I want to ask, who is Ji Zi in the Romance of Gods? Does this character have a historical prototype? Please advise?

Ji Zi, an aristocrat of Shang Dynasty and uncle of the last king Di Xin (Shang Zhouwang), was originally named Yu Xu, and was named Ji Zi because he was sealed in a dustpan. Therefore, he was called Bigan and Weizi, and he was also called the three sages of Shang Dynasty.

Ji Zi was a famous witch scientist and "divination" master in the late Yin and early Zhou Dynasties. His full-time job is divining Yin and Yang, observing celestial phenomena and timing calendars, thus guiding the country's agriculture, animal husbandry or crusades. The place where Ji Zi observed astronomical phenomena is said to be in his fief "ji zi" (now ji zi, Lingchuan, Shaanxi). Ji Zi is familiar with divination and lunar calendar, and Shang Zhouwang once asked him the time. Han Feizi, a pre-Qin document, said: Shang Zhouwang was having fun all day and all night in Chao Ge Palace, and when he didn't know the time, he asked people around him. No one could understand it, so they had to send someone to ask for it. Ji told him about "Five Elements, Five Things, Eight Politics, Five Discipline, Yuji, Three Virtues and Records" in a systematic way. It is also recorded in The History of Hong Fan that when Zhou Wuwang asked Ji Zi for advice, Ji Zi talked about the five elements. In the Northern and Southern Dynasties, when Ye Fan wrote the Book of the Later Han Dynasty, he also called astronomical observation and divination of Yin and Yang "the art of Ji Zi".

After Zhou Wang came to power, Kiko once lived in the palace, assisting in state affairs. Shortly after Zhou Wang acceded to the throne, Kiko saw that he began to use ivory chopsticks and sighed, "If you use ivory chopsticks, you have to use jade cups to match them, and then you will pursue other wonders. This is the beginning of luxury enjoyment! As soon as the monarch pays attention to pleasure, how can the country be good! " Later, Zhou Wang became more and more dissolute and cruel. Bi Gan, Ji Zi, Weizi, Xin Jia and other ministers all made suggestions to Zhou Wang, but Zhou Wang refused to listen. Bigan died of remonstrance, and Ji Zi said, "It is foolish to know that he doesn't use it; Killing your body to show your evil deeds is an ominous sign. " In desperation, in order to save his life, Ji Zi pretended to be a slave and hid to play the piano for fun; Saying that "Ji Zi painted himself as a complete (leprosy) to avoid a fatal disaster", Zhou Wang ordered him to be imprisoned.

Zhou Wuwang was released by the people after he was shut out of business. He was asked how to govern the world and how to get the support of business people. Ji Zi believed that benevolent policies should be implemented and appeasement policies should be used to win the hearts and minds of the people. King Wu kindly comforted him and made him submit to Zhou, but Ji Zi would rather die than surrender and leave Liaodong. Zhou Wuwang was helpless and admired Ji Zi's character, so he agreed to his request, named him Marquis of North Korea, and exempted him from the ceremony. Ji Zi is also very grateful to featuring kindness. Before he left, he wrote an article "Hong Fan" to King Wu. This paper summarizes the experience and lessons of the demise of Yin Shang in detail, and suggests that King Wu should implement benevolent government. Hong Fan is actually a record of Zhou Wuwang's general plan of governing Ji Zi after Yin Ke, and it is also Ji Zi's governing program. In this article, Ji Zi put forward the idea of "democracy" and opposing autocracy.

Later, when Kiko, who claimed to be North Korea, returned to China to pay homage to the Western Zhou Dynasty, she passed by her hometown and sang songs. He saw the once tall and magnificent palace in ruins, desolate and dilapidated, full of millet. In order to express his grief, he wrote a song "Maixiuge". The poem said: "Mai Xiu is getting better and better, and the grain is full of oil, but it is childish and unhappy with me. Mai Xiu is getting embarrassed, and he is childish and not hateful. " The poem goes something like this: "(singing in the field) The ears of wheat have been exposed, and the seedlings in early autumn have been dyed green. You stubborn child, you are blind and naughty if you are not friendly to me. (Singing to the earth) The ears of wheat have been exposed, and the seedlings in early autumn have dyed the earth green. You damn child, what will happen if you don't listen to me! " It vividly described their feelings at that time, and the old people in Yin cried for it. His poems were appreciated and imitated by many literati such as Qu Yuan, Du Fu, Li Yu, Lu You and Xin Qiji. Liu Zongyuan, a great writer in the Tang Dynasty, later wrote a special article praising Ji Zi, especially fully affirming his education and moral character, expressing deep respect.

Another way of saying this is that after Zhou Wuwang destroyed the Shang Dynasty and released Kiko by imperial edict, Ji Zi went west along Qizi and lived in seclusion in the depths of Taihang Mountain in Lingchuan County, Shaanxi Province. Zhou Wuwang also visited Ji Zi. "Lingchuan County Records" and "Shaanxi Tongzhi" contain: "Returning to the mountains, the king of Wu visited the Tao, and he was satisfied with this." Today, there are mountains in Lingchuan, and there are chess-seeking cuis in Kiko's book, full of black and white pebbles, slippery like Go. According to legend, Ji Zi invented Weiqi to play chess with immortals here, hence the name of this mountain. The local people still keep the ancient "occupy the house" chess, and there is an ancient legend that Ji Zi plays chess in this area. There are not only Mouqiling Mountain, but also Jizidong Mountain. It is said that many gray spots were faintly visible on the top wall of Jizi Cave, which were shaped like Go and more like ancient star maps. There were huge stones in ancient ji zi, and huge footprints were left on the stones. It is said that these footprints were also left by Ji Zi.

Ji Zi was buried in Meng County after his death, and was called "Ji Zi's Tomb" by later generations. People on the Korean peninsula have also built temples to commemorate him, and there is still the tomb of the Kiziling in Pyongyang. 1in the autumn of 996, well-known Buddhist and Korean religious figures heard that they went to Zhengzhou for business, and they also made a special trip to Ji Zi Temple in Qixian County to recognize their ancestors and return to their ancestors, paying deep respect.