Zhong Kang () was the fourth king of the

Xia Dynasty The Xia dynasty () is the first dynasty in traditional Chinese historiography. According to tradition, the Xia dynasty was established by the legendary Yu the Great, after Shun, the last of the Five Emperors, gave the throne to him. In tradit ...

, the first dynasty in traditional Chinese history.

Family

Zhong Kang was a son of king

Qi of Xia Qi () was a Chinese king, the son of Yu the Great and the second sovereign of the Xia dynasty. He ruled for roughly nine to ten years.戴逸, 龔書鐸. 002(2003) 中國通史. 史前夏商西周. Intelligence press. . p. 40. Biography ...

and thus the younger brother of

Tai Kang Tai Kang () was the third king of the Xia Dynasty. He was the son of the king Qi of Xia and paternal grandson of Yu the Great and queen Nu Jiao. Biography Tai Kang loved to hunt and did not rule well. According to the ''Bamboo Annals'', Tai ...

. He was the father of

Xiang of Xia Xiang () is the name of a king of the semi-legendary Xia dynasty who is said to have reigned during the 3rd millennium BC. He was the fifth king of the Xia dynasty. Biography Xiang had been preceded on the throne of Xia by his father Zhong Kang ...

Reign

According to the ''

Bamboo Annals The ''Bamboo Annals'' (), also known as the ''Ji Tomb Annals'' (), is a chronicle of ancient China. It begins in the earliest legendary time (the age of the Yellow Emperor) and extends to 299 BC, with the later centuries focusing on the history ...

'', Zhong Kang took the throne in the year of ''Jichou'' (''己丑''). His capital was at

Zhenxun Zhenxun () was the last capital for the pre historical Chinese Xia dynasty. There is a consensus among many Chinese scholars that the Erlitou site about 20 km east of central Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo Rive ...

. On the day of ''gengwu(庚戌)'', the 9th month in the 5th year of his reign, there was a

solar eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of the Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six mon ...

. Since the royal astronomers at that time were licentious and drunk, they failed to predict this eclipse, resulting in confusion and panic among the common people. Zhong Kang sent the nobleman Yin to punish the Ministers of Astronomy for thus neglecting their duties. This is described more fully in the document known as the ''Punitive Expedition of Yin(胤征)'' in the

Book of Documents The ''Book of Documents'' (''Shūjīng'', earlier ''Shu King'') or ''Classic of History'', also known as the ''Shangshu'' (“Venerated Documents”), is one of the Five Classics of ancient Chinese literature. It is a collection of rhetoric ...

. In the

, this was reflected as nobleman Yin conquering Xihe, which is the god of astronomy. In the 6th year of Zhong Kang's reign, he appointed the prince of Kunwu (''昆吾'') as his

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

. In his 7th year he died, and his son, named Xiang, declared a new capital at

Shangqiu Shangqiu (), alternately romanized as Shangkiu, is a city in eastern Henan province, Central China. It borders Kaifeng to the northwest, Zhoukou to the southwest, and the provinces of Shandong and Anhui to the northeast and southeast respectivel ...

, supported by the prince of Pi (邳).

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhong, Kang Xia dynasty kings