Where is Chaoge in "The First Part of Investiture of the Gods"?

Recently, as the word-of-mouth of the film "The Legend of the Gods Part I: Chaoge Storm" has reversed and the box office has shown an astonishing growth momentum, people are paying more and more attention to King Zhou of Shang, Daji, Chaoge, etc.

Although the name "Chaoge" is well-known to Chinese people thanks to the ancient mythological novel "Fengshen Yanyi" and related film and television adaptations, most people only know that it is the capital of the Shang Dynasty and do not know where it is. Some even think it is just a fictitious place name.

Poster of "Investiture of the Gods Part I: Chaoge Storm" (Source: China Film and Television Network)

In fact, Chaoge was originally the "secondary capital" of the late Shang Dynasty. It was renamed several times and almost lost in the dust of history. In recent years, archaeological discoveries have finally determined its geographical location.

The capital changed its name several times in the late Shang Dynasty

First of all, let me explain that the "朝" in "朝歌" in "封神第一部" should be pronounced as "zhāo". Influenced by TV series "封神榜" (1990 version) and cartoon "封神榜" (2000 version) and other films and TV series, many people pronounce 朝歌 as "cháo gē".

Chaoge is located in the northern part of present-day Henan Province. It is the main place where the "Fengshen" story takes place and where King Zhou (the last king of the Shang Dynasty, named Yin Shou) lived for a long time, but it was not the capital of the Shang Dynasty.

During the 500 to 600 years of the Shang Dynasty, the capital was moved many times. The seven places recorded in history were Bo, Ao, Xiang, and Yin. The most famous one was Yin. The tenth king of the Shang Dynasty, Pan Geng, moved the capital to Yin (in today's Anyang City, Henan Province). This is the "Pangeng moved to Yin" recorded in junior high school history textbooks. "From the time Pan Geng moved to Yin to the destruction of King Zhou, there was no move of the capital for 273 years," the historical book "Bamboo Annals" written in the Warring States Period recorded. From this, we know that Chaoge was never the capital of the Shang Dynasty.

If it wasn't the capital, why did King Zhou live there? What was it? According to historical records, Chaoge was just a "separate palace" of the Shang Dynasty, in other words, a temporary palace for the king to go on tour. Due to King Zhou's continuous expansion, although Chaoge was used as a secondary capital and an important military base at the time, its political status was even greater than that of the capital Yin. In fact, as King Zhou's extravagant paradise of doomsday revelry, wine pools and meat forests, Chaoge was also the most prosperous city of the Shang Dynasty at that time. "Chaoge night strings are fifty miles long, and eight hundred princes worship Lingshan" is a clear proof of this.

Chaoge topographic map (Source: Guo Moruo's Atlas of Chinese Historical Drafts)

The construction of Chaoge City was originally intended to defend against the Dongyi. Dongyi was a general term used by the Shang people to refer to the eastern tribes such as Xuantu, Lelang, and Gaoli. They were once the biggest threat to the Shang Dynasty. In the middle and late Shang Dynasty, the relationship between the dynasty and the Dongyi deteriorated seriously. Wu Ding, the 22nd Shang King, then built a city in the northern part of present-day Henan Province as a base for attacking the Dongyi and named it "Meiyi". Mei, pronounced mèi, originally meant to wash one's face. In the pre-Qin period, it was an ancient place name or water name, such as "Meiyi". After the Qin and Han Dynasties, there was no record of "Mei" as a place name or water name in historical materials.

More than 100 years after Wu Ding's death, King Zhou liked Meiyi very much and changed its name to "Chaoge". There are two sources for the name: one is that King Zhou took it to commemorate the victory over Dongyi, which means "to welcome the sunrise with a triumphant song"; the other is that there is Chaoge Mountain to the west of Meiyi, and there is Chaoge Village on the mountain, hence the name.

After the fall of the Shang Dynasty, the name Chaoge was used for more than 1,000 years. During the Spring and Autumn Period, Chaoge was the capital of the Wei State for more than 400 years; during the Warring States Period, Chaoge belonged to the Wei State, one of the "Seven Kingdoms of the Warring States Period"; when the King of Western Chu divided the states, Chaoge became the capital of the Yin State. At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, Wang Mang usurped power and believed that "Chaoge is not the right time" (Historical Records: Music Book, meaning that one should read in the morning, not sing), and changed the name of Chaoge to Yage.

