King Wen of Zhou ( zh, c=周文王, p=Zhōu Wén Wáng; 1152–1050 BC, the Cultured King) was the

posthumous title A posthumous name is an honorary name given mainly to revered dead people in East Asian culture. It is predominantly used in Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand. Reflecting on the person's accomplishments ...

given to Ji Chang ( zh, c=姬昌), the patriarch of the Zhou state during the final years of

Shang dynasty The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty that ruled in the Yellow River valley during the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and followed by the Western Zhou d ...

ancient China The history of China spans several millennia across a wide geographical area. Each region now considered part of the Chinese world has experienced periods of unity, fracture, prosperity, and strife. Chinese civilization first emerged in the Y ...

. Ji Chang himself died before the end of the Zhou-Shang War, and his second son Ji Fa completed the conquest of Shang following the

Battle of Muye The Battle of Muye, Mu, or Muh () was fought between forces of the ancient Chinese Shang dynasty led by King Zhou of Shang and the rebel state of Zhou led by King Wu. The Zhou defeated the Shang at Muye and captured the Shang capital Yin, ...

, and posthumously honored him as the founder of the

Zhou dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ) was a royal dynasty of China that existed for 789 years from until 256 BC, the longest span of any dynasty in Chinese history. During the Western Zhou period (771 BC), the royal house, surnamed Ji, had military ...

. Many of the hymns of the ''

Classic of Poetry The ''Classic of Poetry'', also ''Shijing'' or ''Shih-ching'', translated variously as the ''Book of Songs'', ''Book of Odes'', or simply known as the ''Odes'' or ''Poetry'' (; ''Shī''), is the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry, co ...

'' are praises to the legacy of King Wen. Some consider him the first epic hero of Chinese history. Although frequently confused with his fourth son

Duke of Zhou Dan, Duke Wen of Zhou, commonly known as the Duke of Zhou, was a member of the royal family of the early Zhou dynasty who played a major role in consolidating the kingdom established by his elder brother King Wu. He was renowned for acting as ...

, also known as "Lord Zhou", they are different historical persons.

Archaeology

Chinese scholars (e.g. Wang Yunwu ( 王雲五), Li Xueqin ( 李学勤), etc.) identified King Wen with a zh, c=周方白, p=Zhōufāng bó, l=Elder of Zhou region, labels=no mentioned in inscriptions H11:82 & H11:84 among

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, '' ...

excavated at Zhouyuan (), Qishan County.

Biography

Born Ji Chang (), Wen was the son of Tairen and

Ji Jili Jili was a leader of the Predynastic Zhou during the Shang dynasty of ancient China. His son King Wen of Zhou, King Wen and grandson King Wu of Zhou, King Wu would defeat the Shang to establish the Zhou dynasty. He was posthumously granted the tit ...

, the Elder of Zhou, a vassal clan of the Kingdom of Shang along the

Wei River The Wei River () is a major river in west-central China's Gansu and Shaanxi provinces. It is the largest tributary of the Yellow River and very important in the early development of Chinese civilization. In ancient times, such as in the Records ...

in present-day

Shaanxi Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to t ...

. Jili was betrayed and executed by the Shang king Wen Ding in the late 12th century BC, leaving the young Chang as the Elder of the Zhou lineage. According to ''Annals of Zhou'' 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 ...

'', upon becoming the Elder of Zhou, Wen was said to continue his father and their ancestor

Hou Ji Hou Ji (or Houji; ) was a legendary Chinese culture hero credited with introducing millet to humanity during the time of the Xia dynasty.. Millet was the original staple grain of north and South China, northern China, prior to the introduction of ...

's legacy by ruling with benevolence, respecting elders while treating the young with kindness, and allowed talented individuals to counsel him. Among these counsellors became important officials of Zhou, such as

Yuxiong Yuxiong (, reigned 11th century BC), also known as Yuzi or Master Yu (), was an early ruler of the ancient Chinese state that was later known as Chu. He was an ally and teacher of King Wen of Zhou (reigned 1099–1050 BC), the first king of the Zh ...

, San Yisheng, and Hong Yao (閎夭), and later

Jiang Ziya Jiang Ziya ( century BC – 11th century BC), also known by several other names, also known by his posthumous name as the Duke Tai of Qi, was the founding monarch of the Qi state. He was a military general and strategist who as ...

