Fu Yue 傅說
Fu Yue 傅說 (a special reading instead of Shuo) was the counselor (xiang 相) of King Wu Ding 武丁 of the Shang dynasty 商 (17th-11th cent. BC). According to the history Shiji 史記, King Wu Ding saw a holy person in his dream with the name of Yue 說. Altough all his ministers said that it was only a dream, Wu Ding had sent out officials in search for Yue, and they finally found him as a most humble person living in a hole. Wu Ding recognized the man from his dream and appointed him counselor. From that time on the Shang kingdom was ruled in the best manner. Fu later became his family name. According to the book Shiyiji 拾遺記, he was able to ride on the sun and to predict the future. Tang the Perfect 成湯, the founder of the Shang, therepon invited him to the court and made him *chief minister (aheng 阿衡). In other stories it is said that his soul ascended tot he sky and formed a star.
Sources:
- Li Jianping 李劍平 (ed. 1998). Zhongguo shenhua renwu cidian 中國神話人物辭典, p. 640. Xi'an: Shaanxi renmin chubanshe.
- Yuan Ke 袁珂 (ed. 1985). Zhongguo shenhua chuanshuo cidian 中國神話傳說詞典, p. 387. Shanghai: Shanghai cishu chubanshe.
