A Study of the Name 'Maogusi' (Part 6)
Origins of the Peng Clan: Peng Zu was the second son of Lu Zhong and a descendant of Wu Hui, great-grandson of Lao Tong and eldest grandson of Zhuanxu. Named Qian Keng, he was enfeoffed at Dapeng. The "Treatise on Geography" of the Book of Han notes under Pengcheng County of Chu: "the ancient state of Peng Zu." The "Treatise on States and Counties" of the Book of the Later Han also states: "Pengcheng was the ancient town of Dapeng." The Taiping Huanyu Ji records: "Pengcheng County lies in Xuzhou Prefecture, Jiangnan. At the northwest corner of the city...
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Peng Clan Origin Investigation:
Peng Zu was the second son of Longzhong and a descendant of Wuhui. He was the great-grandson of Laotong and the eldest great-grandson of Zhuanxu. His name was Qian Keng, and he was enfeoffed at Dapeng. The "Treatise on Geography" in the Book of Han, in its annotation on Pengcheng County of Chu, says: "The ancient Pengzu state." The "Treatise on States and Counties" in the Book of the Later Han also says: "Pengcheng was the ancient Dapeng yi." The Taiping Huanyu Ji says: "Pengcheng County is in Xuzhou Prefecture, Jiangnan. In the northwest corner of the city is Peng Zu's old residence; the county has Peng Zu's well, and east of the city is Peng Zu's tomb. The tomb of Peng Po also survives." "Meizhou's Xiang'er Mountain also has Peng Zu's residence; it is now called Pengshan County, and the county also has Peng Zu's tomb." The Diyu Zhi says: "Emperor Peng was born in the reign of Emperor Yao, in the year of Bingzi. He had two sons: the eldest was Wu, the second was Yi, and the third was Peng Zu." He was the god of Wuyi Mountain in Fujian. Appended to the "Discriminations on the Records of the Grand Historian," the "Hereditary House of Chu" says: "Lu Zhong had six sons; the third was Peng Zu." Yu Fan says: "Peng Zu's name was Jian, and he was enfeoffed at Dapeng. Combining the various versions of the Da Dai Li, among the Five Emperors, Yao and Shun, Peng Zu was selected and employed. Thus Peng Zu was Qian Keng." The Shiben says: "Lao Peng, named Keng, was keeper of the treasury in Yin and a pillar historian in Zhou." Yu Fan's "Dai De Pian" also has the phrase Lao Peng. He lived eight hundred years and died; he had forty-nine wives and fifty-four children. The "Table of Ancient and Modern Persons" in the Book of Han: "Longzhong is listed in the second rank, his generation before Tang and Yu; Lao Peng is listed in the third rank; in the Yin period there was also Dapeng, also listed in the second rank, slightly after Lao Peng. Thus Lao Peng and Peng Zu are two people, and Peng Zu first enfeoffed Lao Peng; Dapeng were all his descendants. Or perhaps Lao Peng was Dapeng; a branch son with a separate clan name was Feixing, and in ancient times the same people had different surnames; later generations did not distinguish surnames from clan names. The Shiben was the first to fall into disorder."
The Yongshun Peng Clan System
According to the Guangxu edition of the Longshan County Gazetteer of the Qing Dynasty: "The native officials of the Peng clan, from Peng Jian onward, lived in Yongshun. When Peng Cheng died, his son Yan Xi inherited the post. When Yan Xi died, his son Shi Yu inherited the post. This passed through twenty-four generations. When Zhao Huai surrendered the territory, earlier Yan Xi's second son Shi Gao had been assigned to the Baojing office, passing through eighteen generations to Shi Xiong. When Shi Xiong died, his eldest son Wan Li inherited, and his second son Wan Jin was assigned to Nanwei Prefecture. Wan Jin passed through twelve generations until Peng Ding surrendered the territory. In the second year of Hongwu, an edict established the Yongshun Xuanwei Shi, governing three prefectures: Nanwei, Shi (Rong) Xi, and Shangxi (Prefecture). In the fifth year, the Nanwei native zhizhou was established, and Wan Jin received the post. Wan Jin passed through seventeen generations until Zongguo surrendered the territory. The Dala office originally belonged to the Liangjiangkou area of the Baojing office. Shi Xiong's grandson Yao Shi Tu Nan's younger brother Mo Gu Song was formerly a zhangguan si. In the fourteenth year of Zhengde, the land east of the river was divided and transferred to Chenzhou, and the Dala office xunjian was established, with Mo Gu Song's sixth-generation grandson Hui as native she, assisting in its administration. After another six generations, Yu Chun surrendered the territory and still inherited the former post. When Chun died, his younger brother Yu Ju inherited. In the thirteenth year of Yongzheng, an edict changed the inheritance to the post of bazong. When Yu Ju died, his son Bing inherited. When Bing died, his son Rong Kui inherited. When Rong Kui died, his son Hua Jian inherited. When Hua Jian died, his son Zhao De inherited. Zhao De survives today; his son is Mei Cheng."
The Ancestral Origin of the Peng Clan in Xiangxi
Peng Gan, courtesy name Shubao, born in the Bingchen year of the Kaiyuan era of the Tang Dynasty, served as Prefect of Jizhou, was appointed General of the Left Longtao, Jiedushi, and Xingjun Sima, specially promoted to Jianxiao Taiwei. His wife was Lady Xiahou, the Lady of Jiaoguo; his second wife was Lady Guo, the Lady of Yuanguo. He had eleven sons.