. Over time, Wen gained respect and reverence of the other regional lords, whose quarrels were also mediated by Wen. Wen also placed great importance in agriculture within his domain, with

Mencius Mencius (孟子, ''Mèngzǐ'', ; ) was a Chinese Confucian philosopher, often described as the Second Sage () to reflect his traditional esteem relative to Confucius himself. He was part of Confucius's fourth generation of disciples, inheriting ...

crediting the

well-field system The well-field system () was a Chinese land redistribution method existing between the eleventh or tenth century BCE (Western Zhou dynasty) to around the Warring States period. Though Mencius describes examples from the Xia and Shang dynasties, ...

as one of Wen's policies. During this time, Wen married Taisi and fathered ten sons and one daughter by her, plus at least another eight sons with concubines. At one point,

King Zhou of Shang King Zhou (; ) was the pejorative posthumous name given to Di Xin of Shang () or Shou, King of Shang (), the last king of the Shang dynasty of ancient China. He is also called Zhou Xin (). In Chinese, his name Zhòu ( 紂) also refers to a horse ...

, fearing Wen's growing power, imprisoned him in Youli (present-day Tangyin in

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

) after he was slandered by the Marquis of Chong.Cihai, p. 201. His eldest son, Bo Yikao, went to King Zhou to plead for his freedom, but was executed in a rage by lingchi and made into meat cakes which were fed to his father in Youli. However, many officials (in particular San Yisheng and Hong Yao) respected Wen for his honorable governance and gave King Zhou so many gifts including gold, horses, and women that he released Wen, and also bestowed upon him his personal weapons and invested him with the special rank of Overlord of the West (Western Shang). Wen offered a piece of his land in Western Luo to King Zhou, who in turn allowed Wen to make one last request. He requested that the Burning Pillar punishment be abolished, and so it was.. Subsequently, upon returning home Wen secretly began to plot to overthrow King Zhou. In his first year as Overlord of the West, he settled a land dispute between the states of Yu and Rui, earning greater recognition among the nobles. One anecdote claims that the rulers of Yu and Rui became ashamed of their dispute once they entered Zhou territory and saw its people sharing their farmlands and caring for the elderly. It is by this point that some nobles began calling him "king". The following year, Wen found

fishing in the Pan River and hired him as a military counselor. He also repelled an invasion of the

Quanrong The Quanrong () or Dog Rong were an ethnic group, classified by the ancient Chinese as " Qiang", active in the northwestern part of China during and after the Zhou dynasty (1046–221 BCE). Their language or languages are considered to have been ...

barbarians and occupied a portion of their land. The following year, he campaigned against Mixu, a state whose chief had been harassing the smaller states of Ruan and Gong, thus annexing the three of them. The following year, he attacked Li, a puppet of Shang, and the next year he attacked E, a rebel state opposed to Shang, conquering both. One year later he attacked Chong, home of Hu, Marquis of Chong, his arch-enemy, and defeated it, gaining access to the Ford of Meng through which he could cross his army to attack Shang. By then he had obtained about two thirds of the whole kingdom either as direct possessions or sworn allies. That same year he moved his administrative capital city one hundred kilometers east from Mount Qi to

Feng Feng may refer to: *List of surnames written Feng, several Chinese surnames as transliterated from Mandarin **Féng (surname) ( 冯 féng 2nd tone "gallop"), very common Chinese surname **Fèng (surname) ( 鳳 fèng 4th tone "phoenix"), relatively ...

, placing the Shang under imminent threat. The following year, however, the Overlord of the West died before he could cross the Ford. Nonetheless, other sources suggest he died in battle during the Zhou campaign against the Shang. Four years after his death, his second son, known as King Wu, followed his footsteps and crushed the Shang at

Muye Muye District () is a district of the city of Xinxiang, Henan province, China. History The BC Battle of Muye ended Shang hegemony over the Wei and Yellow River The Yellow River, also known as Huanghe, is the second-longest river in Ch ...

, founding the

. The name "Wen" now means "the Cultured" or "the Civilizing" and was made into an official royal name by King Wu in honor of his father. He was the only noble to bear the posthumous name "Wen" for almost the entire first half of the Zhou dynasty, despite its common usage as an epithet of eulogy, suggesting a special privilege.

