not only a historical figure, but also an image of ancient historical myths.
Second, the image of God of War, Chiyou
What kind of God is Chiyou?
In ancient times of Han nationality, Chiyou was mainly worshipped as a warrior god.
The ancients often regarded the cultural heroes invented by labor as gods, which is a personification worship of extraordinary labor creativity. As the Chiyou tribe first used metal weapons, which showed great power in the war, Chiyou was fantasized by the role of mythical thinking as a deified figure with a bronze head and iron forehead, and at the same time, it was a miracle. Body: "The person who makes the rules is Chiyou." (Quoted from Yulan 833) "Zuopian of Shiben" "Chiyou takes gold as a weapon". Gold is copper. Guan Shu and Shan Hai Jing all say that Chiyou casting gold is a "sharp weapon" such as sword, armor, spear and halberd.
Qin Shihuang and Emperor Gaozu both set up shrines to offer sacrifices to Chiyou, regarding him as the god of war and the "master of military strategists", and regarding war as their respect. According to historical records, Qin Shihuang crossed the sea to pay homage to the famous mountains, rivers and Ba Shen, and invited immortals to enjoy their homes. Ba Shen has existed since ancient times, or since Taigong. ..... I don't know when the ceremony will start. Ba Shen: Speaking of gods, the temple is full of sky, and the sky is full of water. Livestock live at the foot of the mountain in the southern suburbs. Second, the landlord, Taishan Fu Liang, the ancestral temple. ..... Three yue soldier master, the shrine Chiyou, Chiyou in Dongping hell township, Qi in the west. The fourth is the yin Lord, and the three mountains are in the temple. The fifth is the Lord of the sun, the temple, and the sixth is the Lord of the moon, the Laishan of the temple. ..... Seven days, the Lord of the sun, the temple became a mountain ... Eight days, the Lord of the four seasons, the evil temple. Evil lies in the east of Qi. At the beginning of the new year, everyone uses a prison with a shrine, while witches hope to gain and lose, and money is mixed. "It is very important to say that Chiyou is the' master of the military' and is in charge of major war events, ranking third. Its location is above four o'clock in the morning of Yin and Yang, and the heron sacrifice at the beginning of the year is very grand. This kind of sacrifice "has existed since ancient times" and "I don't know when" shows its antiquity. Probably in the era of the Yellow Emperor, there was a clue. Before, the dragon fish river map said that "Chiyou was subdued, and the emperor (Huang) made it the main soldier to rule all directions", and then he painted the image of Chiyou. Until the day before Song Taizong's expedition to Hedong, he also "sacrificed a small prison for Chiyou and lost his teeth." ("Song Shili Zhi")
The tomb of Chiyou is in Dongping, where the ancient Li people lived together. The local people have always worshipped Chiyou, probably descendants of Chiyou Jiuli tribe:
The tomb of Chiyou, located in Kanxiang Town, Shouzhang County, Dongping County (now yanggu county, Shandong Province), is 70 feet high. People often worship it in October. It is like a crimson silk, and people call it "Chiyou Banner". Shoulder burial was reunited in Juye County (now Jining County) of Yang Shan, with the same size as the burial.
This record is consistent with historical records. Dongping is in Luxi, where there is not only the tomb of Chiyou, which is seven feet high, but also the tomb of the shoulder pole with the same size, which shows the people's reverence for the heroes who died in the battlefield. The huge red flag of Xia Zi Chiyou in the sky is the product of magical imagination, and people deify Chiyou. The stars in the sky are sacred symbols, and Chiyou is also a dazzling star in mythology. "The soldier's star is called Chiyou", and the comet in the sky is said to be "the flag of Chiyou". "Historical Records Tianguanshu": "The flag of Chiyou is like a sage and then a song, like a flag. See it, the king conquers all directions. " This is good for the war. So at the beginning of the war, we should sacrifice to Chiyou. Liu Bang, Emperor Gaozu, was no exception. Historical Records: Biography of Emperor Gaozu:
(All) is Pei Gong played by Li Ji (the language of Liu Bang). The Huangdi Temple is dedicated to Peiting Chiyou, and the flag is raised in red. ..... Therefore, young officials, such as Xiaocao Panha, gathered 23,000 children to attack Hu Ling and Yu Fang.
