Da Ding () or Tai Ding () was the eldest son of King Tang, but sources are conflicted as to whether he actually succeeded his father as the second king of the Shang dynasty or not.

Records

In the ''

Records of the Grand Historian The ''Shiji'', also known as ''Records of the Grand Historian'' or ''The Grand Scribe's Records'', is a Chinese historical text that is the first of the Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was written during the late 2nd and early 1st ce ...

'' he was said by

Sima Qian Sima Qian () was a Chinese historian during the early Han dynasty. He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for the ''Shiji'' (sometimes translated into English as ''Records of the Grand Historian''), a general history of China cov ...

to have died at an early age without succeeding his father King Tang. He was given the

posthumous name A posthumous name is an honorary Personal name, name given mainly to revered dead people in East Asian cultural sphere, East Asian culture. It is predominantly used in Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand. ...

Tai Ding (Chinese: ) and the throne passed to his younger brother

Wai Bing Bu Bing or Wai Bing (born Zǐ Shèng), was the second king of the Shang dynasty, according to the ''Records of the Grand Historian''. In the ''Records of the Grand Historian'', he was listed by Sima Qian as the second Shang king, succeeding his ...

and later to his own son

Tai Jia Tai Jia () or Da Jia, personal name Zǐ Zhì, was the son of Prince Da Ding and a king of the ancient Chinese Shang dynasty. Biography In the ''Records of the Grand Historian'' he was listed by Sima Qian as the fourth Shang king, succeeding his ...

. Inscriptions on

oracle bones Oracle bones are pieces of ox scapula and turtle plastron which were used in pyromancya form of divinationduring the Late Shang period () in ancient China. '' Scapulimancy'' is the specific term if ox scapulae were used for the divination, '' ...

unearthed at

Yinxu Yinxu (; ) is a Chinese archeological site corresponding to Yin, the final capital of the Shang dynasty (). Located in present-day Anyang, Henan, Yin served as the capital during the Late Shang period () which spanned the reigns of 12 Shang ki ...

record that he was the second Shang king, given the posthumous name Da Ding (Chinese: ), and succeeded by his sons Da Jia (

) and

Bu Bing Bu Bing or Wai Bing (born Zǐ Shèng), was the second king of the Shang dynasty, according to the ''Records of the Grand Historian''. In the ''Records of the Grand Historian'', he was listed by Sima Qian as the second Shang king, succeeding his ...

(Wai Bing). Historian

Simon Sebag Montefiore Simon Jonathan Sebag Montefiore ( ; born 27 June 1965) is a British historian, television presenter and author of history books and novels, including '' Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar'' (2003), '' Jerusalem: The Biography'' (2011), '' The Rom ...

in his book The World: A Family History of Humanity, refers to an inscription that refers to Da Ding's death: "Da Jia and

Zu Yi Zu Yi (), personal name Zǐ Téng, was a Shang dynasty King of China. In the ''Records of the Grand Historian'' he was listed by Sima Qian as the thirteenth Shang king, succeeding his Father He Dan Jia (). He was enthroned in the year of Jisi ( ...

, of wine, 100 qiang prisoners, 300 head of cattle."

Notes

{{Kings of Shang Kings of the Shang dynasty