Prang VI

Pêk or Sixth P.rjang′ (Shinasthana: 辟, pêk or 六祖丙, rjok-tsa-p.rjang′; r. 295 – 265 BCE) was a ruler of Themiclesia in the Tsjinh state. P.rjang′ is thought to be one of the most influential rulers during the early Hexarchy and is the first Tsjinh ruler whose activities are recorded by contemporaries. Few facts about his life and reign are certain, but classical historians credit him with strengthening the Tsjinh polity and reforming the succession system. He is characterized by canonical historians as a "good" king that banished evil influences and maintained a just rule, but modern scholars have re-assessed these conclusions with excavated materials and re-valued records.

Names

Pêk is known in the oracular and sacrificial record as Sixth P.rjang′ (六祖丙), or the sixth ruler to bear the hemeral name "p.rjang". The significance of the hemeral name, which are used as members of the ten-day week, is still unclear. His personal name is Pêk.

Life

Very little can be ascertained about the early life of Pêk. The annals do not encompass the period prior to his reign, but in 1928 an excavation in Nem-lêi Prefecture recovered a bronze cup with the inscription "the Elder of Tengh made [this vessel for] Prince Pêk of Tsjinh" (登百作晉子辟). This cup is dated to the period immediately prior to his reign, implying he was a guest, envoy, or even refugee at the Tengh court prior to coming to the throne.

The start of Pêk's reign is conventionally dated to 295 BCE, which is also the year he led the "patriarch tribe" across the River Kaung (公辟即位渡河以公族). Scholars have focused on the fact that the annals say that he "took the throne", while most other rulers were "established" by the patriarch tribe and inferred from his later actions he may have been a usurper or had his legitimacy questioned by annalists who disapproved of his policies. Chronologically, he succeeds his brother Srêng (or Stsrêng), or Elder Brother S(ts)rêng, whose reign is reckoned to be short but uncertain in length.

According to the Histories of the States (列邦記), the movement across the river required 40 boats and three separate conveyances for all the tribe's possessions. The structural members of ancestral temples were the first to be transported, then the sacrificial vessels, and finally the tribe and its community. Historians view this as an embellished version of events that may have been historical, since the tribe and its possessions must have far-outnumbered the number of sacrificial vessels.

In the third year, he consulted the oracle and ordered Prince Gi (possibly his brother) and Mret to encamp at Pei and S.ridh, respectively, and the tribe approved (族若).

In the fourth year of his reign, he consulted the oracle and ordered Prince Nek's tribe to encamp at the Pru land. In the fifth year of his reign, a great hailstorm struck the tribe's lands, causing the crop to fail. Pêk offered ten sacrificial men and women to the ancestors, but the oracle decline the offer. The annals record, "the patriarch read the oracle and determined, 'the protection-sacrifice will not be auspicious; the hail will persist.' The hail indeed did persist" (公貞曰凶勿御雹其延允延).

In the sixth year, the Temple of Former K.rang burned down, and there was a great panic amongst the tribe (災先祖庚宗公家人公族大震). The patriarch went to observe the site of the fire, but a part of the roof nearly hit him (公于宗＝黃顛公罔害); Pêk offered ten humans and ten cattle for a protection-sacrifice to Former K.rang on his own behalf, and this was carried out (惟十人十牛御公于先祖庚公受佑用).  

In his seventh year, the Ram-barbarians raided the settlement at Hop (藍方侵于詥). Pêk allied with the Elder of Gem and Mnis to raise their armies and attack the Ram-barbarians (公比今百汨百撉藍), but the operation ended in failure.  Some historians interpret his decision to erect a new palace and bedchamber in the ninth year to be an attempt to recover his reputation or impress envoys after defeat (九年公令臣作新宮及寢).  

Also in his eighth year, two investiture inscriptions provide that he appointed the Elder of Nor to be the Chief of Small Slaves, the Small Slaves (小臣) being a nebulous group of officials that surrounded the patriarch and discharged a variety of affairs. One inscription is from the excavated tomb of the Elder of Nor (腇百), and the other is from Nor's Household Slave (百家臣), who recorded his own investiture on the year "the Elder of Nor has been appointed to oversee the Small Slaves of the Patriarchal house."

In the ninth year, he gathered up enough materials to reconstruct the Temple of Former K.rang in the first month. Construction started as soon as an auspicious orcale was obtained and topped out in the eighth month. The temple was re-consecrated in the tenth month, with "human and ox blood poured over its roof-ridge" and "slaves and oxen sacrificed at the temple gate". The "principal oracle" (元卜) taken at the Temple says that the patriarch "will have the blessings of Former K.rang in the following year, and the auspiciousness will persist" (向祀公受先祖庚佑有魯吉惟延). The possessions of Former K.rang's consort were formally dedicated at the Temple at the close of the year.

In the tenth year, "the lineages" came to his court and offered sacrificial victims (古鼓亞可亦瀰生入示生). This was seen as a major success for the patriarch, attesting to his reputation and ability to lead the people that lived in his vicinity.

There is a long gap in the Springs and Autumns of Tsjinh (晉春秋), which is the annal from which most of his life's events are recovered, spanning the 11th to the 24th years of his reign. There are several theories that have been proposed by scholars, both ancient and modern, to explain this anomaly. The oldest one, attested from the 4th century, stipulates that the records were lost unintentionally, such as to fire, flood, or scribal error; this theory suffers from the observation that all other parts of the Springs and Autumns appear quite complete, and the records seem to be widely quoted in the 1st c. BCE, and wide circulation should prevent accidental losses like these. In the 14th century, historians argue that the annals were intentionally paused during this part of his reign due to Pêk's policies, which may have involved the dismissal of record-keeping officials.

When the annals resume in his 25th year, they continue recording events that occur at temples, which is the traditional venue for holding public meetings and making decisions.

He died in his 34th year.

History

The actions of Pêk are found in at least two dozen works, plus excavated oracular records and bronze inscriptions. Most of the treatises that refer to him were not contemporary to him, and the only received document that record his actions scholars believe may have been made at his own time are the Springs and Autumns of Tsjinh.  The purport of this work is disputed by scholars. In the early 20th century, a considerable number of scholars think the work is testamentary, i.e. a record of how supernatural powers have influenced human affairs; religious devotion is solicited as an explanation for its consistent recording of events. Supporters of the Testimentary Hypothesis state that

The fact that such oracles were taken, and these things happened in consequence of the oracles, testifies to the accuracy of oracles. Religious officials in the early patriarchal court sought to demonstrate the importance of the oracles to human affairs and thus stringently kept records of how the oracles have been vindicated.

See also

• Themiclesia