Ancient China · Statesman and Official

Ziwen 子文

Attested BC 664 - BC 637

Passages: 3
Chapters: 1
Histories: 1

Overview

Ziwen was a statesman and Official.

Other names

Type	English	Chinese	Pinyin
Personal name	Gu Yutu	穀於檡	Gu Yutu

Life and dates

Attested activity

BC 664 to BC 637 楚令尹子文之世
Strongly inferred · Book of Han 117, passages 2-4

Family

Ancestor of Ban Yi (班壹)
descendant 之後 · paternal line
Directly stated · Book of Han 117, passages 2, 5-6

Origins and identity

Lineage ancestor of the Ban clan 班氏之先
Directly stated · Book of Han 117, passages 2, 5

Places and affiliations

Polity Chu 楚 · Relation Served
Directly stated · Book of Han 117, passage 2

Events and relationships

Abandoned and tiger nursed
Birth · Newborn
Directly stated · Book of Han 117, passage 3

Source notes

Descendants took surname Ban from Chu word for tiger
Directly stated · Book of Han 117, passage 5
Named Gu Yutu from Chu words for suckling and tiger; courtesy name Ziwen
Directly stated · Book of Han 117, passage 4

References in the histories

Book of Han, Chapter 117Volume 100a: Afterword and Family History 1 · 3 passages

班氏之先，與楚同姓，令尹子文之後也。 The Ban lineage traced its kinship to the house of Chu and claimed descent from the chief minister known as Ziwen.

子文初生，棄於瞢中，而虎乳之。 Newborn Ziwen was abandoned in the wilderness, where a tigress nursed him and spared his life.

楚人謂乳「穀」，謂虎「於檡」，故名穀於檡，字子文。 In Chu speech a mother's milk was "gu" and a tiger was "yutu"; from those words came his personal name, and he received the courtesy name Ziwen.