生平

姜太公的出生地至少有六種說法，即日照說、汲縣說、持日照說的記載最多，《孟子》、《呂氏春秋》、《戰國策》、《史記》均屬此列。《史記·齊太公世家》稱「太公望呂尚者，東海上人。」東海即東海郡，領海曲等38縣，海曲縣即今山東莒縣。古代莒、呂一字。莒縣至今還有東呂鄉、東呂里。而依《水經注》，太公出生於汲縣（今河南省衛輝市）。

周文王拜太公為師。周文王曾對姜尚說：「吾先君太公曰『當有聖人適周，周以興』。子真是邪？吾太公望子久矣。」故後人尊稱姜尚為姜太公、太公望。周文王死後，周武王仍以太公為師。公元前1046年，發生牧野之戰。太公奉命進攻商朝將領方來。《詩經·大雅·大明》中贊此事：「牧野洋洋，檀車煌煌，駟騵彭彭。維師尚父，時維鷹揚。涼彼武王，肆伐大商。會朝清明。」因輔佐武王克殷有功，同時為了討伐東夷，姜尚被分封於齊（現今山東），是齊國的始祖。

太公活躍於中國確切紀年開始之前的前11世紀，他的生卒年眾說紛紜，其生年史料無載，卒年有《古本竹書紀年》記有「周康王六年，齊太公望卒。」根據夏商周斷代工程年表的推算，周康王六年是西元前1015年，太公的生卒年大致為前1128年至前1015年，即113歲。當然這只是大致的年限，也有其他的說法，另《資治通鑑外紀》記載太公卒於周成王年代，大致卒約為前1026年，即103歲，《史記》記載太公卒有百餘年。

五胡十六國時期，呂光以太公為祖先，加上廟號始祖。

家庭

• 子：齊丁公呂伋

• 女：邑姜，周武王妃，生成王、唐叔虞。

傳說

屠牛賣食

譙周說，太公不得殷商所賞，行年七十歲，還在朝歌以屠牛為業、又在孟津開酒館賣扁食，七十幾個諸侯經過，但無人賞識。一說是過了七年多，但無人賞識。

六韜

《六韜》是古代的一部著名兵書，為武經七書之一。《六韜》又稱《姜太公六韜》或《太公兵法》。舊題周朝的姜尚著，普遍認為是後人依託，作者已不可考，現一般認為此書成於戰國時代。全書以問答形式呈現，以周武王設問、姜尚答之，來探討各種古代軍政議題。

太公釣魚，願者上鉤

據民間傳說，太公至渭水釣魚，希望能遇見明主。據說姜尚用直線無彎折的金屬絲釣魚。三個月後，周文王出巡至渭水邊時發現八十多歲的姜尚。周文王見呂尚的魚鉤是直的，好奇問道：「魚鉤應該要是彎的，為甚麼你用的魚鉤是直的呢？」姜尚對曰：「我要釣的魚，是自願上鉤的，我不必用彎的魚鉤來強迫魚。願意來就來，不願來，就算了罷。」周文王馬上領悟，這是雙關語，在指求才若渴的自己，於是說：「殷紂暴虐，民不聊生，我將要振興世道，請先生擔任我的老師。」姜尚應允。周文王當場拜姜尚為太師，請姜尚上車，屏退車夫，親自拉車將姜尚請回，路程約八百步，姜尚便推算出周朝之國祚約八百載。雖然這個故事並不見于正史記載，更加可能是野史的虛構，它仍然在民間流傳甚廣。歇後語：「姜太公釣魚，願者上鉤」，即源於此。

文學創作

在小說《封神演義》中，姜尚是一個闡教的老道士，七旬時奉元始天尊之命，騎著四不像，帶著神器打神鞭及杏黃旗下山，扶助周朝，取代商朝，並執行封神的計劃，打神鞭是姜子牙的武器，可以擊落有修為的正神。杏黃旗全名為中央戊己杏黃旗，以大地之力護身。