Here, Liu Bang put the Yellow Emperor and Chiyou together for sacrifice, while Historical Records said: "Since the reign of the emperor, he prayed for a rich jade house, and if he was partial to others, the shrine was full of Chiyou, and there were many troubles. Therefore, from October to Bashang, Xianyang was at peace with the princes and established as Hanwang. " Here, I only mention "Cixi Tour", wishing Hanwang victory. After the unification of China, Emperor Gaozu "Mingguan" established the Chiyou Temple in Chang 'an. The dragon placed temple officials and witches. "
Third, the relationship between Chiyou and Huangdi.
It is no accident that Emperor Gaozu and Huangdi sacrificed Chiyou together. The relationship between them is not only hostile in the war, but also subordinate. After the Yellow Emperor subdued Chiyou, he became a minister of military aircraft.
The ancient book Yuejueshu in Han Dynasty said:
Emperor Yan passed on the Yellow Emperor in the world, and the Yellow Emperor went to heaven; Under the rule of land, Shao Hao ruled the west, assisted by Chiyou, and obtained the main gold.
It is said here that Chiyou was an official who assisted Shao Hao in managing smelting and casting during the Yellow Emperor period. The land of Shao Hao, in today's Qufu area, is consistent with the activity area of Jiuli, which makes sense. Perhaps after the battle of Zhuolu, some Chiyou became vassals of the Yellow Emperor and presided over the manufacture of metal weapons.
Guan Zhong, the famous prime minister of Qi, described Chiyou as the first of the six phases of the Yellow Emperor and the biggest courtier:
In the past, the Yellow Emperor was wise in heaven, wise in earth and extravagant in dragons, arguing about East, Zhu Rong and South, West and North. The Yellow Emperor has six phases, heaven and earth dominate and divine. Chiyou knows Heaven, so in order to make it possible to observe the right place at that time, it is necessary to make it an important person. ...
The Status of Chiyou, by going up one flight of stairs. Here Chiyou is not only an ordinary minister of the Ministry of Industry, but also a prime minister who "knows the sky" and "makes the time". This shows the importance of Chiyou's position. Huangdi's "victory over heaven" because of Chiyou shows that Chiyou is more civilized than Huangdi and is highly valued by Huangdi. Guan Zhong, a native of Qi, recorded this, which may be a legend of local people in Qi.
Coincidentally, everything is done by everything done by Han Feizi, only more mythical:
In the past, the Yellow Emperor made ghosts ride the West Mount Tai and drive the six dragons like an elephant. Fang Bi was in front, Chiyou was in front, Fengbo was sweeping, the rain teacher sprinkled the road, the tiger and the wolf were in front, the ghosts and gods were behind, the snake fell to the ground, the phoenix emperor covered it, and the ghosts and gods were combined, which was regarded as a "clear corner".
In the sacred queue of the Yellow Emperor's "harmony between ghosts and gods", Chiyou ranks first. The case of Zhou Li's "six officials" belongs to the post of "heavenly official", which is consistent with Guan Zhong's record, but it is completely the image of a mythical figure. Both the Yellow Emperor and Chiyou are recorded as mythical images. Han Feizi is an important record of pre-Qin stories, and this fairy tale is very meaningful.
This myth reflects ancient history in twists and turns. In the mythical era, the struggle between clans and tribes is extremely fierce and frequent, and mutual mergers and alliances also occur frequently. If you divide for a long time, you will be together, turn your enemies into friends, and continue to integrate. This may be the key to the continuous expansion of the Chinese nation and the establishment of a great country of "harmony but difference, great harmony in the world".
