Daji
Encyclopedia
- for the village in Comoros see Daji, ComorosDaji, ComorosDaji is a village on the island of Anjouan in the Comoros. According to the 1991 census, the village had a population of 1,664. The current estimate for 2009 is 2,929 people-References:...
Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
: Dájǐ) was a favorite concubine of King Zhou of Shang
King Zhou of Shang
Emperor Xin of Shang was the last king of the Shang Dynasty. He was later given the pejorative posthumous name Zhòu . He is also called Zhou Xin or King Zhou . He may also be referred to by adding "Shang" in front of any of his names...
, the last king of the Shang Dynasty
Shang Dynasty
The Shang Dynasty or Yin Dynasty was, according to traditional sources, the second Chinese dynasty, after the Xia. They ruled in the northeastern regions of the area known as "China proper" in the Yellow River valley...
in ancient China
History of China
Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...
. She is a classic example of how a beauty causes the downfall of an empire/dynasty in Chinese culture. She is portrayed as an evil fox spirit in the Chinese novel Fengshen Yanyi
Fengshen Yanyi
Fengshen Bang, also known as Fengshen Yanyi in Chinese, and translated as The Investiture of the Gods or The Creation of the Gods, is one of the major vernacular Chinese epic novels written during the Ming Dynasty...
.
Biography
Daji was from a noble family called Su (蘇) from the state of Yousu (有蘇). Hence, she was also known as "Su Daji" since her family name was "Su". In 1047 BC, King Zhou of ShangKing Zhou of Shang
Emperor Xin of Shang was the last king of the Shang Dynasty. He was later given the pejorative posthumous name Zhòu . He is also called Zhou Xin or King Zhou . He may also be referred to by adding "Shang" in front of any of his names...
conquered Yousu and took Daji as his prize.
King Zhou became extremely obsessed and infatuated with Daji and started to neglect state affairs in order to keep her company. He used any means necessary to ingratiate himself with her and to please her. Daji liked animals so he built her a zoological Xanadu
Xanadu
-Description of Xanadu by Toghon Temur :The lament of Toghon Temur Khan , concerning the loss of Daidu and Heibun Shanduu in 1368, is recorded in many Mongolian historical chronicles...
with several rare species of birds and animals. He also ordered artists to compose lewd music and choreograph bawdy dances to satisfy her musical taste. He gathered 3000 guests at one party to indulge in his "pond of wine" and "forest of meat". He allowed the guests to play a cat and mouse
Cat and mouse
Cat and mouse, often expressed as cat-and-mouse game, is an English-language idiom dating back to 1675 that means "a contrived action involving constant pursuit, near captures, and repeated escapes." The "cat" is unable to secure a definitive victory over the "mouse", who despite not being able to...
game in the nude in the forest to amuse Daji. When one of King Zhou's concubines, the daughter of Lord Jiu, protested at the sight of debauchery, King Zhou had her executed. Her father was ground in pieces and his flesh fed to King Zhou's vassals.
Daji said that her greatest joy was to hear people cry in physical torment. Once, she saw a farmer walking barefoot on ice and ordered his feet cut off so she could study them and figure out why they were so resistant to low temperatures. On another occasion, she had a pregnant woman's belly cut open so it satisfied her curiosity to find out what happened inside. To verify an ancient saying that "a good man's heart has seven apertures", she even had the heart of the minister Bi Gan
Bi Gan
Cai Shen |Hakka]]: Choy Sin) is the Chinese god of prosperity. He can be referred to as Zhao Gongming or Bi Gan...
(King Zhou's uncle) dug out and subjected to her fertile scrutiny.
Daji was best known for her invention of a method of torture known as Paoluo (炮烙). A bronze cylinder covered with oil was heated like a furnace with charcoal beneath until its sides became extremely hot. The victim was made to walk on top of the slowly heating cylinder and he was forced to shift his feet to avoid the burning. The oily surface made it difficult for the victim to maintain his position and balance. If the victim falls into the charcoal below, he would be burnt to death. The victim was forced to "dance" and scream in agony before dying eventually while the observing King Zhou and Daji would laugh in delight.
Daji was executed on the orders of King Wu of Zhou
King Wu of Zhou
King Wu of Zhōu or King Wu of Chou was the first sovereign, or ruler of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty. The dates of his reign are 1046-1043 BCE or 1049/45-1043. Various sources quoted that he died at the age of 93, 54 or 43. He was considered a just and able leader. Zhou Gong Dan was one of his...
after the fall of the Shang Dynasty on the advice of Jiang Ziya
Jiang Ziya
Jiang Ziya was a Chinese historical and legendary figure who resided next to the Weishui River about 3,000 years ago. A sage and military strategist, Jiang Ziya was called upon by King Wen of Zhou to serve as prime minister...
.