Mandate of Heaven

The theory of political legitimacy that prevailed during the Zhou dynasty and found adherents throughout the following millennia was known as the Mandate of Heaven. According to this theory, Heaven established the sovereign lexically the same way a sovereign would establish a vassal, legitimacy flowed from Heaven's will through the person of the ruler to his lords and his family. The sovereign was held to be Heaven's eldest son in a manner analogous to the patrilineal kin-based society of Predynastic Zhou. If the sovereign was insufficiently virtuous, Heaven would choose a new successor, portended by various omens or disasters. King Wen was said to be mandated by Heaven because the virtue of the Shang kings had declined too greatly. While this political theory gained a great deal of sophistication over time, it seems to have begun with King Wen reading the skies. In 1059 BC, two unusual celestial phenomena took place. In May, the densest clustering in five hundred years of five planets visible to the naked eye could be seen in the constellation of Cancer, followed a few seasons later by an apparition of Comet 1P/Halley. One or more of these was interpreted by King Wen as a visible sign indicating his divine appointment. Early records, such as the

inscription Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

on the ''

Da Yu ding The Da Yu ''ding'' () is an ancient Chinese bronze circular Ding (vessel), ''ding'' vessel from the Western Zhou dynasty (1046–771 BC). Excavated in Li Village, Jingdang Township, Qishan County, Shaanxi, it is on display in the National Muse ...

'', describe Heaven's Mandate in terms of an actual astronomic event: "the great command in the sky" ( zh, labels=no, c=天有大令). here is to be read as zh, c=命, p=mìng, labels=no, which had not yet developed at this early stage of the written language. The transmitted record does not place King Wen's receipt of the Mandate in his biography, although the widespread traditions that hold the idea of its existence to be true universally agree that he did receive it at some point during his career. While his conquests, imprisonment, establishments, and rebellion form a traditional relative chronology, the absolute date calculated by modern scholars of the celestial phenomena that formed the seed of what has been called the Zhou dynasty's most important contribution to Chinese political thought cannot be securely slotted into King Wen's timeline.

Legacy

Portraits of Famous Men - King Wen of Zhou

) Many of the older odes from the ''Classic of Poetry'' (''Shijing'' 詩經) are hymns in praise of King Wen. He was additionally a great hero of

Confucius Confucius (; pinyin: ; ; ), born Kong Qiu (), was a Chinese philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. Much of the shared cultural heritage of the Sinosphere originates in the phil ...

, whose followers played a significant role in shaping Chinese culture.

Divination

King Wen is also credited with having stacked the eight trigrams in their various permutations to create the sixty-four hexagrams of the ''

I Ching The ''I Ching'' or ''Yijing'' ( ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. The ''I Ching'' was originally a divination manual in ...

''. He is also said to have written the judgments which are appended to each hexagram. The most commonly used sequence of the 64 hexagrams is attributed to him and is usually referred to as the King Wen sequence.

Posthumous honors

In 196 BC, Han Gaozu gave King Wen the title "Greatest of All Kings".

Family

Wives * Tai Si, of the Youshen lineage of the Si clan () Concubines * Lady, of the Zi clan of Shang (), a daughter of Wen Ding and a younger sister of Di Yi * Other spouses. Sons * By Tai Si: ** First son: Bo Yikao; ** Second son: Fa (); ruled as

King Wu of Zhou King Wu of Zhou (; died ), 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. Ki ...

; ** Third son:

Xian Xi'an is the list of capitals in China, capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong plain, the city is the third-most populous city in Western China after Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as the most populou ...

(), ruled Guan; ** Fourth son: Dan (), ruled the , *** Served as

Grand Tutor The Three Ducal Ministers (), also translated as the Three Dukes, Three Excellencies, or the Three Lords, was the collective name for the three highest officials in Ancient China and Imperial China. These posts were abolished by Cao Cao in 208 AD a ...

and regent for

King Cheng of Zhou King Cheng of Zhou (; 1055–1021 BC), personal name Ji Song, was the second king of the Chinese Zhou dynasty. The dates of his reign are 1042–1021 BCE or 1042/35–1006 BCE. Ji Dan, Duke of Zhou served as regent during his minority. His pare ...

;''Records of ritual matters by Dai the Elder'' (大戴禮記),
Protectors and Tutors (保傅)
quote: "召公為太保，周公為太傅，太公為太師。" translation: "The Duke of Shao acted as Grand Protector, the Duke of Zhou as Grand Tutor, and the

Grand Duke Grand duke (feminine: grand duchess) is a European hereditary title, used either by certain monarchs or by members of certain monarchs' families. The title is used in some current and former independent monarchies in Europe, particularly: * in ...