太公在釣魚時遇見周文王姬昌，兩人相談甚歡，由於文王祖父周太公曾預言「聖人將現，周得以興」，所以姜尚又通稱太公望（太公所期望之人），之後，姜尚便致力於輔佐文王，文王死後，姜尚繼續輔佐繼位的文王的兒子武王姬發，並率兵討伐商朝，漫長的戰鬥中姜尚面臨了七次死亡，三次災厄，但最終平安無事，大破誅仙陣，盟津會八百諸侯，斬妲己，成功讓武王一統江山。姜尚也將戰鬥中陣亡的英雄義士冊封為三百六十五位正神，為仙界注入新血。

姜尚由於小說與民間傳說的風行，受人奉為神明。有時會以色紙，上書「姜太公至此」貼於家門等處，以求避邪消災。

大眾文化

影視作品

遊戲

• 無雙大蛇系列，岸尾大輔配音

• 王者榮耀，定位法師

• L.G.S~新說封神演義~， 梶裕貴配音

• Fate/Grand Order，五星Rider，前野智昭配音

廟宇

• 桃園姜太公廟

網上影視

• 粗口王 2008年 YOUTUBE影片

Names

The first ruler of Qi bore the given name Shang. The nobility of ancient China bore two surnames, an ancestral temple surname and a lineage surname. His were Jiang and Lü, respectively. He had two courtesy names, Shangfu (; "Esteemed Father") and Ziya (; lit. "Master Ivory, Master Tusk"), which were used for respectful address by his peers. The names Jiang Shang and Jiang Ziya became the most common after their use in the popular Ming-era novel Fengshen Bang, written over 2,500 years after his death.

Following the elevation of Qi to a duchy, he was given the posthumous name , on occasions left untranslated as "Duke Tai". It is under this name that he appears in Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian. He is also less often known as "Grand Lord Jiang" (; Jiang Taigong), Taigong Wang, and the "Hoped-for Lü" (Lü Wang; 呂望). as Jiang Ziya was seen as the sage – whom King Wen of Zhou's ancestor Revered Uncle Ancestor Lei (also titled 太公 "Great ~ Grand Lord") had prophesied about and hoped for – to help the Zhou prosper.

Background

The last ruler of the Shang dynasty, King Zhou of Shang, was a tyrant who spent his days with his favorite concubine Daji and executing or punishing officials. After faithfully serving the Shang court for approximately twenty years, Jiang came to find King Zhou insufferable, and feigned madness in order to escape court life and the ruler's power. Jiang was an expert in military affairs and hoped that someday someone would call on him to help overthrow the king. Jiang disappeared, only to resurface in the Zhou countryside at the apocryphal age of seventy-two, when he was recruited by King Wen of Zhou and became instrumental in Zhou affairs. It is said that, while in exile, he continued to wait placidly, fishing in a tributary of the Wei River (near today's Xi'an) using a barbless hook or even no hook at all, on the theory that the fish would come to him of their own volition when they were ready.

Hired by King Wen of the Zhou

King Wen of Zhou, (central Shaanxi), found Jiang Ziya fishing. King Wen, following the advice of his father and grandfather before him, was in search of talented people. In fact, he had been told by his grandfather, the Grand Duke of Zhou, that one day a sage would appear to help rule the Zhou state.

The first meeting between King Wen and Jiang Ziya is recorded in the book that records Jiang's teachings to King Wen and King Wu, the Six Secret Teachings (太公六韜). The meeting was recorded as being characterized by a mythic aura common to meetings between great historical figures in ancient China. Before going hunting, King Wen consulted his chief scribe to perform divination in order to discover if the king would be successful. The divinations revealed that, "'While hunting on the north bank of the Wei river you will get a great catch. It will not be any form of dragon, nor a tiger or great bear. According to the signs, you will find a duke or marquis there whom Heaven has sent to be your teacher. If employed as your assistant, you will flourish and the benefits will extend to three generations of Zhou Kings.'" Recognizing that the result of this divination was similar to the result of divinations given to his eldest ancestor, King Wen observed a vegetarian diet for three days in order to spiritually purify himself for the meeting. While on the hunt, King Wen encountered Jiang fishing on a grass mat, and courteously began a conversation with him concerning military tactics and statecraft. The subsequent conversation between Jiang Ziya and King Wen forms the basis of the text in the Six Secret Teachings.

