Post: #1

The founding of the Zhou Dynasty in Ancient China could hardly been more glorious. In 1050BC, King Wu attacked the Shang Dynasty with 50,000 warriors. The despotic Shang ruler defended his capital at Anyang with a huge army of 700,000. However, these soldiers despised their tyrannical king and defected to the side of the Zhou. The Shang palace was burned down, together with the Shang king. His beautiful yet evil wife was decapacitated by King Wu himself. Subsequently, the Zhou claimed the Mandate of Heaven as rightful rulers of China. Of course, one must remember that this is a legend and the Zhou may have become the hegemons of China very differently, but it is a glorious tale nonetheless. All the more shocking the pathetic end of the same dynasty.

In the 8th Century BC, the Zhou kingdom was still dominating Northern China, but it faced a great threat. The "barbarian" steppe peoples just outside its borders were growing in power and numbers. While the Zhou still relied on chariots, these warriors had mastered horseback riding, putting them at a great advantage over their sedentary counterparts. Yet King You of the Zhou was too obsessed with a beautiful woman named Bao Si to care. Despite his efforts to entertain her, she never laughed at his antics. In a desperate last attempt, he lit the alarm fires of the royal capital. In a great display of loyalty, the feudal lords marched to the capital with their armies, urging to defend their king from a non-existent enemy. After the feudal lords discovered they had been subjected to a sad excuse of a prank, Bao Si did indeed laugh at their humiliation.

In 771BC, the Rong, a fierce steppe people from the West, invaded the kingdom and besieged the capital. However, when the alarm fires were lit, no friendly armies came to the rescue. Instead, the Rong conquered the capital and murdered King You, breaking the Zhou forever. As such, one of the most powerful men of the world was toppled, alongside his mighty empire, to what this forum would call "oneitis". Chinese historians would later reprimand the foolish King You for "listening to the words of women".

Post: #2

From what source does this story come? Give us some context by citing the historian or chronicler's name and work.

Post: #3

(07-14-2014 03:06 PM)Rising Sun Wrote:  The founding of the Zhou Dynasty in Ancient China could hardly been more glorious. In 1050BC, King Wu attacked the Shang Dynasty with 50,000 warriors. The despotic Shang ruler defended his capital at Anyang with a huge army of 700,000. However, these soldiers despised their tyrannical king and defected to the side of the Zhou. The Shang palace was burned down, together with the Shang king. His beautiful yet evil wife was decapacitated by King Wu himself. Subsequently, the Zhou claimed the Mandate of Heaven as rightful rulers of China. Of course, one must remember that this is a legend and the Zhou may have become the hegemons of China very differently, but it is a glorious tale nonetheless. All the more shocking the pathetic end of the same dynasty.

decapacitated ? Poor girl, being decapitated is bad enough, but if, on top of that, she got incapacitated : To add insult to injury!

Post: #4

(07-14-2014 03:06 PM)Rising Sun Wrote:  Chinese historians would later reprimand the foolish King You for "listening to the words of women".

I don't think Bao Si said a thing (Misogyny rears its head!)

This was all on King You trying to get the attention of some chick by doing outlandish things.

The game/history lesson I would draw from this is, "Don't be a dancing monkey (king) for some broad who's not feeling you"

WIA

Post: #5

Interesting, I hadn't heard that before. I've noticed a recurring theme in history that when rulers listen to the women around them, bad things often happen. The decline of the Ottoman Empire is very commonly traced to when Suleiman the Magnificent started doing what Roxelana told him to do; the Papacy's most corrupt and embarrassing period known as the saeculum obscurum (Dark Age) occurred in part because a noblewoman and her daughter slept their way into wielding papal authority; Madame de Pompadour's influence over Louis XV contributed to France's massive, kingdom-ending mistake of reshuffling alliances and starting a world war that France couldn't afford to lose (and then did).

Post: #6

Quote:From what source does this story come? Give us some context by citing the historian or chronicler's name and work.

Oh, I got the whole thing from a third party, the Geschichte Chinas (History of China), written by Kai Vogelsang, a professor of Sinology in the University of Hamburg. I was reading it to practice my German and learn about the Middle Kingdom. I think the story comes from the Shijing, one of the "Five Classics".

Quote:decapacitated Undecided ? Poor girl, being decapitated is bad enough, but if, on top of that, she got incapacitated

I thought decapicitation usually entails incapacitation.

Quote:(Misogyny rears its head!)

You have a point there.

Quote:The game/history lesson I would draw from this is, "Don't be a dancing monkey (king) for some broad who's not feeling you"

Especially if you are responsible for an empire and the hundred thousands of lives within it.

Post: #7

(07-15-2014 02:12 PM)Rising Sun Wrote:  

Quote:decapacitated Poor girl, being decapitated is bad enough, but if, on top of that, she got incapacitated

I thought decapicitation usually entails incapacitation.

Unless you are the dullahan, or Mike the Headless Chicken!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_the_Headless_Chicken



Pretty frightening stuff here :
"The dullahan is a headless rider, usually on a black horse who carries his or her own head under one arm. The head's eyes are small, black, and constantly dart about like flies, while the mouth is constantly in a hideous grin that touches both sides of the head. The flesh of the head is said to have the color and consistency of moldy cheese. The dullahan uses the spine of a human corpse for a whip, and their wagon is adorned with funereal objects (e.g. candles in skulls to light the way, the spokes of the wheels are made from thigh bones, the wagon's covering made from a worm-chewed pall) or dried human skin.

There is no way to bar the road against a dullahan – all locks and gates open to them when they approach. They do not appreciate being watched while on their errands, throwing a basin of blood on those who dare to do so (often a mark that they are among the next to die), or even lashing out the watchers' eyes with their whips. They are frightened of gold, and even a single gold pin can drive a dullahan away."

Post: #8

(07-14-2014 04:40 PM)Quintus Curtius Wrote:  From what source does this story come? Give us some context by citing the historian or chronicler's name and work.

I wouldn't know the Western ones, but I read the same story in Chinese history book many years ago as a kid. Possibly it was Records of the Grand Historian by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sima_Qian - he's the most famous Chinese historian; I'm sure you'll be interested in his prose as well as the story & personal suffering behind his writing of the book.

Bao Si's laugh became the literary reference for the power of a beautiful woman's laugh, which could destroy fortresses and kingdoms (the Chinese saying is a lot more brief though). Later dynasties would bring that up to warn the emperor and other high ranking lords about the danger in getting too distracted by female beauty (i.e pedestalising or trying to please them while neglecting royal matters).