The site of the ancient Ebo Star Observation Tower

Ebo is the ancestor of the Shang clan. In 2400 BC, Ebo invented the calendar based on fire timing. While managing the fire, he built the Fire God Tower to observe the stars, and based on this, he determined the natural changes of the year and the quality of the year, contributing to ancient Chinese astronomy. Ebo was deeply loved by the people in his fiefdom 'Shang' where he served as the fire chief, so people respected him as the 'Fire God'. After Ebo's death, he was buried in his fiefdom. Because Ebo's title was 'Shang', his tomb was also called 'Shangqiu', which is the origin of today's Shangqiu. The earliest meaning of 'Shangqiu' is 'the settlement of the Zi surname clan (Shang clan) living on the hill'. 'Shangqiu' also means the site of the Shang Dynasty capital, and it is undoubtedly the birthplace of Chinese civilization. The Shang Ancestral Temple, Wang Hai, the sixth-generation grandson of Ebo in the pre-Shang period, created a commercial civilization and was respected as the ancestor of businessmen. Later, Ebo's thirteenth-generation grandson, Shang Tang, who destroyed Xia, established the Shang Dynasty near the ancient city of Shangqiu. The capital was moved several times, leaving the last page of Shang Dynasty history to the Yin Ruins in Anyang. During the Zhou Dynasty, the Zhou Dynasty's three reverences and one of the five hegemonies of the Spring and Autumn Period, the vassal state of Song, established its capital in Shangqiu. In inheriting and developing Yin and Shang culture, especially commercial culture, it has made great contributions and was the largest commercial center in China at that time, making the ancient city of Shangqiu once again unprecedentedly prosperous. During this period, along with the territory, what grew strong was the birth of the Chinese sage culture centered on Shangqiu, the interpretation of Chinese thought civilization, and the rise of the land. Philosophers such as Laozi, Confucius, and Mencius often lectured here, and a large number of famous Chinese thinkers such as Zhuangzi, Mozi, Huizi, Song Jian, Ji Ran, Yuan Xian, and Sima Geng were born here. In the late Warring States period, the Wei state set up the Great Song County with the ancient city of Shangqiu as its administrative center.