Peng Cheng, served the Tang Dynasty as Prefect of Chenzhou, was appointed Jinzi Guanglu Dafu, and together with Xiang Bolin defeated Wu Zhuchong. During the Kaiping era of Liang, he served as Prefect of Xizhou and had one son, Yanqing.
Yanxi, also known as Shichou, recorded as Shiran in the History of the Five Dynasties, and as Shiwuchen. In the Annals of the Ten Kingdoms he is recorded as Shizhe. He inherited his father's post and established the prefecture system, with his sons Shiyu and Shigao each leading part of his people.
Afterward, the Yongshun and Baojing offices were divided, and further divided into Nanweizhou and Dala offices.
Lineage of the Yongshun Office
Shiyu—Yunlin——Yunshu——Wenyong——Rumeng——Shixi——Shiyan——Fushichong——Siwan——Shengzu——Tianbao——Zhong——Anguo——Wanqian——Shixiong——Xuan——Shiqi——Zonghan——Zongshun——Bingnian (unverified)——Xianying——Mingfu——Yiyun——Yuanjin——Tingji—Tingchun——Honghai——Hongshu——Zhaohuai——Zhaohuan——Zhaoxiang
Appendix: Lineage of Nanweizhou
Wanjin——Jinsheng——Fucai——Lüshu——Keyi—First Ancestor Bi——Rejisong——Ding——Kaizhubi——Liangcheng——Zhang——Shizhong——Zheng——Yingqi——Zongguo
Lineage of the Baojing Office
Shigao——Wentong——Ruyi——Shilong——Yuncong——Lingxiao——Banghong——Yong——Taidin—Shikong——Dingguo——Sishan——Benrong——Qixian——Bo (the above deeds are unverified)——Shixiong——Wanli——Yonglie——Yaohabi——Nanmuchu——Xianxuanzong——Shilong——Han——Jiuxiao——Huchen——Liangchen——Jinchen——Shouzhong——Yangzheng——Xiangqian——Chaozhu——Peng Ding——Zelong
Appendix: Lineage of the Dala Office
Shixiong——Wanli——Yonglie——Yaoshi——Tunan——Mogusong——Zhong——Wu——Shengzu—Shiying——Hui——Zhixian——Qizhong——Yizheng——Yingchu——Jing——Zeyong——Yuchun—Yuju——Bing——Rongkui——Huajian——De
When the Tujia people of Xiangxi perform the "Hand-waving Dance" and the "Maogusi," they originally worshipped the Eight Great Kings, but later, after the Peng clan took power in Xiangxi, they added a Tuwang (Local King). In some Tujia areas, when performing the small Hand-waving Dance, especially in certain Tujia villages of the Peng surname, they simply worshipped the Tuwang, elevating the Tuwang's status to be on par with the Eight Great Kings, and in some places even pushed the Eight Great Kings into the background. This is not to say that Peng Shichou directly interfered with the Maogusi, but rather that the Tujia people, overawed by Peng Shichou's tyrannical power, consciously or unconsciously adopted Peng Shichou as the primary deity for worship, and even praised his cruel rule as something legitimate.
From the Tianfu era of the Later Jin Dynasty onward, the content of the Maogusi did not change much, until after the Qing government implemented the "replacement of native officials with centrally appointed officials" policy for ethnic minorities, when the content of the Maogusi began to reflect specific eras. For example, the Maogusi came to include the content of "studying." Before the "replacement of native officials with centrally appointed officials," the Tujia people had no right to education; even ordinary people's homes had no roof tiles—commoners could only live in thatched huts. Thus, during the period of Tusi (native official) rule, there was a saying: "Only prefectural officials may ride horses; commoners are not allowed to roof with tiles." After the "replacement of native officials with centrally appointed officials," the Qing government lifted the prohibitions of the Tusi period, and the Tujia people began to have access to education. In this way, the Maogusi kept pace with the times and added scenes of "studying" to its content. However, this content was very witty and humorous, merely a form of entertainment for the Tujia people. Even so, it was a manifestation of social progress. With the development of society, the Tujia Maogusi not only incorporated the content of "studying" but also transplanted such modern cultural phenomena as "doctors treating illnesses" into the Maogusi, fully demonstrating that the Maogusi has strong characteristics of the times. As long as there is a phenomenon with a certain flavor of the times, it will strive to express it. It is unwilling to lag behind the times, nor to shelve the responsibilities the times have given it.
5. The fifth stage of Maogusi development—from the founding of the People's Republic of China to the present
The Maogusi became widely known to society in the early 1950s, when visiting delegations from the central government and Hunan Province toured Tujia areas. The Tujia people performed the Maogusi on site for the delegations, and it gained the approval of higher-level leaders. Later, due to certain needs, Maogusi performances occurred from time to time. It is worth noting that most later Maogusi performances departed from the original nature of the Tujia people, changing the performance venue, time, and costumes, diverging greatly from the original purpose of the Tujia Maogusi, and even arbitrarily tampering with it. Some stage performances, though labeled as Maogusi, were not essentially Maogusi; they subjected the authentic Maogusi to modernization, causing it to lose its proper value.