Hou Ji (后稷) | 24 Histories

Overview

Hou Ji was an Ancestor of Zhou and God of Agriculture.

Other names

Type	English	Chinese	Pinyin
Personal name	Zhouqi	周棄	Zhōu Qì
Alternate name	Houji clan
Epithet	Prince Millet

Life and dates

Attested activity

唐、虞之世
Directly stated · History of Jin 127, passage 9
legendary antiquity
Directly stated · Book of Chen 24, passage 24; Book of Han 20, passage 12; Book of Han 22, passage 13; Book of Han 26, passages 8, 250; Book of Han 67, passage 191; Book of Han 75, passage 179; Book of Han 82, passage 154; Book of Han 99, passage 67; Book of Han 117, passage 111; Book of Later Han 30, passage 143; Book of Later Han 32, passage 84; Book of Later Han 110, passage 66; Records of the Grand Historian 1, passages 211, 219; Records of the Grand Historian 2, passages 20, 34; Records of the Grand Historian 3, passage 73; Records of the Grand Historian 13, passages 38, 256; Records of the Grand Historian 36, passage 181; Records of the Grand Historian 99, passage 11; History of Song 107, passage 190; Book of Song 55, passage 46; New Book of Tang 12, passages 162, 241, 289; Book of Zhou 23, passages 152, 409
legendary antiquity
Dated from the passage context · Old History of the Five Dynasties 143, passage 175
BC 195 汉兴八年
Directly stated · Book of Later Han 110, passage 73

Family

Immediate relationships attested in the translated histories.

Ancestor of Gong Liu (公劉)
ancestor 先 · paternal line
ancestral founder before Gong Liu 後稷 · paternal line
Strongly inferred · Records of the Grand Historian 99, passages 11-12; Book of Han 67, passage 192
Child of Gaoxin (高辛)
father 父
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 13, passage 88
Parent of Buzhuo (不窋)
fathered 生 · paternal line
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 13, passage 264
Child of Emperor Ku (帝俈)
fathered 生 · paternal line
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 13, passage 256
Child of Jiang Yuan (姜原)
mother 母
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 13, passage 54

Kinship Role descendants · became Zhou; destroyed by King Zhao of Qin · Quantity unknown
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 36, passage 181
Kinship Role fathers · Quantity traditions disagree: one account says he had a father, another says none · [object Object]
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 13, passage 43

Key source chapters

Origins and identity

Descent descendant of the Yellow Emperor 黃帝子孫 · Ancestor Person Id Yellow Emperor (黃帝)
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 13, passage 67

Career and standing

agricultural minister 后稷
Directly stated · Book of Han 26, passage 8
Hou Ji / lord of grain 后稷
Appointed · Authority Emperor Shun (帝舜)
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 1, passage 219
Great Farmer 大農
Appointed
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 13, passage 59
minister of agriculture 稷
Appointed
Directly stated · History of Jin 127, passage 9
added fief of a hundred li 益封之百里
Enfeoffed · Authority Emperor Yao (帝堯)
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 13, passage 45

Works and attributed material

Lingxing cult 灵星祠
Relation Paired deity of
Directly stated · Book of Later Han 110, passages 73-74

Events and relationships

Appointed amid famine
Appointment · Appointee
Directly stated · History of Jin 127, passage 9
Began furrow fields
Agricultural · Originator
Directly stated · Book of Han 26, passage 250
Born from footprint conception
Birth · Subject
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 13, passages 41, 54
Cited as model or warning
AD 544 大統十年 · Political · Exemplar · Mode document Source Person Id Su Chuo (蘇綽)
Directly stated · Book of Zhou 23, passage 152
Followed vessel rule
Ritual · Recipient · Other Great Altar of Grain 太稷
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 12, passage 195
Joined in good
Political · Counselor · With Emperor Yao (帝堯), Emperor Shun (帝舜)
Directly stated · Book of Han 22, passage 13

