12 The Ant King: An Exploration of Power Dynamics in Insect Societies

Anthropomorphism is something used in almost every culture, from Pooka and Selkie in Gaelic stories to bears that acted as mediators between the mortal and spirit world in Chinookan tales. This act of giving animals human aspects, or otherworldly powers is something that we have seen in multiple stories that we have read this semester. Depending on the story, the animals were able to speak, as was the case in story “[29]” from the stories within Qi Xie Ji 齊諧記. As with a lot of cultures, specific animals usually represented different aspects of humanity or nature within the stories. In “[29],” we are not given a specific reasoning on why the ant king or ants, in general, were chosen for this specific story. By looking at how ants are used in other stories found in Chinese literature, as well as the contents of the brief story, I hope to be able to draw conclusions on why the ant was chosen and the larger potential implications within the time period.

Within the context of Chinese literature, animals have a very nebulous level of power that can fluctuate wildly depending on the goal of the author. One of the factors that affects this power level is cultivation, something that we have talked about in previous classes. In a diagram that we looked at in the first class, we saw that animals were at a lower power level than humans, yet in other stories that we have read they seem to be at the same level or higher, which is where cultivation becomes a more important aspect. Any being, living or otherwise, is able to cultivate itself. Cultivation is the broad term for the accumulation of power from a source, such as harvesting yin and yang energies from other spirits or exemplifying virtues according to Buddhist beliefs. This is coupled with the cycle of Samsara which links all things through the cycle of cultivation and Karma to blur the lines of power between humans and animals.

The story of “The Ant King and The Man” goes as follows. A named Dong Zhaozhi helps an ant get to safety after noticing it stuck on a stick flowing down the Qiantang River. That night he is told by someone who calls themselves the “king among ants,” that if Zhaozhi is ever in danger to let him know. Years later Zhaozhi finds himself in jail for a crime that he had not committed. After asking for advice from his cellmates, Zhaozhi calls upon the help of the ants, who tell him to flee and the charges will soon be pardoned. He flees with the help of the ants, and soon after the charges are pardoned.^[1] Ants have been a recurring motif in Chinese literature for centuries. They are often used to symbolize hard work, social order, and perseverance. They encompass a lot of the tenants and goals of Confucianism. Some of the core tenants we have discussed in a previous class were: Li 禮, or the following of ritual and social conventions, ren 仁, or the benevolence and empathy with others, as well as filial piety, which encompasses respect, be it from the son to the father all the way to the subject and the king. Looking at ants in harmony has been referenced to look at the way a society should function with everyone knowing their place and function. Within The Book of Songs, ants are used to represent the importance of cooperation and collaboration. The poem “Ants” describes how ants work together to gather food and build their colony, illustrating the value of teamwork and mutual support.

Within “[29],” the Ant king seems to give this aid based on the help he received earlier which feeds into the larger concepts of Karma and filial piety. The king of ants and a man of no known status complicates the concept of filial piety as is a king of animals, higher or even a ruler of this man, and thus obligated to help him out of respect. The concept becomes much more clear with the concept of Karma and due to the positive action of helping out a being in need, Zhaozhi was rewarded and rescued in a time of need. A clearer distinction of filial piety is found in the last bits where the “normal ants” are told about his imprisonment and this is given to the King Ant, which is a situation of subjects doing their duty for the highest power.

Another unsaid aspect of this story that embodies Confucian ideals is the idea of the powerless individual versus the power of the collective. At the beginning of the story, the ant is alone, fearing for its life, isolated from land, food, and most noticeably, other ants. Normally, the fear the ant showed would not make sense considering this specific ant is the king of ants, with the power to get a pardon from the emperor. While it is not said how, the word choice of “pardon” instead of excused or freed, demonstrates that it is irrelevant whether or not the man committed the crime, and further emphasizes the power of the ant king in swaying the authority of the emperor. The Chinese story of the Ant King is an example of how animals are used in Chinese literature to convey various cultural and philosophical ideas. Through the use of anthropomorphism and other ant symbolism at the time, ants embody some of the values of Confucianism, like filial piety and Karma. It is interesting to note that the story is a part of a collection of other stories believed to be written sometime between the Ming and Qing dynasties. Both of these dynasties were heavily influenced by Confucianism, as it was the dominant ideology during the Ming dynasty, and remained so during the Qing dynasty while combining with elements of Manchu culture and Buddhism. The time of creation further strengthens the connection between the ant and the symbolism they could represent.

Bibliography

Campany, Robert Ford. A Garden of Marvels: Tales of Wonder from Early Medieval China. University of Hawai’i Press, 2015.