Everyone knows the book Duke of Zhou. You may not have seen it, but you must have heard of it. What's more, take a small bench on the street and in front of the temple, put the Duke of Zhou and the Book of Changes, and charge for divination. So who is the Duke of Zhou here? Can he really interpret dreams? What does it have to do with dream interpretation?
In fact, Duke Zhou in Duke Zhou is a real figure in history. His surnames are Ji Mingdan and Ji Dan, also known as Zhou Gongdan. He is Zhou Chengwang Song Ji's uncle, the fourth son of Zhou Wenwang Jichang and the younger brother of Zhou Wuwang Ji Fa.
Let's be clear: Duke Zhou is a descendant of Ji, whose name is Ji Chang, his father, his brother and nephew. His father Ji Chang succeeded to the throne by his brother Ji Fa, and his nephew Song Ji succeeded to the throne after his brother died. His father and brother are historical archetypes of Ji Chang and Ji Fa in The Romance of Gods. Is it more familiar with the romance of the gods?
Ji Dan, a royal aristocrat, made great contributions to the establishment and governance of the Zhou Dynasty. His father laid the foundation for the future Zhou Dynasty, and his brother destroyed Shang Zhouwang and established the Zhou Dynasty. He is the younger brother of the ruler of the Zhou Dynasty, so others call him Duke Zhou.
Later, after his brother died, his little nephew succeeded to the throne, but at that time, his nephew was too young to manage the government, so the Duke of Zhou did not go to the fief, but stayed to help his nephew Zhou Chengwang Song Ji handle state affairs. For example, when the house was built in the Zhou Dynasty, Duke Zhou's father laid the foundation and Duke Zhou's brother built the house. I wanted my nephew to decorate the house, but he was too young, so Duke Zhou came out to help decorate it.
Duke Zhou assisted Zhou Chengwang in governing the country and made great contributions to the establishment and perfection of the feudal system in the Zhou Dynasty. In addition, Confucius later strongly praised Duke Zhou as a cultural relic, so Duke Zhou enjoyed a lofty position in Confucian culture. Confucius was born in troubled times and thought about the virtue of the Duke of Zhou, so he said, "I no longer dream of the Duke of Zhou", which is a metaphor for the loss of etiquette culture in the Zhou Dynasty. Confucius respected the Duke of Zhou, just as later generations respected Confucius.
Duke Zhou is a frequent figure in Confucius' dreams. In China, where Confucianism has dominated the culture for a long time, Duke Zhou is inevitably directly associated with dreams. Dreams are often called "the dream of the Duke of Zhou" or "the dream of the Duke of Zhou". Therefore, the Duke of Zhou is Zhou Gongdan.
It's like eating a spicy strip called "Tangseng Meat" when I was a child. The reason why it is called "Tangseng Meat" is to expand the popularity of this spicy strip and make it sell well. Duke of Zhou, that is, later generations borrowed the name of Duke of Zhou.