International Social Science Journal (Chinese Edition)

No.4, 2022

 

From “Pingshuitu” to “Shi Shengren”: Humanity and Nature Ethics in the Myths of Yu and Qi

(Abstract)

 

Bingxiang Zhao

 

The myths associated with Yu and Qi, the holy kings of the “three dynasties,” possess a special place in the history of Chinese political thought. This paper focuses on the shift from the myth of “King Yu Tamed the Flood” in the Warring States to the Western Han dynasty: the births of both Yu and Qi are associated with “stone,” which is closely linked to the emerging political and religious ideas of the two Han dynasties, and also potentially echoes the actual political history. In the Eastern Han dynasty, because of the revival of the idea of geographical center and the reforms in national sacrifice system, there was a new system of political cosmos, and hence the symbols of stone, earth, and mountain all had special meanings. This was the background of such new narratives of the stories of Yu and Qi. Based on my study of the transformation of this myth, I also describe how the political-religious changes in the Han dynasty changed the narrative structure of this myth. Tushanshi went back to the original land of Yu’s ancestors to sacrifice the marriage and motherhood for the fatherhood between Yu and Qi. This displayed the connection and tension between family ethics and political ethics. From the perspective of intellectual history, this final version also corresponded to what happened in the settlement among Han emperors.