Jiang Yuan () is an important figure in

Chinese mythology Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature in the geographic area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology includes many varied myths from regional and cultural traditions. Much of ...

and

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

. She is recorded as having lived during ancient Chinese history. Jiang Yuan was the mother of

Houji Hou Ji (or Houji; ) was a legendary Chinese culture hero credited with introducing millet to humanity during the time of the Xia dynasty.. Millet was the original staple grain of northern China, prior to the introduction of wheat. His name translat ...

, who is a

culture hero A culture hero is a mythological hero specific to some group ( cultural, ethnic, religious, etc.) who changes the world through invention or discovery. Although many culture heroes help with the creation of the world, most culture heroes are impo ...

and revered as the god of millet.

Clan name and title

Jiang Yuan's personal name was not recorded. During the

Spring and Autumn period The Spring and Autumn period was a period in Chinese history from approximately 770 to 476 BC (or according to some authorities until 403 BC) which corresponds roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou period. The period's name derives fr ...

, women were not called by personal names (名 ''míng'') and even seemingly did not have such names, which could be considered

taboo A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

(諱 ''huì'') to those of inferior status. Instead,

Jiang Jiang may refer to: * ''Jiang'' (rank), rank held by general officers in the military of China *Jiang (surname), several Chinese surnames **Jiang Zemin (1926–2022), as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party *Jiang River The Jiang Rive ...

is her clan name. Yuan does not seem to be a lineage name: instead, it seems to be a

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

signifying "origin" or "source", in reference to her role as the mother of Houji, whom is claimed as an ancestor of the royal Ji family of the Zhou dynasty.

Mythological biography

Jiang Yuan was the mother of Qi (also known as Houji), credited in Chinese mythology with founding the Ji clan who went on to establish the Zhou dynasty. She was said historically to have been a consort of

Emperor Ku Kù (, variant graph ), usually referred to as Dì Kù (), also known as Gaoxin or Gāoxīn Shì () or Qūn (), was a descendant of the Yellow Emperor. He went by the name Gaoxin until receiving imperial authority, when he took the name Ku and t ...

. In mythology, she gave virgin birth to a miracle child. In some versions such as that found in the Zhou hymn " Birth of Our People" credit Qi with a

miraculous birth Stories of miraculous births often include conceptions by miraculous circumstances and features such as intervention by a deity, supernatural elements, astronomical signs, hardship or, in the case of some mythologies, complex plots related t ...

after Jiang Yuan stepped into a footprint or toeprint left by the supreme deity

Shangdi Shangdi (), also written simply, "Emperor" (), is the Chinese term for "Supreme Deity" or "Highest Deity" in the theology of the classical texts, especially deriving from Shang theology and finding an equivalent in the later '' Tian'' ("Heave ...

. The hymn records her as attempting to abandon him three times (his name Qi means "the Abandoned One"). According to mythology, the baby Houji was guarded in the street by livestock and fed by birds. Houji then (still little grown) introduced the cultivation of millet (''ji'') and other agricultural improvements and as the Lord of Millet set up the founding of the

Zhou dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chinese ( B&S): *''tiw'') was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of China by th ...

. Thus, the woman who gave birth to a child not sired by a husband mythologically became the ultimate human ancestor of the series of emperors known as the

, the era when Chinese history as it is known truly commenced (Ferguson 1928, 6).

History

Sima Qian Sima Qian (; ; ) was a Chinese historian of the early Han dynasty (206AD220). He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for his ''Records of the Grand Historian'', a general history of China covering more than two thousand years be ...

's rationalistic account in the ''

Records of the Grand Historian ''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese his ...

'', Jiang Yuan is simply the first consort of

and Qi is one of his children. He also records her lineage name as '' óuTái'' [], also the name of the fief granted to her son Houji by Emperor Shun.''Records of the Grand Historian''
"Annals of Zhou"
/ref> In his account, he credits the success of Zhou as being due primarily to the two women: Jiang Yuan and Tai Ren ().''Records of the Grand Historian'
"Hereditary Houses of the In-Laws"
quote: "周之興也以姜原及大任" It is possible he meant this to credit the virtue and success of their children, but it is also possible that they represented important marriage alliances. The

were closely involved with the Ji before and after their rise to empire: Jiang Yuan was mother of Zhou dynasty's founder

Hou Ji Hou Ji (or Houji; ) was a legendary Chinese culture hero credited with introducing millet to humanity during the time of the Xia dynasty.. Millet was the original staple grain of northern China, prior to the introduction of wheat. His name translat ...

, Tai Jiang (or Jiang Nü) was wife of

Gugong Danfu King Tai of Zhou () or Gugong Danfu () was a great leader of the Zhou clan during the Shang dynasty. His great-grandson Fa would later conquer the Shang and establish the Zhou dynasty. Name "King Tai" was a posthumous name bestowed upon him by hi ...

and mother of his son Jili,''

Classic of Poetry The ''Classic of Poetry'', also ''Shijing'' or ''Shih-ching'', translated variously as the ''Book of Songs'', ''Book of Odes'', or simply known as the ''Odes'' or ''Poetry'' (; ''Shī''), is the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry, c ...

'', "Major Court Hymns - Decade of King Wen
Da Ming
. Translated by James Legge Tai Ren - born in Zhi (摯) and connected to the

Shang dynasty The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty a ...

- was wife of Jili and mother of King Wen.

Religion

In Chinese popular religion, Jiang Yuan is worshiped as a

goddess A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes ...

.Yang, 152

References

Sources

* *
">Ferguson, John C. 1928. "China" in Volume VIII of ''Mythology of All Races''. Archaeological Institute of America.
*Yang, Lihui & al. ''Handbook of Chinese Mythology''. Oxford Univ. Press (New York), 2005. .

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jiang Yuan Chinese goddesses Chinese royal consorts