It is said that Yi Yin's mother was a mulberry-picking slave and lived in Yishui (today's Yihe, Luoyang).

Before his mother gave birth, she dreamed that the gods told her that the flood was coming and that she should run away quickly and not go back.

But this kind-hearted mulberry picking girl notified her neighbors in the village.

Because she disobeyed the gods' warning, she turned into an empty mulberry.

By chance, he met a mulberry-picking girl of the Youxin family and found a baby among the empty mulberries, so she brought it back and presented it to King Youxin, who asked the slave cook to raise him.

This baby is Yi Yin.

Because her adoptive father was a chef, Yi Yin later learned cooking skills and even learned a set of rules for governing the country from cooking.

It is said that after he was hired by Shang Tang as a dowry slave, he often cooked delicious food for Shang Tang.

One time, Yi Yin was cooking for Shang Tang while carrying a tripod and chopping board on his back, and explained to him while cooking.

He started with cooking skills, covering raw materials, heat, five-flavor blends, etc., but he did not stop there. He derived from these cooking things to the way of governing the country, and the two were constantly combined.

Yi Yin advised Shang Tang that governing a country should also pay attention to heat and balance in all aspects like cooking.

Yi Yin's way of governing the country was later praised by Laozi in the Spring and Autumn Period as "governing a big country is like cooking small delicacies."

Yi Yin is said to have been a spy.

In order to crusade against the Xia Dynasty, Yi Yin relied on the bitter meat trick to go to the Xia Dynasty as an undercover agent.

Not only did he successfully drive a wedge between Xia Jie and his ministers, he also interacted with Xia Jie's beloved concubine Yu Xi, and obtained a lot of information about the Xia Dynasty through her.

Yi Yin also successfully assisted Cheng Tang in destroying Xia and establishing Shang, and became the right prime minister of the Shang Dynasty.

It is said that Yi Yin invented the technology of brewing herbal medicine, which is called soup.

The invention of decoction improved the efficacy of medicine and became one of the most important features of traditional Chinese medicine.

In addition, Yi Yin was proficient in cooking, created the Five Flavors Harmony Theory and the Fire Theory, and was unique in cooking techniques and cooking theories. He was honored as the ancestor of Chinese chefs by later generations.

Medicine and cooking are not Yi Yin's main achievements. His main achievements are military and political.

Militaryly, Yi Yin was the main planner of the war to destroy Xia. His great contribution to China's military development was mainly reflected in the following aspects: First, political factors based on popular support were used to guide the war.

Second, the strategy of "the best wisdom is the best".

Create a spy intelligence war.

Third, select favorable fighter opportunities based on changes in enemy and friendly forces.

Fourth, adopt tactics such as isolating the enemy, outflanking, and cutting off the enemy's retreat.

Yiyin was not bound by the times, boldly attacked the constraints of the concept of destiny, and more clearly understood the main role of human beings in war.

He made important contributions to the development of China's military, especially the establishment of various military doctrines. Yi Yin was the first military strategist in Chinese military history.

In addition, Yi Yin also made outstanding contributions in politics.

In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the country was in dire straits and was waiting to be revitalized. Yi Yin adopted the policy of "frugaling expenditure and benefiting the people" to gradually develop the country.

This thought became the origin of Taoist thought of governing by doing nothing.

Yi Yin thus became one of the founders of Taoism.

Yi Yin served as prime minister for more than fifty years and assisted five kings of the Shang Dynasty throughout his life.

His feat of banishing Taijia and returning power to Taijia has become a legend through the ages.

According to "Historical Records", Shang Tang had three sons. The eldest son Taiding died early. After his death, Yi Yin successively assisted Shang Tang's second son Waibing and third son Zhongren to succeed to the throne of Shang. However, they succeeded each other not long after their reign.

died.

Therefore, Yi Yin had no choice but to make Taijia, the eldest grandson of Shang Tang, king.

Yi Yin repeatedly taught Taijia to be diligent in government and love the people, but Taijia didn't listen at all. He didn't care about political affairs and only cared about having fun.

Yi Yin believed that Taijia would become a king like Xia Jie in the future if he continued to indulge in such stubbornness.

So Yiyin exiled Taijia to Tonggong near Chengtang's tomb, and asked him to calm down and reflect on his past.

Three years later, when Yi Yin saw that Taijia had changed his ways, he personally welcomed Taijia back to Bodu, ascended the throne again, and returned power to Taijia.

Yiyin died in the late year of Wodingdin, that is, in 1500 BC, at the age of 100.

The voice of history is always vague, and the difficulty of distinguishing between true and false is the greatest charm of history.

According to the record of the Warring States Period history book "Bamboo Book Annals": "Yi Yin put Taijia in Tong to establish himself. ... In the seventh year, Taijia sneaked out of Tong and killed Yiyin." This means: Yiyin exiled Taijia to Tong,

Proclaiming himself king, Taijia fled from Tong, killed Yiyin, and restored Shang rule.

The basis for this statement is that as Yi Yin is the prime minister, exiled the king is disloyal and usurping power.

For such an important historical event, why did the history books not record the reaction of the Shang Dynasty courtiers at that time? Could it be that the entire country and even the Shang royal family agreed.

In addition, Yi Yin advocated "frugal expenditure and generous people", but he was not frugal. Regardless of how luxurious he was during his lifetime, his tomb covered an area of ??more than 10,000 square meters after his death, and the structure of the tomb was completely built according to the royal tombs.

This would cost a lot of manpower and material resources in a slave society with very low productivity.

Regardless of the historical truth, Yi Yin assisted Shang Tang in defeating Xia Jie and made immortal contributions to the establishment of the Shang Dynasty.

He made outstanding contributions in the fields of military, politics, culture, education, medicine, and cooking, laying the foundation for the establishment of various doctrines in later generations.

He was born in the era of slavery. At the end of the Xia Dynasty when the people were in dire straits, he broke the 500-600-year-old righteousness between monarch and ministers and initiated the revolution. His heart was truly righteous.