Jiang Taigong’s Fishing Platform

　　    It is said that when Jiang Taigong took refuge in the Jinghai area, he had very bad luck and nothing seemed to go his way: when he sold wheat flour in the village, a gust of wind blew it all away; when he returned home and knocked on the door, he accidentally slapped his hand against a nail; when he cursed the heavens, a bird dropped its droppings right into his mouth.

　　    Historical records 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 named Ziya River, and the town is called Ziya Town. Even more interestingly, to the north lies Shangjia Village, mostly inhabited by people surnamed Shang; within the town, many families have the surnames Lü and Jiāng, all claiming to be descendants of Taigong.” In addition, historical texts such as the “Daicheng County Annals,” “Jifu Tongzhi,” and “Yanshan Conglu” also make mention of the fishing platform in Jinghai.

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

　　    Through interviews and research, it has been found that about one kilometer west of Dongziya Village in present-day Jinghai County, along the old course of the Ziya River, there is an earthen mound about three feet high and dozens of zhang wide—that is the fishing platform recorded in the literature. 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 “Fishing Platform Stele Inscription.” The inscription reads: “The platform originally had a pavilion, inside which a statue of Taigong was placed, with a fishing rod and a straw hat, still resembling his appearance as a fisherman. By the second year of the Wanli era (1574), his descendant, the scholar Lü Xiaotai, and others restored it on its original site, expanding the pavilion into a temple.”

　　    Tracing Jiang Taigong’s life story through historical records and stele inscriptions, one can find countless threads of connection.

　　    Jiang Taigong, a native of the East Sea (now Xuchang, Henan Province), originally named Jiang Shang, with the courtesy name Wàng and also known as Zǐyá, is revered by the world as Jiang Taigong. “Records of the Grand Historian: The House of Duke Tai of Qi” describes his biography as follows: “Taigong was well-read and once served under King Zhou. But as King Zhou was tyrannical, he left. He traveled to persuade various lords, met with no success, and finally returned westward to Zhou’s Western Duke.” “Mencius: Li Lou” also records Jiang Taigong’s experiences: “Taigong avoided King Zhou and lived by the Eastern Sea.” From these two accounts, it can be seen that before assisting Zhou’s Western Duke (i.e., King Wen of Zhou), Jiang Taigong first secluded himself by the sea or the Eastern Sea to avoid King Zhou. Later, he sought support from many lords, but none valued him. It was only in his later years that he met Zhou’s Western Duke.

　　    To determine whether Jiang Taigong ever came to Jinghai, one must first clarify whether the “seaside” and “Eastern Sea shore” mentioned in “Records of the Grand Historian” and “Mencius” include the Jinghai area. As is well known, Jinghai is located at the convergence of the “Nine Rivers.” During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, the vast eastern region had not yet formed land, so at that time, the Jinghai area was indeed part of the seashore. “Records of the Grand Historian” refers to the Bohai Sea as “Bo Jie,” while the “Cihai” dictionary states that Bo Jie was part of the ancient Eastern Sea. Therefore, it can be concluded that the “seaside” and “Eastern Sea shore” during the Shang and Zhou periods included what is now the Jinghai area.

　　    Reviewing the historical records, Jiang Taigong was a learned and talented genius. Given King Zhou’s tyranny, his great ambitions could not be realized, so he left to live in seclusion and seek another lord who would appreciate his talents. During the Shang and Zhou periods, the Jinghai area was a remote and rarely visited place, making it an ideal refuge.

　　    Speaking of Jinghai’s remoteness, there is also 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: south of the river was Qi, and north of the river was Yan. Jinghai was then located south of the Yellow River and belonged to 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 led troops north to campaign against the Mountain Rong tribes. After the mission was accomplished, Duke Zhuang of Yan courteously escorted him back to Qi. Starting from the area around present-day Rongcheng in Hebei Province and nearing Cangzhou, they suddenly realized they had crossed into foreign territory.

　　    According to the ritual customs of the time, lords should not escort each other beyond their own borders. Thus, Duke Huan of Qi ceded the area the Duke of Yan had passed through to Yan. This incident shows that the two lords and their large entourage passed through what is now the Jinghai area without anyone realizing they had crossed the border—illustrating just how desolate and confusing the riverways were in this region.

　　    Examining various documents and stele inscriptions, it is clear that multiple sites known as Jiang Taigong’s fishing platform have been discovered across China. In addition to the most famous one at Weixi in Shaanxi, others are located in Xianyang, Xin’an, Licheng, Wuqiao, Nanpi, as well as Ziya Village and Diaotai Village in Jinghai County.

　　    Consulting historical maps of China and examining the locations of these fishing platforms, they are mostly distributed along both sides of the ancient Yellow River course, 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 Weixi in the west. This matches precisely with the record in “Records of the Grand Historian: The House of Duke Tai of Qi,” which states: “(Jiang Taigong) traveled to persuade various lords, met with no success, and finally returned to Zhou’s Western Duke.”

　　    Regarding the question of whether the fishing platforms at Weixi and Jinghai contradict each other, the answer given in the “Fishing Platform Stele Inscription” 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, it was the Wei River that came first; and though the Wei River came later, the Eastern Sea shore (i.e., the fishing platform in Jinghai) actually came first.” According to this interpretation, the fishing platforms at Weixi and Jinghai differ only in sequence, not in authenticity—Jiang Taigong simply did not meet King Wen of Zhou while fishing in Jinghai.