Show 13 more source-backed claims

Joined in good
Political · Minister · With Yao (堯), Shun (舜)
Directly stated · Book of Han 20, passage 12
Paired with
Ritual · Associated deity · With Divine Farmer (神農) · Occasion auspicious hai day 吉亥
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 12, passage 166
Paired with
Ritual · Associated deity · Other altar of grain 稷
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 12, passage 165
Positioned east of altar
Ritual · Recipient · Occasion wax sacrifice 蜡祭
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 12, passage 162
Prescribed offering vessels
Ritual · Recipient
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 12, passage 241
Received libations
Ritual · Recipient · With Five Officials, Five Stars, three chronograms 五官、五星、三辰
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 12, passage 185
wax sacrifice with two directional calves 蜡祭方以犢二
Ritual · Honoree · Received wax sacrifice
Directly stated · New Book of Tang 12, passage 289
Supplied food
Relief · Supplier
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 2, passage 34
Relation Minister of · Person Emperor Yao (帝堯)
Directly stated · Book of Han 22, passage 13; Book of Han 117, passage 111
Relation Minister of · Person Emperor Shun (帝舜)
Directly stated · Book of Han 22, passage 13
Relation Minister of · Person Yao (堯)
Strongly inferred · Book of Han 75, passage 179
Relation Minister of · Person Shun (舜)
Directly stated · Book of Han 26, passage 8
Relation Minister of · Person Shun (舜)
Directly stated · Book of Han 117, passage 111

Assessments and attributes

Assessment no minister worthier than Houji · Mode quotation Speaker Sima Xiangru (司馬相如)
Directly stated · Book of Han 67, passage 191
Assessment worthy talents · Mode named-source-report Speaker Master Chu (褚先生)
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 13, passage 59

Source notes

Historicity legendary
Directly stated · Book of Chen 24, passage 24; Book of Han 26, passages 8, 250; Book of Han 75, passage 179; Book of Han 117, passage 111; Book of Later Han 30, passage 143; Book of Later Han 110, passage 66; History of Jin 127, passage 9; Records of the Grand Historian 1, passage 211; Records of the Grand Historian 2, passage 2; Records of the Grand Historian 3, passage 73; Records of the Grand Historian 99, passage 11; New Book of Tang 12, passages 162, 241, 289
Surname Ji bestowed; Ji means the root 姓之曰姬氏。姬者，本也
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 13, passages 59-60
From Qi 棄 · To Hou Ji 后稷
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 1, passage 219

References in the histories

Search passages

History

60 passages

Book of Chen, Chapter 24Volume 24: Zhou Hongzheng; Yuan Xian · 1 passage

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夫以廟堂、汾水，殊途而同歸，稷、契、巢、許，異名而一貫，出者稱為元首，處者謂之外臣，莫不內外相資，表裏成治，斯蓋萬代同規，百王不易者也。 Temple and Fen River were different roads to the same end; Ji, Qi, Chao, and Xu were different names for the same principle. Those who served at court were called chiefs; those who withdrew were outer ministers. Inner and outer always supported each other until government was whole. That was the rule for all ages, unchanged by the hundred kings.

Book of Han, Chapter 20Table of Ancient and Modern Persons · 1 passage

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傳曰：譬如堯舜，禹、稷、镨與之為善則行，鯀、讙兜欲與為惡則誅。 As the Tradition says: take Yao and Shun. When Yu, Ji, and Xie joined them in doing what was right, those policies were put into effect; when Gun and Huan Dou sought to join them in wrongdoing, they were punished to death.

Book of Han, Chapter 22Volume 20: Prominent People from the Past Until the Present · 1 passage

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傳曰：譬如堯舜，禹、稷、禼與之為善則行，鮌、讙兜欲與為惡則誅。 As the Tradition says: take Yao and Shun. When Yu, Ji, and Xie joined them in doing what was right, it was carried out; when Gun and Huan Dou sought to join them in wrongdoing, they were executed.

Book of Han, Chapter 26Volume 24a: Treatise on Trade 1 · 2 passages

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堯命四子以「敬授民時」，舜命后稷以「黎民祖飢」，是為政首。 Yao ordered the Four Sons to "reverently give the people the seasons," and Shun charged Houji with the saying that "the common people first suffered hunger"; these matters stood at the head of government.

后稷始甽田，以二耜為耦，廣尺深尺曰甽，長終畝。 The text traces furrow agriculture to Houji with paired-plow technique and fixed furrow dimensions.

Book of Han, Chapter 67Volume 57b: Sima Xiangru · 2 passages

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因斯以談，君莫盛於堯，臣莫賢於後稷。 Judging by that text, no ruler surpassed Yao and no minister equaled Houji.

後稷創業於唐，公劉發跡於西戎，文王改制，爰周郅隆，大行越成，而後陵遲衰微，千載亡聲，豈不善始善終哉！ Houji began the work under Tang, Gong Liu raised the clan among the western Rong, King Wen reshaped the rites, and Zhou climbed to its zenith; their grand achievement was fulfilled, then slowly waned until a thousand years of silence followed—yet that is still what we call beginning well and ending well!

