Exploring the origin and legends of the ancient Ba people

Like Shu, Ba is also an ancient tribe. Regarding the origin of the Ba people, the first volume of Chang Qu's "Huayang State Annals" is relatively vague, believing that the descendants of the Yellow Emperor and Gaoyang were Hou Bo, and that Dayu married his wife in Tushan, Jiangzhou (present-day Chongqing), all of which were related to Bashu. It is also said that Bashu participated in the conquest of Zhou by King Wu of Zhou."Since King Wu conquered Yin, he granted him the title of his family to Ba and gave him the title of his son." In other words, the Ba people were already a powerful Fang state during the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, and were knighted by the Zhou Dynasty. "Shang Shu·Mu Shi" records that "Yong, Shu, Qiang, Yi, Wei, Lu, Peng, and Pu people" assisted King Wu in conquering Zhou, but does not mention Ba. Chang Qu said that the Ba people also participated, which may have other evidence or may be a speculation. But in general, there is indeed too little historical evidence, so Chang Qu can only make some brief summaries.

In fact, there are still many legends about the origin of the Ba people and the process of founding the country. For example,"Shan Hai Jing·Hai Hai Jing" says: "There is a Ba State in the southwest. The big fish gave birth to salty birds, and the salty birds gave birth to Chengli. After birth, they gave birth to the Ba people." Scholars usually explain that Da Yan is Fuxi, and that Fuxi and Nuwa are both mythical figures. The Ba people are descendants of Fuxi, which is of course a legend with a strong mythological color. "Shiben·Shi Xing Pian" records the legend of the Ba people's ancestor, Jun Jun, who founded the country, saying that "Jun Jun was the first one, so the birth of the witch came into being. Nanjun Man in Bajun originally had five surnames: Ba, Fan, Yi, Xiang and Zheng, all of which originated from Wuluo Zhongli Mountain."At that time," there was no monarch, but they all served ghosts and gods. The king was named Wu Xiang, surnamed Ba."They gambled against each other and won. Ba's son Wu threw swords and stones into each other and rode a mud boat to float in the water without sinking. Everyone admired," Because we established him together, we are the king of Qi." Later, he led his troops to a place rich in fish and salt by boat and shot dead the goddess of salt water."You are the king of Yi City, and all four surnames are ministers, and the daughter of Qin is still alive in the world." This statement was also recorded in the Later Han Dynasty: Biography of the Southern Barbarians and Southwest Barbarians and the same account was made. He also said,"When you die, your soul will turn into a white tiger. Ba used tigers to drink human blood, so he sacrificed sacrifices to humans. When King Hui of Qin merged with Bazhong, Ba Shi was the head of the barbarian tribes, and the daughter of Qin remained in the world." Although these accounts are very legendary, they also reveal that the early Ba people contacted other tribes to establish the Ba state, and they had the custom of worshiping white tigers. Some scholars believe that the current Tujia people are descendants of the ancient Ba people.

Volume 1 of Chang Qu's "Annals of Huayang State" states that the scope of Ba State "is" Yufu in the east, Bo Road in the west, Hanzhong in the north, and Guizhou and Fu in the south." That is to say, before the Qin Dynasty merged with Bashu, the Ba people lived in the areas of present-day eastern Sichuan, Chongqing, western Hubei, Hanzhong in Shaanxi and northeastern Guizhou. He also said,"When the seven kingdoms were kings, Ba was also king";"Although Ba Zi was the capital of Jiangzhou, he governed Dianjiang, Pingdu, and later Langzhong. Most of the tombs of his former kings are in Zhi." It can be seen that the Ba people have successively established capitals in Chongqing, Hechuan, Langzhong and other places. Judging from other documentary records,"Records of the Historian·Biography of Zhang Yi" quoted "Kuodizhi" as saying that "Bazicheng is located in the south of Wuli in Shijing County, Hezhou, so it is located in Dianjiang County. The capital of Bazi is Jiangzhou, which is in the north of the capital and the boundary of Xizhou." The "Hechuan County Annals" of the Republic of China also contains records that "the south of the current (Hezhou) prefecture governance is the place name Shuinan, which is commonly called Guchengkou, that is, the capital of Bazi Biedu." Why did the Ba people build multiple capital cities? It is speculated that it may have a certain relationship with the development of the Ba people themselves and the many wars between Ba and Chu. For example, Volume 1 of "Huayang Guozhi" says that "Ba and Chu fought each other in numbers, so the Hanguan, Yangguan and Mianguan were established", which is an example.

Judging from archaeological discoveries, there are many important archaeological discoveries in the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River, Qingjiang River Basin, Hanshui River Basin, Jialing River Basin, etc., many of which are related to the ancestors of the Ba ethnic group. This also shows the vast scope of activities of the Ba people and the long history of the Ba people. But unfortunately, the ancient Shu Kingdom had Sanxingdui and Jinsha sites, but no similar large sites have been discovered so far in the ancient Ba Kingdom. Due to the lack of confirmation from large ruins, the origin of the Ba people and the history of the founding of the Ba State have been shrouded in clouds and mist, and they have always been shrouded in an indelible legendary color.

Editor: Yang Xi) .