4. Is Chiyou Yan Di (Shennong)?
The relationship between Chiyou and Emperor Yan is very complicated. There are different opinions, which deserve serious study.
There is a saying that Chiyou is Emperor Yan. Famous historians Xia Cengyou, Ding Shan and He all hold this view. It is mainly based on the fact that the "Hanquan" in the battle between Huangdi and Yandi recorded in Records of the Five Emperors and the "Zhuolu" in the battle between Huangdi and Chiyou are actually the same place. The original text of Biography of Five Emperors is:
At the time of Xuanyuan, Shennong's world declined, vassals invaded the people, and Shennong's fees were levied. Therefore, in order not to enjoy the war, Xuanyuan was used to fighting. Xian Chibin, the vassal, obeyed. Chiyou is the most violent, so you can't cut it. Emperor Yan wanted to invade the princes of the mausoleum, and the princes returned the Xuanyuan with salt. Xuanyuan is Xiu De's magic weapon, ruling the Five Spirits and Five Arts, caressing the people and spreading the world. Teach the bear to fight Emperor Yan in the wild of Hanquan, and then win his ambition. The rebellion of Chiyou didn't need the emperor's command, so the Yellow Emperor became a vassal of the micro-division, and fought against Chiyou in the land of Zhuolu, so the birds killed Chiyou, and the vassal respected Xuanyuan as the son of heaven, replacing Shennong as the Yellow Emperor.
This passage records two wars. It can be seen that Emperor Yan and Chiyou are not the same person, but their accounts also overlap. In particular, later historical geographers verified the relationship between Zhuolu and Hanquan, which made people feel that the two wars were actually one. Its main basis is Zhu's record of Zhuoshui:
Zhuoshui comes out of Zhuolu Mountain, and the northeast flows through the south of Zhuolu County ... The Yellow Emperor and Chiyou fought in the field of Zhuolu, leaving their people in the land of Zhuolu, that's all. Its water is in harmony with Hanquan in the northeast. Wei Di Zhi records that there is Zhuolu City 60 miles southeast of Lower luoquan and Hanquan in the east ... Jin Taikang Geography: Hanquan, also known as the place name, the spring water flows to the northeast and meets Chiyou Spring, and the water flows out of Chiyou City, which has no east. Wei Di Zhi records that there is Chiyou City in the six miles southeast of Zhuolu City. The spring water is deep and does not flow, but the rain is rainy.
On this basis, Ding Shan said, "Chiyou Spring is a branch of Sakamoto Spring, and Sakamoto Spring is a branch of Zhuoshui. Of course, the battle between (the Yellow Emperor) and Sakamoto Spring in Yan Di can be said to be the battle with Chiyou in Zhuolu. Therefore, the so-called Chi Di (or Emperor Yan) is indeed a human-god. This means that the two world wars are actually a world war, so Yan Di and Chiyou are the same person. Mr. Xia Cengyou said it earlier. In the history textbook of China compiled at the beginning of the 20th century, he pointed out that "Chiyou struggled to stand on his own feet and fought in the field of Zhuolu", and Jia Yi of the Western Han Dynasty also said that Yan Huang was fighting in the field of Zhuolu more than once. Comparing the biographies of the five emperors, we can see that "Chiyou and Yan Di are almost one person; Zhuolu, Hanquan, is a battle. " (Lv Simian's History of the Pre-Qin Dynasty). There is some truth in the examination films of three famous historians.
I think we can add some more material. Both Chiyou and Yan Di (Shennong) take cows as their totems. "Emperor Century" said: "Emperor Yan is the best man and is longer than Jiang Shui." The genealogy of the emperor reads: "the head of Shennong cattle", which is completely consistent with the totem image of Chiyou, who is also the head of a cow with sharp horns. According to Ren Fang's "Xu Yi Lu", Zhuolu is in Jizhou, and there is a god of human-god. As the saying goes, human-god has four eyes and six hands ... In Qin and Han Dynasties, it was said that human-god has ears like a sword halberd, and his head has horns, so he fights with Xuanyuan, and his horns are out of reach. There is a famous Chiyou opera in Jizhou today, with people in twos and threes and horns, which cancel each other out. Korean criminals beat it and covered its legacy. This shows that Chiyou people take cows as totems, and so does Yandi (Shennong). They may be from the same tribe, or they may be the same person-the leader of the tribe. If Chiyou and Yan Di (Shennong) are regarded as collective nouns, the problem will be solved easily.