Book of Han, Chapter 74Volume 64a: Yan, Zhu, Wuqiu, Zhufu, Xu, Yan, Zhong, Wang, and Jia 1 · 1 passage

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臣聞周德始乎後稷，長於公劉，大於大王，成於文、武，顯於周公，德澤上昭，天下漏泉，無所不通。 The virtue of Zhou began with Hou Ji, swelled through Duke Liu and the Great King, ripened under Wen and Wu, and shone through the Duke of Zhou until grace soaked the realm like water from a spring.

Book of Han, Chapter 75Volume 64b: Yan, Zhu, Wuqiu, Zhufu, Xu, Yan, Zhong, Wang, and Jia 2 · 1 passage

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故世平主聖，俊艾將自至，若堯、舜、禹、湯、文、武之君，獲稷、契、皋陶、伊尹、呂望，明明在朝，穆穆列布，聚精會神，相得益章。 Thus, in an age of peace under a sage ruler, outstanding elders come of their own accord. Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, Kings Wen and Wu obtained the service of Hou Ji, Xie, Gao Yao, Yi Yin, and Lü Wang. Brilliant at court and solemn in their ranks, they joined their finest insights and magnified the glory of ruler and minister alike.

Book of Han, Chapter 76Volume 65: Dongfang Shuo · 1 passage

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譬若以周、邵為丞相，孔丘為御史大夫，太公為將軍，畢公高拾遺於後，弁嚴子為衛尉，皋陶為大理，後稷為司農，伊尹為少府，子贛使外國，顏、閔為博士，子夏為太常，益為右扶風，季路為執金吾，契為鴻臚，龍逢為宗正，伯夷為京兆，管仲為馮翊，魯般為將作，仲山甫為光祿，申伯為太僕，延陵季子為水衡，百里奚為典屬國，柳下惠為大長秋，史魚為司直，蘧伯玉為太傅，孔父為詹事，孫叔敖為諸侯相，子產為郡守，王慶忌為期門，夏育為鼎官，羿為旄頭，宋萬為式道候。」 Imagine the Duke of Zhou and the Duke of Shao as your chancellors; Confucius as chief censor; the Grand Duke as commander; Duke Bi Gao as court remonstrant; Bian Zhuangzi as captain of the guard; Gao Yao as chief judge; Hou Ji as minister of agriculture; Yi Yin as palace treasurer; Zigong as foreign envoy; Yan Hui and Min Ziqian as court scholars; Zixia as master of rites; Yi as western capital intendant; Zilu as capital commandant; Xie as master of guest ceremonies; Guan Longpeng as keeper of the imperial genealogy; the minister Boyi as metropolitan governor; Guan Zhong as northern capital intendant; Lu Ban as chief engineer; Zhong Shanfu as palace chamberlain; the Earl of Shen as master of the horse; Prince Jizi of Yanling as keeper of parks and waters; Baili Xi as commissioner for dependent peoples; Liuxia Hui as chamberlain to the empress; Shi Yu as censor of conduct; Qu Boyu as grand tutor; Kong Fu as supervisor of the heir apparent's household; Sunshu Ao as chancellor to the feudal lords; Zichan as commandery governor; Prince Qingji as a palace gate guard; Xia Yu as cauldron officer; Yi the Archer as vanguard officer; and Song Wan as road-clearing scout."

Book of Han, Chapter 82Volume 71: Jun, Shu, Yu, Xue, Ping and Peng · 1 passage

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夫孝子善述人之志，周公既成文、武之業而製作禮樂，修嚴父配天之事，知文王不欲以子臨父，故推而序之，上極於後稷而以配天。 A true son carries on his forebears' purpose. The Duke of Zhou, having finished the work of Kings Wen and Wu, composed the rites and music and set his father King Wen beside heaven; knowing that a living son must not overshadow his father, he pushed the line back through the ancestors to Hou Ji so that Hou Ji might share heaven's honor.

Book of Han, Chapter 99Volume 87b: Yang Xiong 2 · 1 passage

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天下之士，雷動雲合，魚鱗雜襲，鹹營於八區，家家自以為稷、契，人人自以為咎繇，戴縰垂纓而談者皆擬於阿衡，五尺童子羞比晏嬰與夷吾，當塗者入青雲，失路者委溝渠，旦握權則為卿相，夕失勢則為匹夫； Scholars swarm like thunderheads—layer on layer they crowd the eight circuits, every house fancying itself the line of Ji and Xie, every man a second Gao Yao; anyone in cap and ribbons plays at being Yi Yin, and boys barely five feet tall scorn to mention Yan Ying or Guan Zhong. Catch favor and you ride the clouds; miss your footing and you lie in the gutter—minister at dawn, nobody at dusk.