After that, with the change of dynasties, Chaoge was renamed Ji County, Qizhou, and Qi County, and gradually faded out of people's sight. After the founding of New China, Qi County was first assigned to Anyang City, Henan Province; in the 1980s, it was assigned to Hebi City, and Chaoge Town was established under it until now. Qi County, which was considered a small county in the 18th tier by netizens, has once again attracted attention due to the performance of "The First Part of the Investiture of the Gods".

Archaeological discoveries are unique

As a famous historical and cultural city in my country's pre-Qin period, although Chaoge has been recorded many times in historical books such as "Records of the Grand Historian", "Bamboo Annals", "Book of Han", and "Jun County Chronicles", there has been controversy about its exact location throughout the ages.

There are three different opinions on the dispute: one is that it is in Qi County, Hebi City; the second is that it is located at the junction of Qi County and Jun County, Hebi City; and the third is that it is in Tangyin County, Anyang City, Henan Province. The first opinion is more popular.

In recent years, with the in-depth research of experts on important archaeological discoveries in Henan Province, the location of the ancient Chaoge City has finally been determined. The first discovery was the excavation of the Lutai site. At the end of the last century, archaeologists excavated a large number of coins, weapons, daily necessities, and architectural remains in the present Hebi New District (i.e. Qijun District). After investigation, it was verified that this was the location of the largest granary of King Zhou of Shang - Lutai. The Lutai site was listed as a key cultural relic protection unit in Henan Province by the Henan Provincial Government in 2000 AD.

Hebi Lutai Ruins (Photo source: Hebi Municipal Government official website)

The second discovery was the unearthed cultural relics such as the stone tablet of King Zhou. At the beginning of this century, villagers dug up several Ming Dynasty stone tablets in Tangzhuang on the bank of the Qi River northwest of the Lutai site. According to experts, Tangzhuang was the location of the imperial palace of Emperor Chaoge. In 2005, the "Liuzhuang Site" was discovered about 5 kilometers northwest of the Lutai site, and more than 300 noble tombs from the Shang Dynasty and the Western Zhou Dynasty were excavated. In 2019, archaeological experts discovered the ancient city wall of the Shang Dynasty between Liuzhuang and the Qi River in Qibin District, Hebi City.

From this, we know that the ancient Chaoge City is located in Qijun District, Hebi City, adjacent to Qi County. The administrative area of ​​Hebi City is shown in the figure below.

Administrative area of ​​Hebi City (Source: Hebi Municipal Government Official Website)

Chaoge City, located in Qijun District, Hebi City, has unique advantages in geography, transportation, and humanities. Chaoge City is surrounded by mountains and rivers, meeting the basic conditions for being the capital of the pre-Qin Dynasty. It is bordered by the continuous Taihang Mountains to the west, the Yellow River to the east, and the Qi River runs through the city. At the same time, Chaoge has convenient transportation and a developed economy. Its bronze ware production and handicrafts were highly developed during the Shang and Zhou dynasties.

Chaoge was the "granary of the world" during the Shang and Zhou dynasties. Within 20 kilometers of the imperial palace, there were four major granaries, including Juqiao, Liuzhai, and Lutai.

Chaoge was one of the larger cities during the Shang and Zhou dynasties. At the end of the Shang Dynasty, Chaoge and the Qi River had a population of more than one million. According to the Records of the Grand Historian, King Wu of Zhou gathered all the princes in the world to rebel against the Shang Dynasty and stationed his troops in Muye (now in Xinxiang, Henan), more than 30 kilometers outside Chaoge. The main force of the Shang Dynasty went on an expedition to the Dongyi, and King Zhou mobilized hundreds of thousands of people overnight to fight. This is the "Battle of Muye" written into the junior high school history textbook.

Muye is only 30 kilometers away from Chaoge (see watermark for image source)

References:

1. Paper "The Transformation of the Ancient Song City", Zhongzhou Ancient and Modern, No. 1, 2007

2. Paper "A Study on the Political Relationship of the Former Residence of King Cheng Tang in Yinxu Chaoge", author Pan Mingjuan, "Central Plains Cultural Studies" 2022 Issue 5

3. Historical books: "Records of the Grand Historian", "Bamboo Annals", "Book of Han", etc.

Author: Wei Deyong, member of Shenzhen Writers Association, Guangdong

Editor: Guru