From ancient books, we can also find evidence that Chiyou and Yandi belong to the same family but not at the same time. For example, in the Southern Song Dynasty, Milo's "History of the Tao Quaternary": "Jiang Chiyou is a descendant of Emperor Yan." "Tibetan armor opens the mountain": "Chiyou, then Emperor Yan, and Shao Hao ruled the west." This can well explain the relationship between the two wars: First, the Yellow Emperor and the Yan Di tribe fought in the wild of Hanquan and won all three wars. Chiyou is a descendant of Yan Di. He fought against the Yellow Emperor in Zhuolu and avenged Yan Di. After the defeat, the leader was captured and killed, but some Chiyou people surrendered to the Yellow Emperor and became ministers. Therefore, Emperor Yan and Chiyou can be a family, but at the same time, there may be two wars with the Yellow Emperor, which are recorded in the history books.
Five, Chiyou and Miao nationality
Chiyou, the great ancestor of Miao nationality, holds a very high position in the minds of Miao people. Up to now, there are still many important activities to sacrifice Chiyou in Miao folk customs. This is a national cultural tradition that has been tenaciously preserved for thousands of years, and it is the result of the historical development of all ethnic groups in China, especially the Miao nationality.
The myth of Chiyou is an ancient myth. Although it has a strong fantasy element, it reflects the history in a tortuous way, from which we can see the shadow of ancient history, and its core is the development and migration history of ancient Miao nationality. Therefore, it has been highly valued by historians.
As can be seen from the literature cited earlier, in the Central Plains (Shandong, Hebei, Shanxi, Henan and other places), there are many remains of Chiyou, related customs, myths and legends, such as Zhuolu's Chiyou City, Jizhou, Chiyou God, Chiyou Biography, Chiyou Spring and Chiyou Legend. In addition, there are a lot of living historical materials. For example, the literature of the Song Dynasty records "Blood of Chiyou": "Xiezhou Salt Ze, square twenty miles, long rain, four mountains of water, that is, note, not overflow, drought, inexhaustible. Halogen is red, under the spring, commonly known as human-god blood. " In today's Shanxi Province, the bittern in Xiezhou is red and does not change with the weather. It's amazing. It's the blood of Chiyou, which is regarded as sacred by local people. And cited "Huanglan Tomb" to say that the tomb of Chiyou is 70 feet high, located in Kanxiang Town, Shouzhang County, Dongping, and Chiyou's surname is Kan, so his descendants are also surnamed Kan, and they worship Chiyou every October. "Continued Records": "There is a Chiyou in the boundary of Huazhou. In ancient times, it was said that Chiyou had a surname, so it was also called Chiyou City. There are still many Chiyou families near the city. " Press: Huazhou is in Feixian County, Shandong Province, and 60 miles northeast is the activity place of the ancient Jiuli tribe.
As can be seen from the above, Chiyou is indeed an important historical figure in ancient China, and also an important leader of the Jiuzu Alliance. The Jiuli tribe he represents is active in Hebei, Henan, Shandong, Shanxi and other central plains regions. They were the first to invent and use metal tools and weapons, with high education and strong military strength, and were closely related to Xuanyuan Huangdi. Chiyou may be a descendant of Emperor Yan, and Emperor Yan and Huangdi are brothers. Emperor Yan and Chiyou fought the Yellow Emperor in Hanquan, Zhuolu, Hebei. After the war, some Chiyou moved south, while many people stayed in the north and gradually merged with the Yellow Emperor. Therefore, they maintain the worship of the heroic ancestor Chiyou.
