Yi Yin surnamed Yi, named Zhi. His mother lived in Yishui (now Yihe in Luoyang), so he took the surname "Yi"."Yin" was an official position granted to him by Shang Tang, equivalent to the prime minister. Later generations called him Yi Yin.
One day in 1649 B.C., a female slave who lived by the Yi River (now the Yi River in Luoyang) went to Kongsang (now the eastern part of Henan Province and the western part of Shandong Province) to pick mulberry leaves. She found a baby crying on the ground and brought it back to the king of Youshen Kingdom (Youshen Kingdom, Minquan County, Shangqiu City, Henan Province). The king ordered the slave chef to raise him. This was Yi Zhi.
When Yi Zhi grew up, he was diligent and studious. He knew astronomy, geography, human affairs, and Yin and Yang. His attainments in cooking, philosophy, politics, economics, military, medicine, and so on were unmatched. He had solved many difficult problems for people and was very famous.
When Tang, the leader of the Shang tribe, heard about it, he ran to see Yi Zhi. Yi Zhi cooked a serving of swan soup for Shang Tang. After Shang Tang ate it, his eyes lit up and he said,""I've never tasted such good soup before. How did you make it?”
Yi Zhi smiled and said," Your country is still small. It's impossible for everyone to have such delicious food. If he could get the world and become the emperor, it would be fine. The animals in the water smelled fishy, the carnivorous animals smelled smelly, and the herbivorous animals smelled fishy. Whether it was the stench or the deliciousness, there was a reason for it. The essence of taste was in the water. The five flavors of sweet, sour, bitter, spicy, and salty, as well as water, wood, and fire, all determined the taste. After cooking nine times, the taste would also change nine times. The temperature was very important. Sometimes the fire was big and sometimes the fire was small. Through the different speed of the fire, the fishy smell could be eliminated. Only in this way would the quality of the food not be lost. The taste could not be separated from sweet, sour, bitter, spicy, and salty. As for what to put in first and how much to use, he would mix these seasonings together according to his own taste. As for the changes in the cauldron, they were even more subtle and could not be explained in a few words. To accurately grasp the subtle changes of food, one had to consider the effects of the transformation of yin and yang and the changes of the four seasons on food. Only by doing so could the food be stored for a long time without spoiling, cooked but not too rotten, sweet but not too sweet, sour but not too sour, salty but not too bitter, spicy but not too spicy, light but not too thin, fat but not too greasy.
"Managing a country is like cooking delicacies. You should know your country like how you know the nature of food ingredients. You should select talents like how you choose condiments. When you manage a country, you should be like how you control the heat. You should neither be anxious for success nor lazy. You should remove the flavor that you don't want in a relaxed and harmonious way. You should also pay attention to the changes in all aspects of the country and take timely measures. In this way, the country that you manage will be as delicious as delicious food. The politics were clear, the atmosphere was pure, and the world was harmonious and prosperous.”
Shang Tang listened to praise endlessly, to the king of Youshen asked Yi Zhi, the king of Shen did not give. Therefore, Shang Tang married the daughter of King Youshen. Yi Zhi was the teacher of King Youshen's daughter and came to the Shang tribe as a dowry slave.
Shang Tang, who was thirsty for talents, was like a treasure. He made Yi Zhi the Yin and discussed the world's affairs with Yi Yin every day. When he mentioned that King Jie of Xia had no way, Yi Yin encouraged Shang Tang to enforce justice on behalf of heaven and crusade against King Jie. "When will the troops be dispatched?" Shang Tang asked.”
Yi Yin said," Stop paying tribute to Emperor Xia first. I'll see what happens."”
Shang Tang followed Yi Yin's instructions and stopped paying tribute to King Xia Jie. King Jie was furious and immediately mobilized the Nine Barbarians to attack Shang Tang. Yi Yin saw that the Nine Barbarians Army was still listening to King Xia Jie's commands and immediately said to Shang Tang,""Quickly negotiate peace and resume the tribute."
Around 1601 B.C., Yi Yin felt that King Jie of Xia had been deserted by his relatives and friends, and once again suggested that Shang Tang stop paying tribute to King Xia. Shang Tang once again stopped paying tribute to King Xia Jie. King Jie of Xia once again mobilized the army of the Nine Barbarians to attack Shang Tang, but the army of the Nine Barbarians did not listen to him. "It's time," Yi Yin said. Immediately assist Shang Tang in attacking King Xia Jie.
Around 1600 B.C., Yi Yin helped Shang Tang destroy the Xia Dynasty and established the Shang Dynasty. The capital was in Bo (today's Shangqiu, Henan Province), and the later part of the Shang Dynasty moved the capital to Yin (today's Anyang, Henan Province). In 1928, the archeological excavation of the Yin Ruins officially began. About 150,000 pieces of oracle bones were unearthed one after another. In the oracle bone inscriptions, there were records that the descendants of the Shang Dynasty sacrificed Shang Tang and Yi Yin together. A large number of records about Yi Yin in the oracle bone inscriptions showed that Yi Yin laid a solid foundation for the 600-year rule of the Shang Dynasty. He was a famous philosopher, philosopher, politician, military strategist, and medical scientist. Later generations also respected Yi Yin as the ancestor of Chinese chefs.
Yi Yin assisted the five emperors of the Shang Dynasty, Tang, Wai Bing, Zhong Ren, Tai Jia and Wo Ding, for more than 50 years. He died in 1549 B.C. at the age of 100. The emperor of the Shang Dynasty, Woding, buried Yi Yin near the capital Bo (now Shangqiu, Henan Province) with the etiquette of the emperor.
Yi Yin's story tells us at least two things: First, wise leaders cherish talents; Secondly, a person was not afraid of being born in a humble family. As long as he had moral character, was willing to learn, and had talent, he would be able to reach the glorious peak of life.
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