Zhong Hui (Shang dynasty)

Zhong Hui was the Minister of the Left for Tang of Shang during Predynastic Shang, the Battle of Mingtiao and the resultant Shang dynasty. He is seemingly unmentioned in oracle bones.

Name Zhong Hui is occasionally named differently across classical texts. Ming dynasty scholar Chen Shiyuan finds several examples where different names are used in the same place as Zhong Hui when discussing who Tang of Shang's Minister of the Left was alongside Yi Yin. Coupled with their similar pronunciations, he therefore concludes that these are variants of the same person. Records of the Grand Historian is found to name him Zhong Lei and Zhong Gui , and Xunzi names him Zhong Kui . He also reports Mencius as an outlier, naming him Lai Zhu , which Zhu Zhaoqi believed to be another name for him and noted such in a commentary.

Given the age of the received Chinese characters in these names, save for zhong , it is likely that none of these names reflect the one used by the historical Zhong Hui. Very few personal names of Shang dynasty individuals are known; most names in general are temple names that were given posthumously for the purpose of ancestor veneration.

Lineage Zhong Hui was a descendant of Xi Zhong of Xia, the Marquis of Pi and a legendary creator of chariots. The Classic of Mountains and Seas traces the ancestry of Xi Zhong to Di Jun, an obscure figure who may be synonymous with Emperor Ku. Another relative, Ji Guang , produced wooden chariots,

Zhong Hui's descendent, Zhong Ji , shows that Zhong Hui's lineage continued ruling Pi into the era of the Zhou dynasty, where they followed Song out of tradition. such as Zuo Zhuan However, the original text is considered lost.

The Tsinghua Bamboo Slips cache preserves myriad illegally excavated bamboo slips and maintains them for study. Among these is Tang dwells in Tangqiu , where Zhong Hui expresses concern for Tang repeatedly going out at night unaccompanied to see a sick Yi Yin. Tang accepts the criticism, but explains that Yi Yin's merit warrants such action, and to not go would be to neglect his own royal duties.

The Announcement of Zhong Hui The Announcement of Zhong Hui was a chapter in the Book of Documents. At some point, the text was lost, which traditional historiography states occurred during the Burning of books and burying of scholars by Qin Shi Huang. This narrative is doubted by modern scholarship, but the received work is a forgery, and the original text as quoted by Zhou-Qin dynasty scholars has not been recovered.

From extant quotations, the text appears to be one of the earliest conceptions of the Mandate of Heaven and Legalist thought. If the text were written by a figure of Predynastic Shang, it would therefore connect these concepts with Shang culture. However, this is unclear. As the Mandate of Heaven is not reflected in oracle bone evidence, what is written here could be an imposition on the Shang made by Western Zhou-era thinkers.

Forged text

Among the first individuals to notice the received Announcement of Zhong Hui was forged was Wu Yu in Shu Bi Zhuan during the Song dynasty, but the text appears to be lost. Zhu Xi would raise suspicions around the same time in A Collection of Conversations of Master Zhu. These suspicions would be proven correct by Mei Zhuo during the Ming dynasty in Shangshu Kaoyi , where specific language is taken and shown to be stitched together from myriad sources. This determination has since stuck, and the original Announcement of Zhong Hui has yet to be found. As classical texts quote it, which predate forgers such as Mei Ze, it is believed that the text did exist.

Quotations The Announcement of Zhong Hui is quoted by several individuals, specifically in the texts Mozi, Zuo Zhuan, and Lüshi Chunqiu.

Mozi quotes what appears to be the same line in all three chapters of "Against Fate" , albeit with slightly different wording each time. Within the quote, Zhong Hui discusses Jie of Xia's crimes, asserting that his claim to the Mandate of Heaven is a false one. 呂氏春秋·恃君覽·驕恣：王曰：『仲虺有言，不穀說之。曰：「諸侯之德，能自為取師者王，能自取友者存，其所擇而莫如己者亡。」今以不穀之不肖也，群臣之謀又莫吾及也，我其亡乎？』 Among feudal lords, those who can choose their own teachers become kings; those who can select friends for themselves survive; and those whose choices are no better than themselves perish.