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King Wu of Zhou

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King Wu of Zhou
周武王
King Wu
Depiction of King Wu by Ma Lin
Elder of the Predynastic Zhou
Reign1050–1046 BCE
PredecessorKing Wen of Zhou
SuccessorHimself as King of the Zhou dynasty
King of the Zhou dynasty
Reign1046–1043 BCE
PredecessorKing Zhou of Shang (Shang dynasty)
SuccessorKing Cheng of Zhou
BornJi Fa (姬發)
Died1043 BCE
Haojing, Western Zhou dynasty
SpouseYi Jiang
Issue
Posthumous name
King Wu (武王)
HouseJi
DynastyPredynastic Zhou (1050–1046 BC)
Zhou (Western Zhou) (1046–1043 BC)
FatherKing Wen of Zhou
MotherTai Si
Chinese name
Chinese
Literal meaningMartial King of Zhou
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinZhōu Wǔ wáng
Gwoyeu RomatzyhJou Wuu wang
Wade–GilesChou1 Wu3 wang2
IPA[ʈʂóʊ ù wǎŋ]
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationJāu Móuh wòhng
JyutpingZau1 Mou5 wong4
Southern Min
Hokkien POJChiu Bú ông
Old Chinese
Baxter–Sagart (2014)*Tiw M(r)aʔ ɢʷang
Personal name
Traditional Chinese
Simplified Chinese姬发
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinJī Fā
Gwoyeu RomatzyhJi Fa
Wade–GilesChi1 Fa1
IPA[tɕí fá]
Old Chinese
Baxter–Sagart (2014)*[k](r)ə Cə.pat

King Wu of Zhou (Chinese: ; pinyin: Zhōu Wǔ Wáng; died c. 1043 BCE), personal name Ji Fa, was the founding king of the Chinese Zhou dynasty. The chronology of his reign is disputed but is generally thought to have begun around 1046 BCE and ended with his death three years later.[1]

King Wu was the second son of Ji Chang (posthumously King Wen) and Tai Si. In most accounts, his older brother Bo Yikao was said to have predeceased his father, typically at the hands of King Zhou of Shang, the last king of the Shang dynasty; in the Book of Rites, however, it is assumed that his inheritance represented an older tradition among the Zhou of passing over the eldest son.[2] (Fa's grandfather Jili had likewise inherited Zhou despite two older brothers.)

Upon his succession, Fa worked with his father-in-law Jiang Ziya to accomplish an unfinished task: overthrowing the Shang dynasty. During the ninth year of his reign, Fa marched down the Yellow River to the Mengjin ford and met with more than 800 dukes.[3] He constructed an ancestral tablet with his father's posthumous name as King Wen and placed it on a chariot in the middle of the host; considering the timing unpropitious, though, he did not yet attack Shang. In 1046 BC, King Wu took advantage of Shang disunity to launch an attack along with many neighboring dukes. The Battle of Muye destroyed Shang's forces and King Zhou of Shang set his palace on fire, dying within.

King Wu followed his victory by establishing many feudal states under his 16 younger brothers and clans allied by marriage, but his death three years later provoked several rebellions against his young heir King Cheng and the regent Ji Dan, even from three of his brothers.

A burial mound in Zhouling town, Xianyang, Shaanxi was once thought to be King Wu's tomb. It was fitted with a headstone bearing Wu's name in the Qing dynasty. Modern archeology has since concluded that the tomb is not old enough to be from the Zhou dynasty, and is more likely to be that of a Han dynasty royal. The true location of King Wu's tomb remains unknown, but is likely to be in the Xianyang-Xi'an area.

King Wu is considered one of the great heroes of China, together with the mythical Yellow Emperor and the legendary Yu the Great.

Family

[edit]
As depicted in the album Portraits of Famous Men c. 1900 CE, housed in the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Queens:

  • Yi Jiang, of the Lü lineage of the Jiang clan of Qi (邑姜 姜姓 呂氏), the first daughter of the Great Duke of Qi; the mother of Song and Yu

Sons:

  • Prince Song (王子誦; 1060–1020 BC), ruled as King Cheng of Zhou from 1042 to 1021 BC
  • Second son, ruled as the Monarch of Yu (), the ancestor of the surname Yu (于)
  • Third son, Prince Yu (王子虞), ruled as the Marquis of Tang from 1042 BC
  • A son who ruled as the Marquis of Ying ()
  • A son who ruled as the Marquis of Han

Daughters:

  • First daughter, Da Ji (大姬)
  • Youngest daughter, personal name Lan ()

Ancestry

[edit]
King Tai of Zhou
King Ji of Zhou
Tai Jiang of Pang
King Wen of Zhou (1125–1051 BC)
Tai Ren of Zhi
King Wu of Zhou (d. 1043 BC)
Tai Si of Youshen

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ These dates are those of the People's Republic of China's official Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project, although they remain controversial.
  2. ^ Book of Rites, Tan Gong I, 1. Accessed 4 Nov 2012.
  3. ^ Sima, Yi. Records of the Grand Historian.
King Wu of Zhou
 Died: 1043 BC
Regnal titles
Preceded by King of Zhou
c. 1050–1046 BC
Succeeded by
Himself as King of the Zhou dynasty
Preceded by King of China
c. 1046–1043 BC
Succeeded by