Three Thousand Years of Chrysanthemum Village

At the crow of a rooster, three counties can be heard. Fufeng, Wugong, and Qianxian meet here. Three thousand years ago, a young man named Ji Shi was enfeoffed here. He was the son of King Wen of Zhou and the younger brother of King Wu, later revered as Duke Shao. He did not become a minister discoursing on statecraft in the court but chose this rural land at the junction of three counties—training troops, lecturing, and hearing cases, living there for his entire life. This land was anciently called Chrysanthemum Village. The Book of Songs says, 'Do not cut or fell the sweet pear tree,' but the world does not know: it was not about protecting the tree, but recording three matters. It was not until the Warring States bamboo slips were unearthed that three altered characters revealed the truth: 'ba' meant a thatched shed as a government office; 'hai' meant proactively going to the countryside to investigate people's conditions; 'duo' meant adjudicating disputes over plunder. This book is a long historical novel set in Duke Shao Town, Fufeng, based on Zhouyuan archaeology, Yan state bronze inscriptions, Warring States bamboo slip versions of the Book of Songs, and transmitted texts. It infuses literary flesh into a rigorous historical framework, restoring the true life of Duke Shao of Yan, who took root in the western lands, trained troops, stabilized the state, educated the people, and contributed to the Cheng-Kang golden age, while also writing about a local spiritual heritage that has endured for three thousand years.