Goujian

Goujian Temple (越王 台) in Shaoxing

Goujian ( Chinese  勾踐 or 句踐  /  勾践 or 句践 , Pinyin Gōujiàn ; * about 520 BC ; † 465 BC ) was king of the Yue state in what is now eastern China at the end of the spring and autumn annals . After the defeat of his armed forces in 494 BC, Goujian was forced to Live as a slave at the court of Fuchai , king of Wu . After his release, he worked hard to restore his state, defeated Fuchai and was recognized as a hegemon by the other states at the end of the Zhou dynasty . Goujian's work is recorded in chronicles, some of which were written much later, and mixed with myths and legends. The story of his fight against Fuchai von Wu and the themes that dominate this story make him a well-known personality even in modern China.

The sword found in 1965 is attributed to him.

Life

Youth and Captivity

Location of Wu and Yue in the southeast of the Chinese plain

Goujian is said to be the descendant of the mythical first emperor of the Xia dynasty , Yu the Great . His home state of Yue and neighboring Wu, both located in the southeastern periphery of what was then the Chinese cultural area, prospered in Goujian's childhood. Under the weakening House of Zhou , which was nominally still a feudal lord, both states became more influential and fought for supremacy. Between Goujians father Yunchang and the King of Wu Helü there were several armed conflicts. In 496 BC Yunchang died, and Goujian succeeded him on the throne. After Yunchang's death, Helü seized the opportunity to attack Yue. In the battle near present-day Jiaxing, the young king Goujian used a ruse by having some Yue warriors cut their throats with loud shouts. The soldiers of Wu, confused by this tactic, were then defeated by the regular Yue troops. Helü was fatally wounded by an arrow from the Yue warrior Ling Gufu . Before his death, Helü impressed on his son Fuchai not to forget Yue .

In 494 BC Gojian learned that Wu was preparing another attack. Against the advice of his Chancellor Fan Li , he decided to forestall this attack, even though Wu's army was stronger. His armed forces were subsequently defeated in the battle of Fujiao . Goujian and 5000 soldiers were surrounded by Wu troops on Mount Kuaiji Shan . Goujian, who was ready to fight to the last, nevertheless accepted the advice of his minister Wen Zhong to seek a peaceful solution and to go to Wu as a prisoner of war in the interests of Yue's survival. Following the example of the Zhou king Wen and the Shang king Tang , he was supposed to establish a strong state after defeat and humiliation; Wen Zhong wanted to influence the course of things at Fuchai's court through Fuchai's corrupt minister (太宰) Bo Pi in favor of Yue. In 492 BC Goujian went with his wife and Fan Li to the capital Wu, today's Suzhou . Fuchai ignored the advice of his Chancellor Wu Zixu to execute Goujian: it was believed at the time that execution of someone who had already surrendered would bring bad luck to the family. In the months that followed, Goujian lived in a simple stone hut near the palace and looked after Fuchai's horses while Fan Li had to do slave labor. When Fuchai went out, Goujian had to lead the horses. Over time, Fuchai gained a positive impression of Goujian, mainly because the three prisoners observed court etiquette despite the humiliation. According to the chronicles, Goujian, on the advice of Fan Li, sought an audience with Fuchai at Bo Pi to advise him on his long illness. In the presence of Fuchai and Bo Pi, he tasted Fuchai's chair and prophesied that Fuchai would soon feel better and recover. After real recovery, Fuchai was convinced of Goujian's good intentions, in 490 BC. Fuchai released him against the urgent warnings of his Chancellor Wu Zixu.

Rise of Yue

Upon his return, Goujian worked hard to strengthen his state. He wore the same clothes and ate the same food as his subjects. He plowed fields himself and his wife raised silkworms. In order not to forget the shame of his imprisonment, he had hung a gall bladder in his room , the bitterness of which he tasted every day. Like the common people, he slept on brushwood. He ruled with respect, was economical and avoided waste.

His ministers prophesied that Fuchai's arrogance, Bo Pi's corruption and the conflict between Bo Pi and Wu Zixu would bring down the neighboring state of Wu. First, however, they advised Goujian to be patient, because Yue was still too weak to take on Wu. In order to help Yue to achieve faster population growth, Goujian determined that all girls must be married by no later than 17 and all men by no later than 20 years. Marriages with significantly older partners were banned. For the birth of a boy, the parents were rewarded with two jugs of wine and a dog, for the birth of a girl with two jugs of wine and a piglet. Goujian also arranged for pregnant women to receive childbirth care and support for families with multiple children. At the same time, he had his men trained on swords and crossbows. He made it clear to all the people that he wanted to erase the humiliation caused by Wu.

Goujian accepted the advice of Chancellor Fan Li to weaken Wu first with stratagems before taking military revenge. So Goujian sent beautiful women to Fuchai to flatter him and distract him from state affairs. Goujian gave him lumber, so Fuchai wasted his land's labor to build a palace out of the wood. Goujian pleaded famine in Yue to buy large quantities of grain from Wu, and the following year he sold cooked grain back to Wu. When the farmers sowed it, there was famine. Goujian flattered Fuchai until Fuchai no longer believed the numerous warnings from his Chancellor Wu Zixu and asked him to commit suicide. After Goujian had not collected any land taxes in his own state for ten years, the population of Yue was affluent, while the people of Wu were so impoverished that they had to go to the seaside to look for food in winter.