When King Wen met Jiang Ziya, at first sight he felt that this was an unusual old man who is angling with a straight hook hanging out of water, and began to converse with him. He discovered that this white-haired fisherman was actually an astute political thinker and military strategist. This, he felt, must be the man his grandfather was waiting for. He took Jiang Ziya in his coach to the court and appointed him prime minister and gave him the title Jiang Taigong Wang ("The Great Duke's Hope", or "The expected of the Great Duke") in reference to a prophetic dream Danfu, grandfather of Wenwang, had had many years before. This was later shortened to Jiang Taigong. King Wu married Jiang Ziya's daughter Yi Jiang, who bore him several sons.

Attack of the Shang

After King Wen died, his son King Wu, who inherited the throne, decided to send troops to overthrow the King of Shang. But Jiang Taigong stopped him, saying: "While I was fishing at Panxi, I realised one truth – if you want to succeed you need to be patient. We must wait for the appropriate opportunity to eliminate the King of Shang". Soon it was reported that the people of Shang were so oppressed that no one dared speak. King Wu and Jiang Taigong decided this was the time to attack, for the people had lost faith in the ruler. The bloody Battle of Muye then ensued some 35 kilometres from the Shang capital Yin (modern day Anyang, Henan Province).

Jiang Taigong charged at the head of the troops, beat the battle drums and then with 100 of his men drew the Shang troops to the southwest. King Wu's troops moved quickly and surrounded the capital. The Shang King had sent relatively untrained slaves to fight. This, plus the fact that many surrendered or revolted, enabled Zhou to take the capital.

King Zhou set fire to his palace and perished in it, and King Wu and his successors as the Zhou dynasty established rule over all of China. As for Daji, one version has it that she was captured and executed by the order of Jiang Taigong himself, another that she took her own life, another that she was killed by King Zhou. Jiang Taigong was made duke of the State of Qi (today's Shandong province), which thrived with better communications and usage of its fish and salt resources under him.

As the most notable prime minister employed by King Wen and King Wu, he was declared "the master of strategy"—resulting in the Zhou government growing far stronger than that of the Shang dynasty as the years elapsed.

Personal views and historical influence

An account of Jiang Ziya's life written long after his time says he held that a country could become powerful only when the people prospered. If the officials enriched themselves while the people remained poor, the ruler would not last long. The major principle in ruling a country should be to love the people; and to love the people meant to reduce taxes and corvée labour. By following these ideas, King Wen is said to have made the Zhou state prosper very rapidly.

His treatise on military strategy, Six Secret Strategic Teachings, is considered one of the Seven Military Classics of Ancient China.

In the Tang dynasty he was accorded his own state temple as the martial patron and thereby attained officially sanctioned status approaching that of Confucius.

Family

Wives:

• Lady, of the Ma lineage (馬氏)

• Shen Jiang, of the Jiang clan of Shen (申姜 姜姓)

Sons:

• First son, Prince Ji (公子伋; 1050–975 BC), ruled as Duke Ding of Qi from 1025 to 975 BC

• Prince Ding (公子丁)

• Prince Ren (公子壬)

• Prince Nian (公子年)

• Prince Qi (公子奇)

• Prince Fang (公子枋)

• Prince Shao (公子紹)

• Prince Luo (公子駱)

• Prince Ming (公子銘)

• Prince Qing (公子青)

• Prince Yi (公子易)

• Prince Shang (公子尚)

• Prince Qi (公子其)

• Prince Zuo (公子佐)

Daughters:

• First daughter, Yi Jiang

　• Married King Wu of Zhou (d. 1043 BC), and had issue (King Cheng of Zhou, Shu Yu of Tang)

His descendants acquired his personal name Shang as their surname.

In literature

In the popular Ming-era novel Investiture of the Gods, Jiang Ziya is represented as a disciple of the Kunlun sect practicing Chan Taoism. Aside from fortune-telling, he is able to perform supernatural feats such as mounting clouds, using his internal energy to breathe out a divine fire from his mouth, releasing thunder and lightning at will, creating illusions to conceal the presence of an entire army, and through the use of ritual and incantation, of summoning wind storms to carry away hundreds of refugees, of bringing about snow in order to freeze the Shang army encamped in a mountain valley, and of conjuring a barrier made of the water of the North Sea in order to protect the Zhou capital.

