The story of BA Manzi

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There are also many descriptions of the relationship between Ba and Chu in Chang Yu’s records of the state of Huayang · records of Ba. Since the spring and Autumn period, although Ba and Chu were two big neighboring countries in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River, they were still regarded as barbarian countries in the eyes of the feudal states in the Central Plains. Therefore, Ba and Chu often formed alliances to maintain their respective status and interests. For example, Chu and Ba once jointly attacked the Shenguo state located in Nanyang, Henan Province. In the 16th year of Duke Wen of Lu, they jointly destroyed the Yong state located in Western Hubei (now Zhushan, Hubei). The benefit of the alliance is that both sides have grown stronger. However, Ba and Chu often had conflicts and even fought with each other. For example, when the two sides sent troops to attack Shen, King Wen of Chu shocked the Pakistani army, which led to the rupture of the relationship between Pakistan and Chu. Both Zuozhuan and Huayang annals recorded this event, but the reason was not explained in detail. In a word, Ba people were very angry and sent troops to attack Chu. They defeated the Chu army in Tianjin (now Jiangling, Hubei), and King Wen of Chu died of illness. This was an event that happened in the 18th year of Duke Lu Zhuang (676 BC). In the 18th year of Duke Lu AI (477 BC), the Ba people attacked Chu again and surrounded the Yi city of Chu (now near Xiangyang, Hubei Province). This time, the Ba people were not so lucky. Chu sent three capable generals to defeat the Ba army. These were two major battles between Ba and Chu, and other small frictions may be more. According to the records of the state of Huayang · Ba records, “Ba and Chu attacked each other several times, so they set Jianguan, Yangguan and mianguan”, which truthfully reflects this situation. It is also said that “although Bazi was the capital of Jiangzhou, he ruled Dianjiang, Pingdu, and later Langzhong”. The fact that Bazi moved its capital and established its accompanying capital many times may also be related to the changes in the situation caused by the Ba Chu war. Fighting a war will consume national strength and will do no good to both sides, so the wisest thing to do is still to cherish peace. During the Warring States period, Ba and Chu used marriage to improve the relationship between the two countries. The annals of Huayang · annals of Ba said that “during the period of Zhou Dynasty, the state of BA was in chaos. General Manzi asked him to learn from Chu, and Xu Yisan city. The king of Chu saved Ba”. At that time, Ba might have been attacked by Shu, and there might have been unrest in Ba. BA Manzi, a general of Ba, had no choice but to ask Chu for help. Because of the intermarriage of the royal families of the two countries and the great temptation to acquire the three cities, the king of Chu immediately sent troops to help and soon quelled the unrest in Pakistan. Then the king of Chu asked BA Manzi to keep his promise and cede the three cities. Bamanzi was a loyal and brave Minister of the state of Ba. Of course, he would not give the territory of the state of Ba to the king of Chu, so he killed himself to thank the envoy of Chu. The annals of the state of Huayang, records of Ba, described this in detail: “since the state of BA was at peace, the envoy of Chu invited the city. Man Zi said, ‘by the spirit of Chu, we can overcome the difficulties. We sincerely promise the king of Chu to thank him for his death, and the city can not be obtained!’ he committed suicide and gave the envoy of Chu the first award. The king sighed:” if I can get a minister like Ba man Zi, what can I do with the city! “, which was the above-mentioned ceremony to bury his head; the burial of his body by the state of BA was also the above-mentioned ceremony.” Chang Yu also deeply admired BA Manzi’s heroic behavior and said: “Ruo Manzi is loyal, resolute, honest and vulgar, a famous general in the world, the spirit of Sinai River and Han Dynasty, and the essence of mountains!” It can be said that there is much praise. The story of bamanzi was widely spread in later generations. Volume 61 of song Ben Fang Yu Sheng Lan reprints the account of bamanzi’s deeds in the annals of Huayang state, saying that there is still a bamanzi temple in Shizhou (now Enshi, Hubei Province), and that the Ba people “respect the spirit of scholars”, which shows that “there is a legacy of the righteousness of bamanzi’s descendants during the festival”. Volume 69 of the unified annals of the Ming Dynasty also quoted the deeds of BA Manzi. Volume 66 said that Chu “buried his head in the sun of Jingmen mountain”, and the state of Ba buried him in duting mountain, Qingjiang County, Shizhou. Volume 19 of the annals of places of interest in Sichuan also records that there is Manzi tomb near Zhongzhou. It also says that “King Ba temple is one mile east of the state, and God is general Manzi”. In addition, it is said that there is also bamanzi tomb in Tongyuan gate of Chongqing. All these illustrate the long-term and extensive influence of the bamanzi story described in Chang Yu’s records of the Huayang kingdom.

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