1
There was a woman. Her name was Baosi—
Baosi was a beautiful woman. Not merely beautiful, but seductive and enchanting. One might even say she was mysterious. Perhaps that was her charm.
Baosi had possessed an air of mystery from the moment she was born.
King Xuan of Zhou was the eleventh ruler from King Wu of Zhou. It was the fortieth year since King Xuan had ascended the throne. By the Western calendar, it was 788 BC. That year, strange occurrences happened one after another, both inside and outside the Zhou palace.
One day, King Xuan was returning to the royal palace after reviewing the army. The streets within the walls of Haojing, the capital, were bustling. Countless pedestrians were coming and going. It was the king’s procession. The passersby on the road knelt down in place and pressed their foreheads to the ground.
But it was strange. Everyone was holding their breath and lying prostrate on the ground, so it should have been quiet, yet noisy sounds kept coming from somewhere.
Without much thought, King Xuan turned his head toward the sound. In a vacant lot across the street, he saw children from within the city gathered together, clapping their hands and singing.
Though he often enjoyed music within the splendid palace, he rarely had the chance to hear the songs of commoners. Feeling curious, King Xuan had his carriage stop. He strained his ears to listen to the children’s song.
The moon is rising,
The sun is about to set.
Bows of mulberry wood and quivers of ji wood—
The state of Zhou is soon to perish.
The songs children sing are called children’s songs. Since ancient times, children’s songs have been pure and clean. But the song being sung by the children on the street now was extremely bizarre. Was it not a song saying that Zhou would perish?
Unlike his initial curiosity, King Xuan’s eyebrows writhed like silkworms. It was a sign that he was furious.
As expected, an icy command fell from King Xuan’s mouth.
“Seize all of those children!”
As the guards ran toward them, the children quickly scattered in all directions and fled. Children are swift. The guards barely managed to catch one child and dragged him before the carriage in which King Xuan was riding. The boy lay prostrate with his forehead touching the ground.
“Who composed the song you children were singing?”
In response to King Xuan’s question, the young boy answered, trembling.
“We do not know, Your Majesty.”
“You do not know?”
“Three days ago, a child in red clothes appeared in the street and taught us the song. We merely learned and sang it without understanding its meaning.”
He did not seem to be lying. King Xuan asked again.
“Where is the child in red clothes now?”
“He only taught us the song and then disappeared somewhere.”
King Xuan fell into thought for a moment, then
“That is enough. Withdraw.”
he waved his hand. Then he called his attendant officials and issued a stern command.
“From now on, if anyone sings this song, regardless of whether they are adult or child, execute them by beheading.”
King Xuan returned to the palace with a heavy heart. Memories of the past kept surfacing in his mind.
More than three hundred years had passed since King Wu of Zhou founded the state. During that time, there had been no lack of incidents, but by and large, they had passed through nine reigns without major upheavals.
But during the reign of the tenth king, King Li of Zhou, an unprecedented rebellion occurred. The people had risen in revolt and attacked King Li. Sensing the crisis, King Li escaped the royal capital and fled to a place called Zhi. Zhi is in the southern part of present-day Shanxi Province, near Huo County. The palace burned, and the capital was devastated.
The revolt subsided, but King Li could not return to the royal capital. A monarchical state without a king was unthinkable. Since it was a hereditary dynasty, the crown prince should have ruled, but at that time the crown prince—that is, King Xuan—was too young to govern. Therefore, the pillars of the Zhou royal house, the Duke of Zhou and the Duke of Shao, jointly administered state affairs.
The period without a king lasted fourteen years. History calls this era the Gonghe Regency. It is said that the name was given because the two prime ministers ruled together in harmony.
There is another theory. When King Li was driven out and vacated the capital, a feudal lord named He, the Earl of the State of Gong, usurped the throne—or entered Haojing to assist—and thus the term Gonghe came into being.
Both have their merits. In any case, there had been a period of fourteen years without a king in the Zhou dynasty. Today, a political system without a king is called a republic, and this term originated from here.
Moreover, the Gonghe Regency holds deep significance in Chinese history. Before the Gonghe Regency, chronology was unclear. But from the Gonghe Regency onward, dates are precise. The royal house officially recorded the reign years. Sima Qian too created a chronology in his writings, and its beginning is from the first year of Gonghe. Precisely 841 BC. All years before that are merely conjecture.
