Taibo () (circa 1150 BCE), or Wu Taibo, was the eldest son of King Tai of Zhou and the legendary founder of the State of Wu. His exact birth and death dates are unknown.

Biography

According to Sima Qian, Taibo was the founder of the State of Wu. Born into the Jī clan () of

predynastic Zhou The Predynastic Zhou or Proto-Zhou (; ) refers to the state of Zhou that existed in the Guanzhong region of modern Shaanxi province during the Shang dynasty of ancient China, before its conquest of Shang in 1046/45 BC which led to the establishment ...

, Taibo was the eldest son of King Tai of Zhou. He had two younger brothers, Zhongyong and Jili. The King of Zhou wished to make his youngest son Jili to inherit the reins of power, so Taibo and Zhongyong traveled southeast and settled in

Meili In Norse mythology, Meili (Old Norse: , "the lovely one"Simek (2007:210).) is a god, son of the god Odin and brother of the god Thor. Meili is attested in the '' Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and t ...

in present-day Jiangsu province. There, Taibo and his followers set up the State of Wu, and made Meili its capital. Taibo's grand-nephew, King Wu of Zhou, overthrew the

Shang dynasty The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and ...

and started the

Zhou dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chinese ( B&S): *''tiw'') was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of China by ...

. However, the tale of Taibo being the founder of the State of Wu is disputed. Taibo's Tomb

During his reign, Taibo developed irrigation, encouraged agriculture, and dug Taibo River (泰伯瀆) which is called Bodu River (伯瀆河) today. When Taibo died, he had no heir and passed the throne to his younger brother Zhongyong. Taibo's shrine was set up in today's Meicun. Although the original wood structure was destroyed during later wars, it has been renovated several times. Present architecture is mostly from the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...

. A stone carved with Confucius's comment can still be seen in today's Taibo Shrine. Taibo is also customarily known as the propagator of all people with the surname Wu 吳. After the conquest of Shang dynasty, King Wu of Zhou found Zhouzhang, a great-grandson of Zhongyong, and made him the King of Wu.

Connection to ancient Japan

Ambassadorial visits to Japan by the later Chinese

Cao Wei Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' < Middle Chinese: *''ŋjwei^C'' <

Jin dynasties recorded that the Wajin people of Japan claimed to be descendants of Taibo of Wu. Several scholars suggest that the

Yamato people The (or the )David Blake Willis and Stephen Murphy-Shigematsu''Transcultural Japan: At the Borderlands of Race, Gender and Identity,'' p. 272: "“Wajin,” which is written with Chinese characters that can also be read “Yamato no hito” (Ya ...

and the

Yamato dynasty The , also referred to as the Imperial Family or the House of Yamato, comprises those members of the extended family of the reigning Emperor of Japan who undertake official and public duties. Under the present Constitution of Japan, the Emperor i ...

are descendants of the Wu ruling clan and possibly Taibo.

References

{{Monarchs of Wu (state) Shang dynasty people Monarchs of Wu (state) 12th-century BC Chinese monarchs Founding monarchs