Book of Han, Chapter 117Volume 100a: Afterword and Family History 1 · 1 passage

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臮于稷𢍆，咸佐唐虞，光濟四海，奕世載德，至于湯武，而有天下。 Through ministers such as Hou Ji and Xie the virtue of Yao and Shun spread across the seas, generation on generation, until Tang of Shang and Wu of Zhou inherited the whole realm.

Book of Later Han, Chapter 30Volume 27: Biographies of Xuan, Zang, Two Wangs, Du, Guo, Wu, Cheng, Zheng, Zhao · 2 passages

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明年，大議郊祀制，多以為周郊後稷，漢當祀堯。 The next year the court debated suburban sacrifice: most argued that since the Zhou honored Hou Ji at the outer altars, Han should honor Yao.

林獨以為周室之興，祚由後稷，漢業特起，功不緣堯。 Du Lin alone argued that Zhou rose through the virtue of Hou Ji, whereas Han's mandate sprang from its own founders, not from Yao's line.

Book of Later Han, Chapter 32Volume 28b: Biography of Feng Yan · 2 passages

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追周棄之遺教兮，軼范蠡之絕跡。 I follow the grain god's ancient lesson and leave Fan Li's track behind.

思唐、虞之晏晏兮，揖稷、契與為朋； I dwell on the calm of Yao and Shun's age and would take Hou Ji and Xie as my companions;

Book of Later Han, Chapter 110Volume 99: Rituals and Worship Part Three · 5 passages

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稷者，五谷之长也。」 Ji is chief among the five grains."

烈山氏之子曰柱，能植百谷疏，自夏以上祀以为稷，至殷以柱久远，而尧时弃为后稷，亦植百谷，故废柱，祀弃为稷。 Lie Mountain’s son Zhu, who grew every crop, had been Ji until Yin times; then Qi, Yao’s Minister of Millet, replaced the obsolete Zhu.

故句龙配食于社，弃配食于稷。 Thus Goulong is paired with She and Qi with Ji.

汉兴八年，有言周兴而邑立后稷之祀，于是高帝令天下立灵星祠。 Han’s eighth year saw a memorial likening Zhou’s capital cult of Hou Ji to Han’s need; Gaozu then ordered Lingxing shrines throughout the realm.

言祠后稷而谓之灵星者，以后稷又配食星也。 The name Lingxing (“spirit star”) attached to Hou Ji because he shared offerings with a star.

History of Jin, Chapter 127Volume 127 Biographies 65: Xiao You, Wendihanwolubu, Chen Yan, Liu Yu, Meng Xing, Wang Zhen, Liu Zheng, Yin Yi, Chu Chengliang, Wang Qufei, Zhao Zhi, Du Shisheng, Hao Tianting, Xue Jiyuan, Gao Zhongzhen, Zhang Qian, Wang Rumei, Song Ke, Xin Yuan, Wang Yuke · 1 passage

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然以唐、虞之世，「黎民阻饑」不免以命稷，「百姓不親、五品不遜」不免以命契，以是知順成之不可必，猶孝友之不易得也。 Even in the age of Tang and Yu, when "the people were beset by hunger," Ji had to be put in charge of agriculture; when "the common folk were estranged and the five bonds of kinship were in disorder," Qi had to be entrusted with education — which shows that a bountiful harvest cannot be taken for granted any more than filial piety and brotherly devotion can be secured at will.

Old History of the Five Dynasties, Chapter 143Volume 143: Treatises 5 Rites 2 · 1 passage

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繼周者須崇後稷，嗣漢者必奉高皇，將啟嚴祠，當崇茂典。 He who continues Zhou must honor Hou Ji; he who succeeds Han must serve the High Emperor—about to open solemn sacrifice, the abundant canon should be honored.

Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 1Annals of the Five Emperors · 3 passages

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而禹、皋陶、契、后稷、伯夷、夔、龍、倕、益、彭祖自堯時而皆舉用，未有分職。 Yu, Gao Yao, Qi, Hou Ji, Boyi, Kui, Long, Chui, Yi, and Peng Zu had served since Yao’s day without fixed portfolios.

禹拜稽首，讓於稷、契與皋陶。 Yu kowtowed and tried to yield to Ji, Qi, and Gao Yao.

舜曰：「棄，黎民始饑，汝后稷播時百穀。」 Shun told Hou Ji, “The black-haired people are beginning to hunger—sow the hundred grains in their seasons.”

Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 2Annals of Xia · 4 passages

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