Is Jiang Taigong Jiang Ziya a man or a god? What is the truth?

Speaking of Jiang Ziya, he is a well-known legend. Presumably, most people know him from The Romance of Gods, in which Jiang Ziya played a very important role. But in real life, Jiang Ziya does exist, and her prototype in reality is the founding hero of the Western Zhou Dynasty.

Jiang Taigong, whose name is Lu Shang, comes from Donghai, China. His ancestors used to be officials of Sishan and helped Yu Xia to control water and soil. Shun and Yu were sealed in Lu, and some were sealed in Shen, surnamed Jiang. During the Xia and Shang Dynasties, Shen, Lu and others were sealed as descendants and some became civilians, and Lu Shang was their distant descendant. Lu Shang was originally surnamed Jiang, and was named after the fief, so he was called Lu Shang.

There are different names in different history books. I have to say that Jiang Ziya contributed a lot to the creation of the Zhou Dynasty. Of course, no one refuted his contribution, and no one questioned his contribution. Finally, a hollow brick was found in Jiang Taigong's home, which confirmed the expert's guess, so many netizens said that Jiang Ziya was a man rather than a god.

Although Jiang Ziya does exist in historical records, many people have doubts about his origin, life experience and even his native place. At the same time, people's views on him are quite controversial, and there are also different views on Jiang Taigong's identity recorded in Sima Qian's Historical Records.

For Jiang Taigong, there are mainly the following views. The first view is that Jiang Taigong was caught by Zhou Wenwang while fishing by the Wei River, which became the legendary Jiang Taigong fishing and willingly took the bait. Another view is that Jiang Taigong lobbied with many governors, but not many people understood him at that time, so his talents were not discovered.

One night, Zhou Wenwang dreamed of a flying bear, and after waking up, he sent someone to look for it. He found the Weihe River and met Jiang Ziya and flying bear, Jiang Ziya. Hearing this, Zhou Wenwang came to Weishui by car and invited Jiang Ziya to be born.

Later, when I was near Gu Xi, I met Zhou Wenwang. There is also a saying that when Jiang Ziya was old and weak, he also heard that Zhou Wenwang was good at appointing wise men, so he took the initiative to take refuge in Zhou Wenwang, which laid a very solid foundation for the establishment of the late Zhou Dynasty.

In fact, although these three statements are different, they all accurately point out the poverty and poverty situation in Jiang Ziya at that time, which is already an ancient year. There are many records that Jiang Ziya achieved nothing when he was young, and only took refuge in Zhou Wenwang at the age of seventy. Only at this time did he show his talent. He also helped Zhou Wuwang destroy the Shang Dynasty and establish the Zhou Dynasty.

Jiang Ziya's age has been confirmed, but there is some controversy about her birth. At that time, the Zhou Dynasty was hierarchical, so if it was just poor people, when Zhou Wenwang was imprisoned, two ministers had heard of Jiang Ziya's name and asked him for advice.

But at that time, some people from humble origins had no chance to get in touch with the nobility, and Jiang Ziya's identity was also mentioned in Guiguzi and Sun Tzu's Art of War, which was really different. Moreover, for the confirmation of Jiang Ziya's identity, Mr. Yang, a famous historian in Ming Dynasty, boldly put forward his own conjecture.

He believes that people's speculation about the image of Jiang Ziya originated from people's imagination during the Warring States period, but it can be proved that Jiang Ziya's identity will not be poor, and his identity will never be so simple. Later, Mr. Yang's guess was confirmed. Viewed from the side, Jiang Ziya's identity gives people a sense of mystery.

The discovery of Kongtougou site in Baoji, Shaanxi Province shows that the tomb is not a noble tomb, nor a descendant tomb of the Zhou Dynasty, but a family tomb of Jiang Taigong. Jiang Taigong lived all the way to Zhou Kangwang, but the family of Longtougou site was in the late Shang Dynasty and the late Western Zhou Dynasty, so it can be confirmed that the Jiang Taigong family was already living in China.

In Kongtougou site, there are residential areas, copper-casting workshops, brick-making workshops and more than 900 tombs, two of which are equivalent to princes or ministers of vassal States. Compared with Zhougong Temple, there are no martyrs in this tomb, and the direction of the tomb is east-west. According to the inscription of Shang Jue unearthed from tomb 10, this site is the tomb of Jiang Taigong family.

Moreover, at that time, his family was also a very powerful heterosexual family. This discovery also confirms that Jiang Taigong comes from a big family, not a poor one, which adds a certain color to his identity.

This discovery is also in line with the legend that Jiang's surname originated in Longxi, Gansu. Jiang Taigong's family background, as well as his experience of traveling to and from Chao Ge, Jin Meng and Qishan all the year round, enabled him to keep abreast of the political and military trends of the Shang Dynasty and judge the development of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, which became the key for him to rebel against the princes and prosper the Zhou Dynasty and destroy the Shang Dynasty.

According to the History of the Origin of Yanhuang, "Jiang Taigong's career is to slaughter cattle, sell wine and fish, which has the political purpose of reviving the Zhou Dynasty". Wang, an expert in ancient history, also believes that the main purpose of Lu Shang's long-term activity in the DPRK is to resist the eastern governors, so as to improve his status and gain the appreciation of the monarch.

Thus, Jiang Ziya was a visionary who played an inseparable and important role in the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty. It must have taken a long time for Jiang Taigong to help the Zhou Dynasty destroy the Shang Dynasty, and his political talent was also displayed during this period, which made him more appreciated by the monarch.

What he has achieved is not only that he has changed from a simple butcher to a senior strategist, which is inseparable from his own talent, so Jiang Taigong is a man of flesh and blood, not a legendary fairy.