CIVILIZATION DOSSIER
Bo Yi伯夷
Eldest son of the state of Guzhu at the end of the Shang dynasty, who stopped his horse and admonished King Wu against attacking Zhou.
- DIRECT FIGURES
- 2
- RELATION RECORDS
- 2
- SOURCE WORKS
- 4
RELATIONSHIP COMPASS
Bo Yi, and the people around them.
Open one chapter at a time. Each chapter gives the relationship first, then the source text behind it.
01THE UNSEENMythic acts
Transformation, aid and divine punishment
2 figures · 2 records＋
Mythic acts
Transformation, aid and divine punishment
Confucius→Bo Yievaluate
Bo Yi→King Wen of Zhoureturn
2 key relationships are shown here. The complete record remains below.
In history · Records of the Grand Historian
Son of the ruler of Guzhu, submitted to the Earl of the West.
In fiction · Discourses of the States · Strategies of the Warring States · Correct Meaning of the Zuo Tradition
A minister of the Shang dynasty, who stopped his horse and admonished King Wu against attacking Zhou. A remnant minister of Shang, he starved to death on Shouyang Mountain rather than eat the grain of Zhou.
Across source works
How this figure changes across texts
Works are shown side by side, not as a chronology. No influence between texts is inferred.
- Official history1 profile notes
Discourses of the States
0 relations0 verified quotations - Official history5 profile notes
Records of the Grand Historian
2 relations2 verified quotations- Confucius→ evaluate →Bo Yi
- Bo Yi→ return →King Wen of Zhou
Verified original text · 2
孔子曰：“伯夷、叔齐，不念旧恶，怨是用希。”
evaluate · Records of the Grand Historian, 伯夷列传
闻西伯昌善养老，盍往归焉。
return · Records of the Grand Historian, 伯夷列传
- Official history2 profile notes
Strategies of the Warring States
0 relations0 verified quotations - Official history2 profile notes
Correct Meaning of the Zuo Tradition
0 relations0 verified quotations
History vs. fiction
In official history, he is the son of the孤竹 ruler at the end of the Shang dynasty, a noble hermit who refused to eat the grain of Zhou; in fiction, he is a symbol of unwavering loyalty to his lord.
Records of the Grand Historian, Biography of Boyi and Shuqi clearly records that Boyi and Shuqi grabbed King Wu's horse reins to remonstrate against his attack on the ruler, and later, ashamed to eat the grain of Zhou, they hid on Mount Shouyang, gathering ferns to eat, and starved to death. (「武王已平殷乱，天下宗周，而伯夷、叔齐耻之，义不食周粟，隐于首阳山，采薇而食之。」 Source: Biography of Boyi and Shuqi.txt)
Records of the Grand Historian, Biography of Boyi and Shuqi records Boyi as a paragon of virtue revered by Confucianism (「孔子序列古之仁圣贤人，如吴太伯、伯夷之伦详矣。」 source: Biography of Boyi and Shuqi.txt), while the attribution of divine guidance in works like Investiture of the Gods is purely literary fiction.
Relationship network
Original text (1)
孔子曰：“伯夷、叔齐，不念旧恶，怨是用希。”
Original text (1)
闻西伯昌善养老，盍往归焉。