As a child, Zhuangxu helped his uncle rule in the kingdom of birds, and then ruled the North for a long time and wisely. In addition, Zhuangxu played beautiful melodies on the zither. And someone who loves music, Huang Di reasoned, cannot be a cruel ruler. Huang Di called Zhuangxu and gave him the highest throne and power over the spirits. He accepted the throne with joy and decided to show all his talents in ruling the Universe so as to far surpass his great-grandfather. First of all, he decided to restore order in the Celestial Empire.
As we know, a wonderful staircase led to heaven. It was intended for saints, hermits and sorcerers. But from time to time, brave people appeared on earth who managed to sneak into the Heavenly Palace to present their complaints directly to the gods. And the gods could descend to earth at any time to have fun among people. And not only the gods! Not only good but also evil spirits roamed here and there. Even Chiyu, before starting the war, went to heaven on reconnaissance! The new ruler thought: “If gods and people are not separated, it will be difficult to avoid the emergence of a new Chiyu.”
Zhuangxu ordered his grandchildren - the great spirits Zhong and Li - to cut the road between heaven and earth. And although the freedom of spirits and people was sacrificed, order and tranquility were established in the Universe. The gods and spirits said:
- This is the right decision!
After all, a great ruler could only make wise decisions.
Spirits and people moved away from each other. The gods sat in the sky all the time, watching whether people made sacrifices on time or late. They listened with pleasure to hymns in their honor, but closed their ears when people pestered them with complaints.
People were divided into poor and rich. Those who occupied a high position proclaimed themselves earthly deities. They, like gods, surrounded themselves with military leaders and officials.
Zhuangxu continued to restore order. He thought: “Who is more important, men or women? “And I decided: “Of course, men.” And he established three virtues for women: to obey the father, in marriage - to the husband, and when the husband died - to the son. He also wrote down on a jade plate seven sins for which a husband could kick his wife out of the house. Among these sins were, for example: jealousy and talkativeness. Women, in addition, had to show respect to men and give way on the street. All men - both people and spirits - glorified the heavenly ruler:
- You made the right decision!
And the women had to repeat these words after them, because they had to obey the men in everything. Zhuangxu was very proud of himself.
True, when after many centuries he ended his earthly life, turned into a man with the body of a fish and stopped stepping on the ground, the great poet boldly called Zhuangxu the “plague emperor.” Nobody objected to him...
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru