Is “Immortal guidance to retreat from the world and cultivate in seclusion” true?
novel invention
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.
Bo Yi
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.
Other claims about Bo Yi
This page was extracted from classical texts with AI assistance and revised; errors remain possible. Spotted a mistake? Tell us →