Hou Ji (后稷) is not only renowned for introducing the cultivation of millet and other new farming techniques that led to the explosive growth of agricultural production during the Xia dynasty. He is also celebrated as the ancestral founder of the illustrious Ji clan that went on to establish the Zhou dynasty in 1045 BCE.

Hou Ji was originally known by the name of Qi (棄), meaning “the abandoned one” thanks to a popular legend concerning his birth. The name of Hou Ji was posthumously bestowed upon him by Tang (湯), the founder of the Shang dynasty. It literally means Lord Millet. Continue reading Historical figures in the Analects of Confucius: Hou Ji →