Now Miao people have the folk custom of worshipping maple trees, and even take maple trees as totems. It can also be found in ancient literature that this custom is related to Chiyou. Shan Hai Jing:
There are Songshan people and red snakes, which are called kinds of snakes. There is a forest called maple on the mountain. Maple, abandoned by Chiyou, is for maple.
Guo Pu wrote a cloud: "Chiyou was captured by the Yellow Emperor, so kill him with weapons. He has given up his weapon and turned it into a tree. " Another maple tree is today's fragrant tree. This legend is similar to the legend of Chiyou's blood, which is an artistic imagination caused by Chiyou people's nostalgia for Chiyou's murder. Maple leaves are red, reflecting human-god blood. There are many such records, such as the Chronicle of Xuanyuan: "Killing Chiyou in Lishan Mountain, throwing weapons in Songshan Mountain in the wild, and its weapons are behind Warwick Fenglin." The Story of Alienation even records the legend of the strange spirit that transformed the maple tree into a human form: "There is a maple ghost in the south, and the old maple is a human being, also called Yan Feng." "South Arithmetic Table": "Maple people, there are many maple trees between the five mountains. When they get old, they will get scabby. When they encounter wind and rain overnight, their trees are three to five feet long, which is called maple people. The skills taken by the warlock have the test of connecting the gods. " Maple is a kind of spiritual wood, and the worship of maple has existed since ancient times. In Miao life, maple is more divine. Song of the Maple Tree is one of the core parts of the whole epic, which tells that the origin of the Miao nationality and the ancestors of human beings all came from the maple tree. The main plot is as follows:
The ancient maple gave birth to the original goddess list. There are 12 eggs left in the sister list. These twelve eggs gave birth to human ancestors, such as Jiang Yang, Dragon Tiger, tripterygium wilfordii and so on.
There are the concepts of maple totem worship and oviposition myth. The myth of spawning is related to the folk bird totem culture. We know that there was totem worship of mysterious birds in Yin and Shang Dynasties. Their ancestors were told by God that their ancestors' behavior was conceived after their mother Judy swallowed swallow eggs. Yan Di and Jiang Yang have the same surname. Jiuli Tribe Chiyou once lived in Shandong, Henan and Hebei. They have many tribes and totems. "Seventy-two brothers" or "eighty-one" just shows that there are many tribal clans in its alliance. "Chronology of Bamboo Slips" notes: "It belongs to all ethnic groups in Chiyou, including bears, Yi, Hu and Bao." After the defeat of Zhuolu, the Jiuli tribe, namely Chiyou, was conquered and migrated many times, some to the west and some to the south as Sanmiao. They have a lot of historical records. As for Xizhi, the notes were collected: "Xuanyuan went to Chiyou to kill people, moved its people to the land of Zoutu, and moved its people to the hometown of the north." It has been recorded in the "Dunga Mountain Map" quoted earlier that "Chiyou, following Emperor Yan, and Shao Hao rule the west as gold". "Historical Records Yao Dian" said that Shun "escaped from three seedlings and three dangers". Mengzi Wanzhang: "Three seedlings are killed in three dangers". "The Story of the Tunnel" said: "Shouyang, Longxi County, where Sanmiao is located, has three dangers." "There are three dangerous mountains in the west of the same cave, and Sanmiao is also there." Today, there are three dangerous mountains in the east of Dunhuang County, not far from the Thousand Buddha Cave. It seems that both Xiqiang and Xirong are related to Miao nationality. Dog Rong is the totem of dogs. Among the Miao people, there are also Pan Hu dogs as an important totem. "The Biography of Western Qiang in the Later Han Dynasty": "Three seedlings came from the source of Western Qiang." The earliest bronze wares discovered in China were unearthed in dongxiang county, Gansu. As early as 5,000 years ago, bronzes were discovered in Central Asia in the ancient western regions. This may be related to the ancestors of Miao nationality. Shan Hai Jing Huang Da Bei Jing: "Northwest Overseas, north of Heishui, someone has wings, named Miao people." "Miracle Sutra of the Wild West": "There is a kind of person in the wild west. His face, hands and feet are all human, but he has wings under his arm and can't fly. They are greedy and immoral, so they are called Miao people. " [5 1] These records are simple, biased, inaccurate and incomplete by orthodox thinking, but they reflect the historical fact that Miao people flowed to the northwest and cannot be fabricated out of thin air.
