Wu Geng or Wugeng (
Chinese: ''Wǔgēng''), a.k.a. ''Lùfù'', was an ancient
Chinese noble who was the son of
Zhou, the last
king
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...
of the
Shang
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 ...
. After his father executed
Bigan by cutting out his heart, Wugeng fled to Feng, the capital of the Zhou state, together with his uncles Weizi and Weizhong to plead
King Wu of Zhou
King Wu of Zhou () was the first king of the Zhou dynasty of ancient China. The chronology of his reign is disputed but is generally thought to have begun around 1046 BC and ended three years later in 1043 BC.
King Wu's ancestral name was ...
for help. Shortly afterward King Wu attacked the Shang and defeated King Zhou at the
Battle of Muye, thus establishing the Zhou dynasty. Wugeng was allowed to stay in Yin, the old Shang capital, and rule it as a princedom and a vassal lord to King Wu.
After
King Wu's death and the ascension of his young son
Cheng, Wugeng joined the
failed 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 governmen ...
against the regent
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 actin ...
. He in turn was joined by the "
Eastern Barbarian"
states of
Yan,
Pugu, and
Xu. In the second year of the war, Wugeng was killed in battle and Yin was devastated, ending the Shang princedom.
In popular culture
Wu Geng's life after the fall of Shang was fictionalized in
manhuas titled ''Feng Shen Ji'' () and ''Feng Shen Ji II''. The former ''manhua'' focuses on Wu Geng's battle against the gods who supported Zhou, using the body of a slave he humiliated and blinded, when his mother extracted his soul out to fake his death. The latter covers further fighting against gods. An
animated adaptation entitled ''Wu Geng Ji'' () started airing in 2016.
Zhou dynasty people
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