Yi Yin's story
It is said that Yi Yin was adopted by a pair of slave parents. The adoptive father was a cook, and his adoptive mother was mainly responsible for picking mulberry and raising silkworms. Because she lived in Yishui, she gave him the surname "Yi". Yi Yin's biological mother turned into a hollow mulberry tree because she violated the warnings of the gods in good faith, and was brought up after being discovered by mulberry pickers.
Because his adoptive father was a chef, Yi Yin later learned how to cook, and even learned a set of methods of governing the country from cooking. Rumor has it that after he was hired by Shang Tang as a dowry slave, he often cooked delicious food for Shang Tang. Once, when Yi Yin was cooking for Shang Tang with a tripod and a chopping block on his back, he explained it to him while doing it. He started with cooking, covering raw materials, heat, five flavors and so on, but he didn't stop there. He derived from these cooking things to the way of governing the country, and the two were constantly combined. Yi Yin taught Shang Tang that governing the country should also pay attention to the temperature as cooking, pay attention to the balance in all aspects and so on. Yi Yin's way of governing the country was later praised by Laozi in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period as "governing a big country if cooking a little fresh".
besides being a cook and a prime minister, Yi Yin is said to have been a spy. In order to crusade against Xia Dynasty, Yi Yin relied on risks to go undercover in Shang Dynasty. He not only succeeded in alienating Xia Jie from his ministers, but also established a relationship with Xia Jie's favorite concubine, Xianxi, through whom he got a lot of information about the Shang Dynasty, which was part of the foundation for him and Shang Tang to destroy the Xia Dynasty.
The story of Tai Jia's killing of Yi Yin
Yi Yin is a wise man, not only because he was the founding hero of Shang Dynasty, but also because he assisted many kings, which is related to the story that he exiled Tai Jia and re-established him as king. This story has the same records in Historical Records, Mencius and many other ancient classics, but in the historical book Annals of Bamboo Books, it finally developed into the killing of Yi Yin by Tai Jia.
Annals of Bamboo Scripts is a historical book written during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, which records the history from Xia Dynasty to the Warring States Period. It was discovered by grave robbers in the Western Jin Dynasty and was born. Although the book's records of pre-Qin history are quite different or even contrary to the traditional records of official history such as Historical Records in many places, some of its records are considered to be closer to historical facts because they are in line with the archaeological discovery of Oracle Bone Inscriptions. The history of Yi Yin's exile in Taijia is that it is inconsistent with the records in traditional history books.
According to traditional historical records, Yi Yin exiled Tai Jia to Tong Palace, during which he ruled on his behalf. Three years later, Yi Yin welcomed the reformed Tai Jia back and re-established him as king. The record of this story in Bamboo Annals is that after Yi Yin exiled Tai Jia, he became king on his own. Seven years later, Tai Jia escaped from Tong Palace to kill Yi Yin and appointed his son.
There are many differences between the two descriptions. The version in which Tai Jia killed Yi Yin not only said that Yi Yin's death was more than ten years earlier, but also completely subverted his image as a sage. Although this version seems to be more in line with the historical background at that time, it is relatively more credible because the traditional version has historical evidence of unearthed cultural relics such as Oracle Bone Inscriptions. Moreover, if the traditional version is identified as false, it can be speculated that Confucius, Mencius, Sima Qian and other sages were either false or deceived at that time, which had a great influence. Therefore, there is no definite conclusion about this history in the history circle so far.
The story of Yi Yin's failure to win the tripod
"Yi Yin's failure to win the tripod" is an allusion from Sima Qian's Historical Records Yin Benji, which mainly tells the story of Yi Yin telling Shang Tang the way to govern the country by talking about cooking. Some scholars also use these four words as idioms to refer to seeking opportunities to reflect self-worth.
In Sima Qian's description, there are two versions of the story of Yi Yin meeting Shang Tang. In the first edition, Yi Yin's name was Aheng. He wanted to see Shang Tang, but he had no choice. So he went to be a dowry cook for the daughter of King Xin, and he was able to meet Shang Tang. Later, Yi Yin came to see Shang Tang with a cooking tripod, chopping vegetables and a chopping block on his back. First, he talked with him about cooking and taste, and then he took the opportunity to persuade him to practice kingliness. Therefore, the story of Yi Yin's negative tripod comes from this version.
Another version of the story says that Yi Yin is a hermit with talent and virtue, and he refused to be an official, so he refused to be hired by Shang Tang for five times. Yi Yin told Shang Tang about the ancient emperors' way of governing the country, which was highly valued by him. Yi Yin once left Shang Tang to find Xia Jie, but later he hated Xia Jie and went back to Shangdu. When he entered the city, Yi Yin met two other virtuous women's doves and women's rooms in Shang Tang. When he went back, he wrote two articles, The Dove and the Women's Room.
Yi Yin's negative tripod comes from this allusion, which is often used in later poetry articles to refer to assisting emperors. Words such as "Negative Ding", "Yi Yin Zhi" and "Yi Yin Cuisine" have similar origins and meanings.
As for using Yi Yin Fu Ding as an idiom, although there are no relevant examples and evidence, this metaphor is also very appropriate, because Fu Ding's cooking is an opportunity for Yi Yin to meet Shang Tang, and he is therefore reused, which can be said to realize his self-worth.