Yue hegemony

In the year 482 BC BC Fuchai went to Huangchi (today's Fengqiu ) to meet with the rulers of the other states. Fuchai had taken his best soldiers with him on the way there; only the Crown Prince and weak troops remained in Wu. Fan Li advised Goujian that this was the right time to attack Wu. Goujian invaded Wu with 50,000 soldiers, captured the Crown Prince, executed him and set Fuchai's Gusu Palace on fire. Fuchai, who wanted to be recognized as a hegemon by the other rulers, offered Goujian a peace treaty, which Goujian accepted.

In 476 BC Goujian felt ready to attack and defeat Wu again. He led his army with great cruelty by beheading three criminals every day in front of his soldiers, at the same time he ensured a strong feeling of togetherness among the soldiers. At the end of the three-year war, Fuchai was tracked down on Mount Gusu and taken prisoner. Fuchai offered Goujian to become his slave; However, Goujian wanted to banish him and 300 families to Zhoushan Island . Fuchai killed himself. After defeating Wu, Goujian made peace with Wu's neighbors and returned land conquered by Wu to the rulers of Chu , Lu and Song . After paying his respects to the Zhou king , he was recognized as the hegemon of the areas east of the Hangu Pass .

After Goujian won a military victory, he organized a celebration for his ministers. At this celebration, Goujian indicated that he wanted to expand his power further. Fan Li realized that with a man like Goujian one could share suffering and struggle, but not peace and happiness, and that Goujian would sooner or later sacrifice him in order to increase his power. Fan Li therefore asked to be allowed to resign; Goujian offered him half of his land and threatened to take revenge on his family if he really left him. Fan Li exhorted him to act morally and left Kuaiji in a small boat, his fate is unknown. Fan Li advised Wen Zhong to do the same, but Wen Zhong decided against it. Over time, Goujian became suspicious of Wen Zhong, fearing a conspiracy against himself. Therefore he called him to him, handed him a sword and ordered him to kill himself. According to legend, the ghosts of Wu Zixu and Wen Zhong swim together on the ocean.

As a hegemon, Goujian moved his capital from Yue to Langye (now East Shandong ) and invited all capable men to work in his state. Even Confucius was a the court of Goujian. He suggested that Goujian teach him the principles of good governance and for this purpose played music on instruments from the time of the ancient emperors of China . However, Goujian stated that the Yue are simple, combative, and bold people and asked Confucius what he would teach such people. Confucius moved on without a word.

Goujian spent his time in Langye with diplomatic and military activities, whereby he achieved sovereignty over Qi and Jin . In 465 BC He fell seriously ill. On his deathbed, he explained to his Crown Prince Luying that the successor of a hegemon would have to be extremely vigilant in order to preserve what his predecessor had achieved.

Aftermath

The history of the struggle between Wu and Yue was recorded in numerous Chinese chronicles of the later established dynasties. These include the works Zuozhuan , Guoyu , Shiji by Sima Qian or the Lüshi chunqiu . The most detailed and coherent description can be found in the work Wu Yue Chunqiu , which the chronicler Zhao Ye compiled during the Eastern Han Dynasty between 58 and 75 AD. It had the greatest influence on later historiography.

The story of Goujian is connected like no other with the Chinese winged word臥薪嚐膽 (wòxīn-chángdǎn, literally to sleep on sticks and to taste bile ). It means enduring self-imposed hardships in order to achieve a higher goal and is known to almost every Chinese. The dominant themes in Goujian's life such as humiliation, revenge, war, good governance or the skillful use of capable people make it a subject that has been repeatedly processed or alluded to in Chinese literature . A number of Chinese operas , novels, feature films and television series deal with the dispute between Goujian and Fuchai. In the 2000s alone, three such television series, each with more than 40 episodes, were broadcast on Chinese television. The story is not infrequently used to allude to historical events, such as the foreign dominance at the beginning of the 20th century (a humiliation from the Chinese perspective) or the Taiwan conflict with feelings of humiliation and a desire for revenge on both sides.

literature

• Paul A. Cohen: Speaking to History, the Story of King Goujian in Twentieth-Century China . University of California Press, Berkeley 2009, ISBN 978-0-520-25579-1 ( limited preview in Google Book Search).
• Sima Qian : King Goujian of Yue. In: Gregor Kneussel (transl.): From the records of the chronicler ( Shiji ). Beijing: Publishing House for Foreign Language Literature, 2015, ISBN 978-7-119-09676-6 , Vol. 1, pp. 161-192.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} 周金林 (editor-in-chief): 吴 地 文化 名人 . In: 吴 风 书 韵 . Library of the Wuxi Vocational College of Science and Technology, Wuxi December 1, 2015, p. 16–19 (Chinese, wxstc.cn ). 吴 地 文化 名人 ( Memento of the original from September 1, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
2. ↑ ^{a b} Cohen, pp. 2-4.
3. ^ Cohen, p. 5.
4. ↑ Cohen, pp. 16-18.
5. ^ Cohen, pp. 12-15, pp. 19.
6. ↑ ^{a b} Cohen, pp. 20-24.
7. ↑ Cohen, pp. 26f.
8. ↑ ^{a b} Cohen, p. 28.
9. ^ Cohen, p. 1.
10. ^ Cohen, p. 228.

predecessor	Office	successor
Yunchang	King of Yue 496 BC BC to 465 BC Chr.	Luying