He is ruthless with his enemies, usually executing captive generals from the Shang side, but is loyal to the Zhou cause. When outmatched by another wielder of supernatural powers, Zhao Gongming, he employs underhanded means on the advice of another thaumaturge named Lu Ya, employing a voodoo-like ritual involving building a straw effigy of his rival which is later shot at with arrows, leading to Zhao's death.

In Taoism

In Chinese and Taoist belief, Jiang Ziya is sometimes considered to have been a Taoist adept. In one legend, he used the knowledge he gained at Kunlun to defeat the Shang's supernatural protectors Qianliyan and Shunfeng'er, by using magic and invocations. He is also a prominent character in the Ming-era Investiture of the Gods, in which he is Daji's archrival and is personally responsible for her execution. The storyline present throughout the novel revolves around the fate of Jiang Ziya. He is destined to deify the souls of both humans and immortals who die in battle using the "List of Creation" (Fengshen bang, 封神榜), an index of preordained names agreed upon at the beginning of time by the leaders of the three religions. This list is housed in the "Terrace of Creation" (Fengshen tai, 封神臺), a reed pavilion in which the souls of the deceased are gathered to await their apotheosis. In the end, after defeating the Shang forces, Jiang deifies a total of 365 major gods, along with thousands of lesser gods, representing a wide range of domains, from holy mountains, weather, and plagues to constellations, the cyclical nature of time, and the five elements.

There are two xiehouyu about him:

• Grand Duke Jiang fishes – those who are willing jump at the bait (姜太公釣魚——願者上鉤), which means "put one's own head in the noose".

• Grand Duke Jiang investiture of the gods – omitting himself (姜太公封神——漏了自己), which means "leave out oneself".

Liexian Zhuan, a book on Taoist immortals, contains his short legendary biography:

In popular culture

Manga

• The protagonist of Hoshin Engi, Taikoubou (Tai Gong Wang), is based on Jiang Ziya. However, his personality is quite comical.

Video games

• In the scenario "Chinese Unification" of the Civilization IV: Warlords expansion pack, Jiang Ziya is the leader of the State of Qi.

• He is also playable in video games Aizouban Houshin Engi, Hoshin Engi 2 and Mystic Heroes.

• Jiang Ziya is a playable character in Koei's Warriors Orochi 2. In the game, he is alternatively referred to as Taigong Wang. A stark contrast to the historical accounts, however, would be that he is portrayed as a handsome young man, who is quite arrogant, although he is still a divinely gifted strategist and a good man at heart. He is often referred to by others, namely Fu Xi, Nüwa and Daji as "boy". The reason for his radically improvised design may be to emphasize his rivalry with Daji, whose character design depicts her as being young and beautiful as well. Their clashes are loosely inspired by the Fengshen Yanyi.

• In Final Fantasy XI, the item "Lu Shang's Fishing Rod" is awarded to players for catching 10,000 carp. It is noteworthy for its ability to catch both small and large fish, and is notoriously hard to break.

• In Final Fantasy XIV, Taikoubou is available in the Japanese language version of the game as a title for catching 100 different fish in A Realm Reborn, Heavensward or Stormblood areas.

• In the online game War of Legends, Jiang Ziya is a playable monk, with 45 "ability".

• In the game Eiyuu Senki, Tai Gong Wang is one female amongst the ancient heroes player will encounter in the game.

• In Dragalia Lost, Jiang Ziya is the name of an obtainable female Qilin adventurer.

• In December 2021, Fate/Grand Order revealed Taikoubou (one of Jiang Ziya's aliases) as a new obtainable servant in the game.

• He is a hero unit in the Immortal Pillars expansion to Age of Mythology: Retold.

Food

• In Vietnamese cuisine, the grilled fish dish Chả cá Lã Vọng is named after Jiang, specifically after his title "Lü Wang" (Lã Vọng in Vietnamese).

Films

• Jiang Ziya – 2020 Chinese 3D computer-animated fantasy adventure film directed by Cheng Teng and Li Wei. The plot is loosely based on the classic novel Investiture of the Gods, attributed to Xu Zhonglin.

• Huang Bo portrays Jiang Ziya in Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms (2023) and its sequel, Demon Force (2025).

Literature

• In The Poppy War trilogy by R. F. Kuang, Jiang Ziya is the name of a loremaster at the Sinegard Academy, and the protagonist's primary mentor figure.