Jiang Taigong’s Fishing Platform

Jiang Taigong’s Fishing Platform

Many beautiful legends are told in Jinghai, but the oldest may well be that of Jiang Taigong’s fishing platform.

Legend has it that when Jiang Taigong took refuge in the Jinghai area, he had particularly bad luck and nothing seemed to go his way: when he sold wheat flour in the village, a strong wind blew it all away; when he returned home and knocked on the door, he happened to hit his hand on a nail; and when he cursed the heavens, a bird dropped its droppings right into his mouth.

Historical records do indeed document the existence of Jiang Taigong’s fishing platform in Jinghai County.

The Republican-era *Jinghai County Annals* states: “In the western part of the county lies Ziya Town, which is said to be the place where Jiang Taigong fished. Hence the river is called the Ziya River, and the town is called Ziya Town. Even more remarkably, to the north lies Shangjia Village, where many residents have the surname Shang; within the town, many have the surnames Lü and Jiāng, all of whom claim to be descendants of Taigong.” In addition, historical texts such as the *Daicheng County Annals*, the *Jifu Tongzhi*, and the *Yanshan Conglu* also mention the fishing platform in Jinghai.

So, where exactly is Jiang Taigong’s fishing platform? What does it look like today?

Through investigation, it was found that about one kilometer west of Dongziya Village in present-day Jinghai County, there is an earthen mound about three feet high and several dozen zhang wide, located on the old course of the Ziya River. This is the fishing platform recorded in the historical texts. During the Ming Dynasty, a Temple of Taigong was built on the fishing platform. In the Kangxi era of the Qing Dynasty, a stone stele was erected, inscribed with the *Record of the Fishing Platform Stele*. The inscription reads: “The platform originally had a pavilion, with a statue of Taigong inside, holding a fishing rod and wearing a straw hat, just as he appeared when he was a fisherman. By the second year of the Wanli era (1574), his descendant, the tribute student Lü Xiaotai, and others renovated the site on its original foundation, expanding the pavilion into a temple.”

Tracing the origins of Jiang Taigong’s life through historical records and inscriptions reveals countless threads of connection.

Jiang Taigong, a native of the East Sea (present-day Xuchang, Henan Province), was originally named Jiang Shang, with the courtesy name Wàng and also known as Zǐyá. He is revered by the world as Jiang Taigong. The *Records of the Grand Historian · The House of Duke Tai of Qi* describes his biography as follows: “The Duke was well-read and once served under King Zhou. But as King Zhou was tyrannical, he left. He tried to persuade various lords but met with no success, and eventually returned west to serve Ji Chang, the Earl of the West.” The *Mencius · Li Lou* also records Jiang Taigong’s experiences: “The Duke avoided King Zhou and lived by the Eastern Sea.” From these two accounts, it can be seen that before assisting Ji Chang (later known as King Wen of Zhou), Jiang Taigong first hid by the sea or the Eastern Sea to avoid King Zhou. Later, he sought refuge with many lords but was never valued. It was only in his later years that he met Ji Chang.

To determine whether Jiang Taigong ever came to Jinghai, one must first clarify whether the “seaside” and “Eastern Sea coast” mentioned in the *Records of the Grand Historian* and the *Mencius* include the Jinghai area. As is well known, Jinghai is located where the “Nine Rivers” converge, and during the Shang and Zhou dynasties, much of its eastern region had not yet emerged from the sea. Therefore, the Jinghai area at that time was indeed part of the seashore. The *Records of the Grand Historian* refers to the Bohai Sea as “Bo Jie,” and the *Cihai* (an encyclopedic dictionary) states that Bo Jie was part of the ancient Eastern Sea. Thus, it can be concluded that the “seaside” and “Eastern Sea coast” during the Shang and Zhou periods included what is now the Jinghai area.

Reviewing historical records, Jiang Taigong was a learned and talented genius. Given King Zhou’s tyranny, his great ambitions could not be realized, so he went into seclusion, wandered elsewhere, and sought a worthy lord. During the Shang and Zhou periods, the Jinghai area was a remote and sparsely populated place, making it an ideal refuge.

Speaking of Jinghai’s remoteness, there is a famous story from the Spring and Autumn period. At that time, the states of Qi and Yan were neighbors, with the Yellow River serving as their boundary: the area south of the river belonged to Qi, while the area north belonged to Yan. Jinghai was located south of the Yellow River and thus was part of Qi.

In the 23rd year of Duke Huan of Qi’s reign (663 BCE), he responded to a request from Duke Zhuang of Yan and launched a northern campaign against the Mountain Rong tribes. After the mission was accomplished, Duke Zhuang of Yan respectfully escorted him back to Qi. Starting from the present-day Rongcheng area in Hebei Province, they had almost reached Cangzhou when they realized they had crossed into another state.

According to the ritual protocol of the time, lords did not escort each other beyond their own borders. As a result, Duke Huan of Qi ceded the territory they had passed through to Yan. This incident shows that neither the two lords nor their large entourage noticed they had crossed the border while passing through what is now the Jinghai area, highlighting the desolation and complex waterways of the region.

Examining various historical documents and inscriptions, it is found that Jiang Taigong’s fishing platforms have been discovered in multiple locations across China. In addition to the most famous one by the Wei River’s Xīxī Stream in Shaanxi, there are also sites in Xianyang, Xin’an, Licheng, Wuqiao, Nanpi, as well as Ziya Village and Diaotai Village in Jinghai County.

Flipping through ancient Chinese historical maps and examining the locations of these fishing platforms, it is evident that they are mostly distributed along both sides of the old course of the Yellow River, where lords were concentrated during the Shang and Zhou periods. These sites form an arc stretching over a thousand kilometers from Jinghai in the east to Xīxī Stream in the west. This aligns perfectly with the *Records of the Grand Historian · The House of Duke Tai of Qi*, which states: “(Jiang Taigong) traveled to persuade various lords but met with no success, and eventually returned to serve Ji Chang, the Earl of the West.”

Regarding the question of whether the fishing platforms at Xīxī Stream and Jinghai contradict each other, the answer provided in the *Record of the Fishing Platform Stele* seems quite reasonable: “Later, the dream of the flying bear came true, and he met King Wen by the Wei River, where he was supported and rose to prominence. Thus, although he later brought prosperity to Zhou, the Wei River came first; and although the Wei River came later, the Eastern Sea coast (i.e., the fishing platform in Jinghai) actually came first.” According to this interpretation, the fishing platforms at Xīxī Stream and Jinghai differ only in sequence, not in authenticity—Jiang Taigong simply did not meet King Wen while fishing in Jinghai.