King Li ultimately could not return. He died in exile. Only after his death did the Gonghe administration come to an end, and King Li’s son ascended the throne. He is none other than the current King Xuan of Zhou.
As soon as King Xuan ascended the throne, he devoted all his strength to the revival of the Zhou royal house to forget the painful wounds. For forty years he had done so. Yet that day, he had suddenly heard a song from children in the street saying that Zhou would perish. No matter how hard he tried not to think of it, the nightmare of King Li’s era kept resurrecting itself.
****
The next day, King Xuan was still distraught. The lyrics of the children’s song circled in his head, refusing to leave.
Early in the morning, he went out to the palace, summoned the Three Excellencies and Six Ministers, and held court.
“Yesterday I heard such a children’s song in the street. What do you think of this matter?”
King Xuan discussed this matter with his ministers. Grand Minister of Rites Shao Hu, Grand Steward Zhong Shanfu, and Grand Historian Boyang Fu were wise ministers who had served King Xuan until now.
First, Grand Minister of Rites Shao Hu opened his mouth.
“Since it speaks of bows of mulberry wood and quivers of ji wood, this humble subject believes it is a song prophesying a calamity of bows and arrows in the state.”
“A calamity of bows and arrows?”
Tension crept across King Xuan’s face.
A calamity of bows and arrows meant military action. Was it saying that one of the feudal lords was plotting a rebellion?
‘Who could it be? A feudal lord capable of raising a rebellion…?’
King Xuan’s head began to whirl with complicated thoughts.
At that time, Grand Steward Zhong Shanfu offered a different opinion.
“Bows and arrows signify weapons. This is clearly a warning song about Your Majesty’s plan to raise troops at Taiyuan to strike the barbarians. Even now, I urge you to disband the troops and devote yourself to internal administration.”
It had been the previous year. The Jiangrong of the western border had crossed the frontier and invaded. King Xuan personally led an army to subjugate the Jiangrong but was crushingly defeated at a place called Qianmu. He suffered enormous losses. Afterward, unable to forget this grudge, he had resolved to raise troops at Taiyuan. Taiyuan is present-day Jinyang.
To raise troops, a census had to be taken and military funds secured. A census meant conscription, and military funds meant taxes. Both could only be levied from the people. It was obvious that the people’s livelihoods would become difficult. Grand Steward Zhong Shanfu was precisely worried about this point.
“It is said that a child in red passed on that song; what sort of person is that child?”
King Xuan asked Grand Historian Boyang Fu. Boyang Fu was a diviner. It was still an era when the unity of ritual and government prevailed, and state affairs were decided by divination. His role and influence could not help but be immense.
Grand Historian Boyang Fu answered carefully.
“Baseless words circulating in the streets are called prophecies. When Heaven wishes to warn the king, it commands the Yinghuo Star, and the Yinghuo Star transforms into a child, descends to the earth, composes a prophecy, and spreads it among all the children. This is called a children’s song. A small one merely predicts the fortune of an individual, but a great one concerns the rise and fall of a state. The Yinghuo Star is originally Mars, so its color is red. Today’s children’s song is clearly a warning from Heaven to the King.”
Although their interpretations differed, the opinions were unanimous that something ill would befall the state.
King Xuan’s face grew even more gloomy. He asked his ministers in a trembling voice.
“If I stop raising troops at Taiyuan, halt the household census, and burn all the bows and arrows in the armory, can I prevent this calamity?”
“This subject knows a little of astronomy. This matter will likely occur inside the royal palace. I do not think you need go so far as to burn the bows and arrows. This humble subject suspects that in the future, a woman will bring chaos to this state.”
It was Grand Historian Boyang Fu. Perhaps he was gauging King Xuan’s timidity. It could also be loyal advice to devote energy to internal administration rather than external affairs.
But King Xuan interpreted Boyang Fu’s words differently.
“The concubines and palace ladies currently in the palace are all virtuous women carefully selected. How could there be a calamity caused by a woman?”
“In the children’s song, the sun signifies the king, and the moon belongs to yin. The sun setting and the moon rising means yin energy is waxing while yang energy is waning. This is not an immediate matter but a prophecy of the future. Nevertheless, it is said that supreme sincerity can move Heaven. Your Majesty must cultivate virtue even more from now on to avert the calamity in advance.”
In the end, nothing was decided that day.