Most of Sanmiao moved to the southwest and experienced many battles and transfers. Notes on Zheng Xuan's Biography of Five Emperors in Han Dynasty:
After Zhuan Xu got Miao and Jiuli, he punished Jiuli instead of Shao Hao, and diverted the offspring to Sanmiao. The decline restored the virtue of Jiu Li, and Yao Xing condemned Yao for not going to court and running away. After Yu ascended the throne, he rebelled in Dongting and was afraid to punish him.
It can be seen that after many expeditions by Zhuan Xu, Yao, Shun and Yu, Sanmiao was driven to southwest Shan Ye step by step. Its Route In recent years, Tang Chunfang, a Miao scholar, has written a special research paper "On the Primitive Dwellings of Miao Nationality", [52] and compared the oral traditions and customs of Miao nationality with ancient documents, and found that they are quite consistent.
Today, ghost teachers sing "guide songs" in Miao funeral ceremonies all over the country, which can trace the dead back to their hometown along the migration route of ancient Miao people. Some people say that the hometown of Miao nationality is in the east, some say it is "Yangxian County in Yangzhou", and some say it is "the place where the sun rises at the mouth of the Yellow River". [53] This area is the activity place of ancient Jiuli, and there are many remains of Chiyou. Chiyou once helped a few tablets, and now there are a few tablets in Qufu City, which is a rare pyramid-shaped high stone tomb in China. After the defeat, the Jiuli tribe was scattered, and many people stayed in the local area, gradually merging with the Huangdi clan in China. Shandong Jiuli later became the bird totem of the Yin Shang clan, which belonged to Dongyi in ancient times. Up to now, Miao people call Menyi Yi Yin. This "Yi" is juxtaposed with "Miao" and is the ethnic name of the Miao nationality. The Yi people in Jiuyi are actually a branch of Miao people in western Hunan who worship the dragon and dog totem of Pan Hu. Ancient Jiuyi and Jiuli are not only similar in pronunciation, but also closely related in ethnic origin. The "Yi" of the later "Southwest Yi" was also related to this.
Like other tribes in Dongyi, Jiuli, who stayed in the Central Plains, gradually merged into the Han nationality in China, while more people moved west and south, becoming Sanmiao, namely Jingchu area in Hubei. "Han Shi Zhuan" Volume III: "When Shun was here, some Miao people refused to accept it. Those who refuse to accept it have Hengshan Mountain in the south, Minjiang River in the north, waves of Dongting in the left and water of Li Peng in the right. " ("Shuo Wen" Yuan Jundao has a similar record. Later, they moved south from Jingchu area and scattered in the mountainous areas of Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan and even many countries in Southeast Asia.
The last part of "Ancient Songs of Miao Nationality" is "Songs of Crossing Mountains and Rivers", which is full of myth and praises the Miao people's migration from the eastern coast to Guizhou via Sanjiang in pursuit of a better life. At that time, women still played an important role in life, which showed that that era was relatively old. There is an old song that the hometown of Miao people is in the area of "Muddy Water River", and the Miao language of "Muddy Water River" is edfangxebniel. It means "yellow water and muddy water", but it is actually the Yellow River. Miao people in western dialect areas (bordering Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan) embroidered the patterns of the Yellow River on their clothes, saying that they would never forget the hometown of the Yellow River no matter where they moved. On the lace ribbons embroidered by Miao women in western Hunan, there is the image of "swift horse flying", which is called "buried in Liao, clear in Lebanon" and also means "muddy river", indicating that Miao ancestors rode horses on the banks of the Yellow River. The Yellow River is one of the three great rivers sung in The Song of Crossing Mountains and Wading Water. The second river, the Yangtze River, "turned out". There is also a river, "the river is clear and faint", which is a beautiful river in the south.
