Gongliu was a semi-legendary person of ancient China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

. Before the founding of the Zhou Dynasty

Zhou Dynasty

The Zhou Dynasty was a Chinese dynasty that followed the Shang Dynasty and preceded the Qin Dynasty. Although the Zhou Dynasty lasted longer than any other dynasty in Chinese history, the actual political and military control of China by the Ji family lasted only until 771 BC, a period known as...

, in BCE 1046, the Zhou clan already had a long history. As Gong was a title used by the ancients to refer to a rank of nobility, Gongliu is often translated into English as Duke Liu.

Ancestry

The Zhou lineage traditionally begins with Di Ku

Emperor Ku

Kù , or Dì Kù , also known as Gāoxīn Shì , was a mythical Emperor of China during the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors period. He was the son of Jiăo Jí , the grandson of Shăohào and the great grandson of Huáng-dì , the Yellow Emperor. According to speculative dates he is supposed to have ruled...

; however, Chinese legend depicts Di Ku as the grandson of Shaohao

Shaohao

Shaohao , also known as Shao Hao, Jin Tian or Xuanxiao, was a Chinese emperor in 2600 BC. According to some traditions , he was, in some versions, one of the Five Emperors....

, the son of the Yellow Emperor

Yellow Emperor

The Yellow Emperor or Huangdi1 is a legendary Chinese sovereign and culture hero, included among the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. Tradition holds that he reigned from 2697–2597 or 2696–2598 BC...

 and his principal wife Leizu

Leizu

Leizu was a legendary Chinese empress and wife of the Yellow Emperor. According to tradition, she discovered silk and invented the silk loom in the 27th century BC.Leizu discovered silkworms while having a midday tea, and a cocoon fell in her tea....

. The lineage proceeds from Di Ku to Ji Qi, Buku, Ju, and then Gongliu.

Ode to Gongliu

Gongliu led his people from their former homeland (the exact reason for its unsuitability is unknown) to a new place called Bin, where they prospered. This prosperity would be an essential part of the rise of the Zhou Dynasty, which later, in gratitude, commemorated Gongliu with an ode that appeared in the Chinese Book of Songs. This ode tells the story of the preparations for the move to Bin:

Of generous devotion to the people was duke Liu,

Unable to rest or take his ease [where he was],

He divided and subdivided the country into fields;

He stored up the produce in the fields and in barns;

He tied up dried meat and grain,

In bottomless bags and in sacks; –

That he might hold [the people] together, and glorify [his tribe].

Then with bows and arrows all ready,

With shields and spears, and axes, large and small,

He commenced his march.

....

Of generous devotion to the people was duke Liu,

Having settled in temporary lodging houses in Bin,

He crossed the Wei by means of boats,

And gathered whetstones and iron.

When his settlement was fixed, and all boundaries defined,

The people became numerous and prosperous,

Occupying both sides of the Huang valley,

And pushing on up that of Guo ;

And as the population became dense,

They went on to the country beyond the Ju.

External links

• full-text of Gongliu ode