Weizi (), also spelled Wei Tsze, was the first ruler of

Song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetit ...

. He was the subject of Chapter 18 of the '' Analects'' of

Confucius Confucius ( ; zh, s=, p=Kǒng Fūzǐ, "Master Kǒng"; or commonly zh, s=, p=Kǒngzǐ, labels=no; – ) was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. C ...

. Weizi was the eldest son of

Di Yi Di Yi (), personal name Zǐ Xiàn (), was a king of the Shang dynasty of Ancient China from 1101 BC to 1076 BC. His capital was at Yin. Records According to the ''Bamboo Annals'', in the third year of his reign, he ordered Nanzhong to fight ...

. He was also a half-brother of the last Shang king,

Di Xin King Zhou (; ) was the pejorative posthumous name given to Di Xin of Shang () or King Shou 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 cr ...

(better known as King Zhou of Shang). Di Xin gave himself over to drinking, women and abandoned morals. Weizi tried to persuade him not to do, but Di Xin ignored. Subsequently, Weizi resigned and withdrew from the court. When

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 ...

conquered the Shang kingdom, Weizi submitted and presented the ritual utensils to King Wu of Zhou. He was pardoned by King Wu. After

Rebellion of the Three Guards The Rebellion of the Three Guards (), or less commonly the Wu Geng Rebellion (), was a civil war, instigated by an alliance of discontent Zhou princes, Shang loyalists, vassal states and other non-Zhou peoples against the Western Zhou governme ...

was put down, Weizi was enfeoffed as Duke of Song and granted land at Shangqiu (商邱 'the hill of Shang'), where the capital of the new State of Song was built. After his death, he was succeeded by his younger brother Yan (衍), historically known as Weizhong (微仲). Weizi was honored by

as one of the "three men of

virtue Virtue ( la, virtus) is moral excellence. A virtue is a trait or quality that is deemed to be morally good and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being. In other words, it is a behavior that shows high moral standards ...

" (三仁) of the Shang, together with

Jizi Jizi or Qizi or Kizi (; Gija or Kija in Korean) was a semi-legendary * :"Although Kija may have truly existed as a historical figure, Tangun is more problematical." * :"Most orean historianstreat the angunmyth as a later creation." * :"The Ta ...

and

Bigan Prince Bi Gan (, Bǐgān) was a prominent Chinese figure during the Shang dynasty. He was a son of King Wen Ding, and an uncle of King Zhou, and served as the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Shang. He was later worshipped as the God of Wealth. ...

.'' Analects'', Book XVIII. Wei-tsze., Chapter I Weizi was entitled by Emperor Shun of Yuan, named Renjing Gong (仁靖公) at late of Yuan Dynasty.

Name

His personal name is Qi (啓), ancestral name Zi (子) of the Shang kings and lineage name Song (宋) which later was passed down to the Song lords. Weizi (微子) is his posthumous name, with ''zi'' (子) meaning either "master" (educated man) or "

viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicia ...

" and ''wei'' (微) meaning " humble." Hence, his title can be fully interpreted as either "Viscount Wei of Song" or "Humble Master of Song." His younger brother inherited the part ''wei'' (微) of his posthumous name as , with ''zhong'' (仲) meaning the "second-born (of the family,)" indicating the former being a younger brother to the latter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Song Wei Zi 11th-century BC Chinese people Shang dynasty politicians Zhou dynasty nobility Monarchs of Song (state) Founding monarchs