A Study Of The Legends Of Sage Kings Seen In The Unearthed Literature Of Pre-Qin And Qin-Han Dynasties

Sage king,one of the core concepts of ancient Chinese ideology and culture,was the focus of philosophers’ speeches and politics.It was also a general political and cultural concept in the pre-Qin and Qin-Han dynasties.Materials related to legends of sage kings account for a considerable proportion of the unearthed literature from those periods discovered in China.The title of this thesis is "Legends of Sage Kings," which emphasizes separating this concept from the complex types of ancient historical legends in the pre-Qin and Qin-Han Dynasties.It deems it an entry point for exploring the development of ideology and culture in that era.Thus,it is committed to discussing the development and evolution of the ideological and cultural concepts related to the legend of the sage kings in those periods and trying to explore the new knowledge and unique value provided by the unearthed literature.Therefore,this thesis discusses the emergence of legends of sage kings under the humanism trend of Western Zhou and the establishment of legends of deceased kings as legends of sage kings in the Spring and Autumn,and Warring States periods.It analyzes the development process of the legends of the sage kings of Yao,Shun,and Yu in the unearthed literature centered on "legends of abdication" during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States period.Finally,it manifests the integration of various legends of sage kings in constructing a unified imperial system from the late Warring States period to the Qin-Han Dynasties and the formation of the unified genealogy of sage kings in the Han Dynasty.The thesis draws the following conclusion through the research on the above.The legends of the sage kings originated from the Zhou people’s record of the historical legends of the deceased founding kings.When the Shang and Zhou regimes alternated,the Zhou people incorporated reflections on the historical lessons of Yin Shang’s extinction in the construction of ruling legitimacy.The concept of the "mandate of heaven" was transformed in this process,and the achievements and moral qualities of the founding kings of the Western Zhou Dynasty were recognized.Previously,"sage" emphasized the perception of the absolute authority of heaven and the ability to communicate with the gods.However,the king who"connected with the gods and became sage" did not yet have the significance of the legends of the sage kings.In the unearthed literature and handed down records of the Western Zhou Dynasty,the shifts from ghosts and gods to human affairs of Zhou people’s thinking are observed.The "virtue" of the former kings has become the evidence of the transfer of destiny and the guarantee of the legitimacy of the rule.The legends of the sage kings were born under this change.The Zhou people wrote historical legends about the founding kings matching their destiny with virtue.During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period,the legend of the ancient kings of the Western Zhou Dynasty,represented by King Wen,King Wu,and Duke of Zhou,was further expanded in terms of thought and content and became an essential part of the orthodoxy of the sage kings.Intellectuals turned their attention to the ancient history of the sage kings represented by Yao,Shun,and Yu.during the decline of royalty and the turmoil in the society of the alternation of the Western and Eastern Zhou.Moreover,the legend of the ancient history of the sage kings centered on the three generations of sage kings,Yao,Shun Yu,Tang,King Wen,and King Wu,caught the attention of hundreds of schools of thought.The unearthed literature such as The Way of Tang Yu and The Rong Cheng Shi present the existence of the " Abdication Theory" that advocated the abdication system in the middle and early Warring States Period.The big difference reflects the leap in the legend of Yao,Shun,and Yu from advocating"advocating the virtuous" and "ruling by virtue" to advocating abdication.The legend of the abdication of Yao,Shun,and Yu was a rewriting of a widespread ancient historical memory during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.Its core was the creator’s ideology and political ideals,which reflected the projection of real social thoughts into historical understanding.With the changes in social reality in the middle and late Warring States period,the philosophers’ narration of the legends of the sage kings demonstrated the reconciliation of the abdication system and the hereditary system and the criticism of the abdication theory.The Warring States Period Confucian scholars,represented by Mencius and Xunzi,proposed new interpretations of the legends of the three dynasties of ancient history to re-support their own ideology and political ideals,showing a stronger practical orientation.The development and transformation process of the legends of the sage kings Yao,Shun,and Yu reflects that the essential attribute of the legends of the sage kings during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period is a kind of "practical history".Since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period,the "ethical authority"and "political authority" was separated by the "inclusiveness of royalty," Therefore.there were two narrative orientations of " ethical authority " and " political authority " in ancient history legends under the concept of "sage king legends." The content of the lineage of the Chu State in the unearthed literature proved the legendary attributes of the ancestors of the ancient emperors and kings in the lineages of various ethnic groups during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.In order to achieve political goals,the various princes attached themselves to the ancestors of the sage kings,and they reconstructed the legends of the lineage.Finally,these sage kings’ legends were gradually integrated into the imperial lineage of the bloodline in the unification in the late Warring States period.This process reflected people’s concern for "political authority" when they employed the legends of ancient sage kings in ancient history.When ancient philosophers demonstrated their ideas and theories,they reflected on cutting,selecting,and rewriting the ancient historical memory by the "ethical authority" based on speeches and constructions of the legends of the sage kings.With the strengthening of the trend of unification from the late Warring States period to the Qin and Han Dynasties and the establishment of the feudal autocratic monarchy system,the"ethical authority" of the sage kings of the philosophers merged with the gradually integrated imperial system of the Great Unity.The resulting lineage of the Great Unity of the Sage Kings was formed in the Qin and Han Dynasties,and it was gradually improved and solidified It became the guarantee of legitimacy and the highest political ideal of the feudal regime.