Nowadays, the ancient story of Chiyou is circulated in many places of Miao nationality. Full of respect and pride for the great god Chiyou.
Legend has it that the ancient Miao people lived in the plains near the Yellow River in the western Miao area. Chiyou left home to study art and practiced hard since childhood. He can use 120 kinds of drugs and become a great god who can call the wind and rain and bring the dead back to life. At that time, a witch with drooping ears caught the old Miao people in Chaidog Village. Chiyou designed to kill the witch and save the Miao people in Chaiquan village. After several decades, Miao village flourished and developed into eighty-one village. Chiyou's nine sons have all grown up, one is in charge of Jiuzhai, and Chiyou has become the leader of the 81st Zhai. Huang Longgong, the witch's brother, attacked Miao Village and was repelled by Chiyou. Although he failed many times, he still refused to give up. He teamed up with Red Dragon Duke and defeated Chiyou with the help of King Wu of Thunder. The Miao people in Bayi Village had to give up migrating from the plain to the "ghost square" where the sun sets, cross the Yellow River and trek to the "ghost square" of wolves and ghosts. Miao people played lusheng and drums, drove away jackals and ghosts, cut mountains and cultivated land, and settled in this Yang Mo village. In addition, there are legends such as "Chiyou Zhi Dou Hungry Tiger" and "Chiyou Shen Yao", praising Chiyou's great contribution to Miao culture as the ancestor of Miao heroes.
Miao people all over the country are obsessed with Chiyou and worship him very much. Although Miao people are distributed in Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan and Hunan dialects, and there are many linguistic branches, including seven sub-dialects and 18 miscellaneous dialects, Miao people everywhere call their ancestors "Yougong", but in different dialects and dialects, "Yougong" is surprisingly consistent. In the eastern part of Qiandongnan Prefecture, the ancestors called it "Friends of the Country", Xiangxi dialect called it "Touyou" and "Jiuli Chiyou", and western Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan dialects directly called it "Chiyou". In many places, there are Chiyou temples, which are large in scale and frequently sacrificed to Chiyou. Miao people in western Hunan and northeastern Guizhou made bamboo slips into caves and pasted them with paper when offering sacrifices to their ancestors "Touyou" or "Jiuli Chiyou". Wizards knock on bamboo tubes and bells in caves, but they can't beat drums. It is said that when Dou You lost to the bronze bell, drumming was easy to be found by the enemy. In Qiannan Industrial Zone, the Miao epic Bangchiyou is circulated among the people, which praises the story of the "ancestor" You Xiang Gong. When people sing or talk, they are in awe of the name of Bang You Xiang.
The Miao people in Maguan and Wuding of Yunnan have the custom of "jumping on the moon" or "stepping on the mountain of flowers". It is said that the formation of this custom is closely related to Chiyou. At that time, Chiyou led the Miao people to resist the eastward advance of the Yellow Emperor. After their failure, they dispersed and retreated to the mountains. In order to gather Miao people from all directions, Chiyou erected a tall tree pole on the mountain and tied a belt to let men and women sing and dance around the flower pole and blow reeds. Such a lively party attracted many Miao people, so they rallied and fought again. This custom was later handed down as a regular song and dance festival and became a traditional festival of Miao nationality.
In a word, Chiyou, as the "ancestor" of the Miao nationality, has been revered and commemorated by the Miao people all over the world. There are many manifestations in their lives, customs and folk literature and art, and many ancient legends, despite the fantastic elements of mythological thinking. But it often coincides with ancient documents, which fully shows that folk customs and folk literature and art have high historical value. It can confirm and supplement written documents, which are more vivid historical materials of activities, and we should be good at using them-