In 1541 BC, Yi Yin, a senior minister of the Shang Dynasty, succeeded Taijia, the son of TAIDING and the eldest grandson of CHENGTANGDI. After Taijia ascended the throne, Yi Yin repeatedly remonstrated that he was "unidentified, tyrannical, disobeying the Tang law and disorderly morality". In the third year of Taijia, Yiyin imprisoned Taijia in Tongguan (now Yanshi, Henan Province) on the outskirts of Wangdu. He was Regent of the country and acted as the emperor. Taijia lived in Tongguan for three years. Under Yiyin's patient guidance, he repented and began to abandon evil and pursue benevolence. Yiyin then welcomed Taijia back to the government. After the restoration of Taijia, it was true that the government was in harmony with the people, the vassals were obedient, and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment. It is said that after Taijia died, Yiyin wrote three chapters of taijiaxun, praising Taijia and respecting him as Taizong. Yiyin was a meritorious official of the Shang Dynasty. He helped Cheng Tang overthrow Xia Jie and establish a political power. He also helped Wai Bing, Zhong Ren and Taijia to establish a great deal of credit.
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| Portrait of Yi Yin |
It is said that Yi Yin, named aheng, was in a humble position. Seeing that Tang was a man of great achievements, he took advantage of the opportunity of Shen's marriage and came to Shang as a servant. Yi Yin is good at cooking. When he arrived in the Shang Dynasty, he worked as a chef for Tang. He used the opportunity to serve Tang to analyze the world situation, count the tyranny of Xia Jie, and offer the great plan to destroy Xia and build a country. Later, he got Tang's trust, and was appointed as "Yin", that is, the right prime minister. From then on, he followed Cheng Tang to destroy Xia and establish Shang, and became a prominent elder in the commercial power. After Taijia, wading took over the throne, and Yiyin became old and no longer participated in the government. In the eighth year of wading, Yiyin died. It is said that he has lived for a hundred years. Wading buried Yiyin ceremoniously with the ceremony of the son of heaven, sacrificed with cattle, sheep and pigs, and personally mourned for three years to repay his contribution to the Shang Dynasty. Yiyin's name can be found in oracle bone inscriptions, which records that he enjoyed the grand sacrifice of the king of Shang. He was the first famous official image in Chinese history, and played an inestimable role in the establishment and consolidation of the Shang Dynasty, especially his political ideas played a decisive role in the whole Shang Dynasty.