Grand Preceptor Grand Preceptor, also referred to as Grand Master, Section Cp2:192 C was the seniormost of the Three Ducal Ministers or Excellencies, the top three civil positions of the Zhou dynasty of ancient China. The other two were Grand Tutor and Grand P ...

." *** Dan's son Boqin ruled as Duke of Lu, a younger son succeeded the Zhou fief (prominent descendants included of the Gonghe Regency-fame); ** Fifth son: Du (), ruled Cai; ** Sixth son: Zhenduo (), ruled

Cao Cao or CAO may refer to: Mythology *Cao (bull), a legendary bull in Meitei mythology Companies or organizations * Air China Cargo, ICAO airline designator CAO * CA Oradea, Romanian football club * CA Osasuna, Spanish football club * Canadian ...

; ** Seventh son: Wu (), ruled Cheng (); ** Eight son: Chu (), ruled Huo; ** Ninth son:

(), ruled Kang, then Wey; ** Tenth son: Zai (), ruled Ran () or Dan (). *By other spouses:''

Zuo zhuan The ''Zuo Zhuan'' ( zh, t=左傳, w=Tso Chuan; ), often translated as ''The Zuo Tradition'' or as ''The Commentary of Zuo'', is an ancient Chinese narrative history traditionally regarded as a commentary on the ancient Chinese chronicle the '' ...

''
"Duke Xi -24th year - zhuan"
quote: "管、蔡、郕、霍、魯、衛、毛、聃、郜、雍、曹、滕、畢、原、酆、郇，文之昭也。" translation by Durrent, Li, Schaberg (2016:380-1): "the domains of Guan, Cai, Cheng, Huo, Lu, Wei, Mao, Dan, Gao, Yong, Cao, Teng, Bi, Yuan, Feng, and Xun for King Wen's sons of the odd-numbered generations" ** Ruler of Gao ; ** Count of Yong ; ** Zheng (), Duke of Mao ; ** Xiu (), ruler of Teng; ** Gao , ruled as Duke of Bi ; ** Count of Yuan ** Marquis of Feng ** Count of Xun ** Shi , Duke of

Shao Shao (; HKG Romanisation: Shiu; Gwoyeu Romatzyh: Shaw) is a common Chinese family name. It is the 86th most populous family name in China. It corresponds to last name So in Korean; Thiệu or Thiều in Vietnamese; Zau in Wu Chinese/Shanghaines ...

, ruler of Yan *** Served as Grand Protector to King Cheng * Yuanhe Xingzuan "Register of surnames of the Yuanhe reign" lists King Wen's sons in a slightly different order of birth:''Yuanhe Xingzuan'',

Siku Quanshu The ''Siku Quanshu'', literally the ''Complete Library of the Four Treasuries'', is a Chinese encyclopedia commissioned during the Qing dynasty by the Qianlong Emperor. Commissioned in 1772 and completed in 1782, the ''Siku quanshu'' is the lar ...

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** Eldest son: Bo Yikao (伯邑考) ** Second son: Fa, King Wu of Zhou (周武王) ** Third son: Xian, Ruler of Guan (管叔鮮) ** Fourth son: Dan, Duke of Zhou (周公旦) ** Fifth son: Du, Ruler of Cai (蔡叔度) ** Sixth son: Chu, Ruler of Huo (霍叔處) ** Seventh son: Wu, Ruler of Cheng (郕叔武) ** Eight son: Feng, Ruler of Kang then Wey ( ��叔封) ** Ninth son: Zheng, Ruler of Mao (毛叔鄭) ** Tenth son: Zai, Ruler of Ran (冉季載) ** Eleventh son: Ruler of Gao (郜叔) ** Twelfth son: Count of Yong (雍伯) ** Thirteenth son: Zhenduo, Ruler of Cao (曹叔振鐸) ** Fourteenth son: Xiu, Marquis of Teng (滕侯 / 滕叔繡) ** Fifteenth son: Gao, Duke of Bi (畢公高) ** Sixteenth son: Count of Yuan (原伯) ** Seventeenth son: Marquis of Feng (豐侯) ** Eighteenth son: Count of Xun (郇伯)

Archaeology

Biography

Mandate of Heaven

Legacy

Divination

Posthumous honors

Family

Ancestry

References

Notes

Citations

Further reading