In literature
Daji is featured in the Chinese novel Fengshen YanyiFengshen Yanyi
Fengshen Bang, also known as Fengshen Yanyi in Chinese, and translated as The Investiture of the Gods or The Creation of the Gods, is one of the major vernacular Chinese epic novels written during the Ming Dynasty...
as a major antagonist. She was the first featured corrupter of the declining Shang Dynasty
Shang Dynasty
The Shang Dynasty or Yin Dynasty was, according to traditional sources, the second Chinese dynasty, after the Xia. They ruled in the northeastern regions of the area known as "China proper" in the Yellow River valley...
in the novel. Her father Su Hu gave her in to King Zhou of Shang
King Zhou of Shang
Emperor Xin of Shang was the last king of the Shang Dynasty. He was later given the pejorative posthumous name Zhòu . He is also called Zhou Xin or King Zhou . He may also be referred to by adding "Shang" in front of any of his names...
as an appeasement offer after armed conflict broke out between Su's and Shang military forces.
One night before Daji was sent to the capital city of Zhaoge
Zhaoge
Zhaoge was the capital of Shang Dynasty, and later capital of State of Wei . It is located in current Qi County, Hebi, Henan....
, she was possessed by an evil nine-tailed fox spirit (aka Thousand-Year-Old Vixen). When Daji arrived in Zhaoge, she became the centre of attention of King Zhou and caused the king to be extremely obsessed with her. King Zhou neglected state affairs to keep her company and ignored the advice of his subjects. Yunzhongzi
Yunzhongzi
Yunzhongzi is a character featured within the famed ancient Chinese novel Fengshen Yanyi.Yunzhongzi is a renowned immortal of the Jade Column Cave atop Mount South End. After the sinister Daji had taken her grasp over King Zhou of Shang, Yunzhongzi would be the first immortal to see the injustice...
was the first man to act against Daji by giving the king a magical peach-wood sword which would make Daji ill and kill her eventually. She rose above the ranks from a minor concubine to become the queen based on the king's favouritism towards her.
Daji was blamed for the fall of the Shang Dynasty by corrupting King Zhou and causing him to neglect state affairs and rule with tyranny and despotism. This ultimately led to the dynasty's decline and widespread chaos. King Zhou's tyranny incurred the anger and resentment of the common people, who eventually rose up in revolt against him under King Wu of Zhou
King Wu of Zhou
King Wu of Zhōu or King Wu of Chou was the first sovereign, or ruler of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty. The dates of his reign are 1046-1043 BCE or 1049/45-1043. Various sources quoted that he died at the age of 93, 54 or 43. He was considered a just and able leader. Zhou Gong Dan was one of his...
's leadership. After the fall of the Shang Dynasty, Daji was exorcised by Jiang Ziya
Jiang Ziya
Jiang Ziya was a Chinese historical and legendary figure who resided next to the Weishui River about 3,000 years ago. A sage and military strategist, Jiang Ziya was called upon by King Wen of Zhou to serve as prime minister...
(aka Jiang Taigong) and died eventually.
In popular culture
- The primary antagonist of Ryu FujisakiRyu Fujisakiis a Japanese manga artist born in Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture.He won the 39th and the 40th Tezuka Award. He made his professional manga debut with WORLDS in 1990. All of his works are published by Shueisha under their Shōnen Jump labels. He has also illustrated three light novels and released two...
's MangaMangaManga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
series Hoshin Engi (based on Fengshen Yanyi), Dakki, is based on Daji. She is a "yokai sennin" said to have been originally a fox monster. In both anime and Manga, Dakki declared that Taikoubou (Jiang Taigong) is her rival.
- Daji appears in Koei's video game Warriors OrochiWarriors Orochi, is a PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 hack and slash video game developed by Koei and Omega Force. It is a crossover of two of Koei's popular video game series, Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors...
as "Da Ji," Orochi's strategist and right-hand woman. Her design incorporates pointed, fuzzy ears and vulpine feet, alluding to the legend that she is a fox spirit. In Warriors Orochi 2Warriors Orochi 2is a video game developed by Koei and Omega Force for the Sony PlayStation 2. It is the sequel to Warriors Orochi, a crossover video game of the Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors series. The game was released on September 23 in North America and September 19 in Europe...
she is a strong rival of Taigong Wang, who is the one who can easily see through her strategies. She is also the one who had originally released Orochi the Serpent King from confinement because she sympathised with him.
- Daji appears as a general that players can control in the strategy game War of LegendsWar of LegendsWar of Legends is a massively multiplayer online strategy game set in "a world of ancient Chinese mythology" and was published by Jagex Games Studio on January 19, 2010...
.
See also
- Boyi Kao
- Jade Pipa
- Jiutou Zhiji JingJiutou Zhiji JingJiutou Zhiji Jing is a yaojing changed from a pheasant with nine heads. She is a character featured within the famed ancient Chinese novel Investiture of the Gods....
- Nu Wa
- Jiang ZiyaJiang ZiyaJiang Ziya was a Chinese historical and legendary figure who resided next to the Weishui River about 3,000 years ago. A sage and military strategist, Jiang Ziya was called upon by King Wen of Zhou to serve as prime minister...
(aka Jiang Taigong)