Xiang () is the name of a king of the semi-legendary

Xia dynasty The Xia dynasty () is the first dynasty in traditional Chinese historiography. According to tradition, the Xia dynasty was established by the legendary Yu the Great, after Shun, the last of the Five Emperors, gave the throne to him. In tradit ...

who is said to have reigned during the 3rd millennium BC. He was the fifth king of the Xia dynasty.

Biography

Xiang had been preceded on the throne of Xia by his father

Zhong Kang Zhong Kang () was the fourth king of the Xia Dynasty, the first dynasty in traditional Chinese history. Family Zhong Kang was a son of king Qi of Xia and thus the younger brother of Tai Kang. He was the father of Xiang of Xia. Reign According ...

, and before that by his uncle

Tai Kang Tai Kang () was the third king of the Xia Dynasty. He was the son of the king Qi of Xia and paternal grandson of Yu the Great and queen Nu Jiao. Biography Tai Kang loved to hunt and did not rule well. According to the '' Bamboo Annals'', Tai ...

.''The Shape of the Turtle: Myth, Art, and Cosmos in Early China'' by Sarah Allan

Reign according to the ''Bamboo Annals''

Xiang got his throne in the year of Wuxu and set his capital in

Shangqiu Shangqiu (), alternately romanized as Shangkiu, is a city in eastern Henan province, Central China. It borders Kaifeng to the northwest, Zhoukou to the southwest, and the provinces of Shandong and Anhui to the northeast and southeast respectivel ...

. In the first year of his reign, he sent troops against the

Huai The Huai River (), formerly romanized as the Hwai, is a major river in China. It is located about midway between the Yellow River and Yangtze, the two longest rivers and largest drainage basins in China, and like them runs from west to east. ...

Barbarians and Fei Barbarians (畎夷, aka ''Quanyi''). In the third year, he sent troops to the Feng Barbarians and

Huang Huang or Hwang may refer to: Location * Huang County, former county in Shandong, China, current Longkou City * Yellow River, or Huang River, in China * Huangshan, mountain range in Anhui, China * Huang (state), state in ancient China. * Hwang Riv ...

Barbarians. In his 7th year, "the hordes of Yu came to make their submission", while in the 8th year, the warlord

Han Zhuo Han Zhuo was a mythical Chinese hero who usurped Houyi as leader of a people near the Xia in prehistoric China. He and his sons appear in a number of Chinese legends and there are various conflicting accounts of how he died. Legends The leg ...

killed

Hou Yi Hou Yi () is a mythological Chinese archer. He was also known as Shen Yi and simply as Yi (). He is also typically given the title of "Lord Archer". He is sometimes portrayed as a god of archery descended from heaven to aid mankind. Other times, ...

. Han Zhuo also sent his son Jiao against Ge. In his 9th year, Xiang moved his court to Zhenguan. In the 15th year, Xiang's vassal, Xiangshi duke of Shang, "prepared carriages and horses, and removed to Shangqiu". In the 20th year, Han Zhuo conquered Ge. In the 26th year, Han Zhuo ordered his son Jiao to fight in Zhenguan. In the 27th year of Xiang's reign, Jiao attacked Xia at Wei in

Zhenxun Zhenxun () was the last capital for the pre historical Chinese Xia dynasty. There is a consensus among many Chinese scholars that the Erlitou site about 20 km east of central Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo Rive ...

28th year of reign

In the 28th year of Xiang's reign, Han Zhuo ordered his son Jiao to kill King Xiang. At that time, Xiang's wife, Queen Ji was pregnant. She escaped and hid in Youren. The prime minister of Xia, Mi, fled to Youge. Later, Ji gave birth to a boy named

Shao Kang Shao Kang (, his surname was Sì 姒) was the sixth king of the Xia dynasty of ancient China. He was the son of Xiang. His father was killed in a battle against Han Zhuo's two sons, Han Jiao and Han Yi; Shao Kang's mother Ji managed to escape a ...

. 19 years later, Shao Kang, heir to the throne of Xia, went from Youren to Yu. In the following years, Shao Kang and Mi led the forces of Zhenxun and Zhenguan to fight against the renegade Han Zhuo. Shao Kang sent

Ru Ai ''Ru, ru, or RU may refer to: Russia * Russia (ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code) * Russian language (ISO 639 alpha-2 code) * .ru, the Internet country code top-level domain for Russia China * Rù (入), the entering tone in Chinese language ...

to fight Jiao in Guo, and Jiao was killed. He also sent his son Zishu to recover Ge. Finally, forty years after Xiang's death, Mi executed Han Zhuo. Shao Kang returned in triumph to the Xia capital and took the throne, and all the former Xia vassals came to do homage.

Notes

{{Authority control Xia dynasty kings Ancient murdered monarchs Assassinated Chinese politicians