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 legendary tomb of Han Zhuo, location in Hanting Subdistrict, Weifang, Shandong. Houyi was said to have saved the world from destruction by destroying nine of the ten suns which once shone over the world. (Under 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 ...

, the Chinese

week A week is a unit of time equal to seven days. It is the standard time period used for short cycles of days in most parts of the world. The days are often used to indicate common work days and rest days, as well as days of worship. Weeks are of ...

was divided into ten days, each honoring particular royal ancestors and each regarded as having a separate sun shining in turn.) He was said to have become a tyrant after his wife

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stole his elixir of immortality and ascended to the

moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

. Separately, he appeared as a historical figure in records such as the ''

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'', where he conquered the Xia capital Zhenxun during the early years of the reign of . Han Zhuo was originally from the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

of Hai. He was a relative. & or "minor functionary" of

Bo Ming Bo or BO may refer to Arts and entertainment Film, television, and theatre *Box office, where tickets to an event are sold, and by extension, the amount of business a production receives *'' BA:BO'', 2008 South Korean film * ''Bo'' (film), a ...

(), lord of Han, but was dismissed. He joined Houyi's court and ingratiated himself to its ladies. Liberal in his gifts and unwilling to do the daily drudgework of rule, Houyi entrusted him with greater and greater responsibility while he focused on his archery. Ultimately, Han Zhuo became Houyi's "

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

" and performed most of the duties of government. He is said to have usurped Houyi during the 8th year of the reign of Taikang's nephew ''

''. at the instigation of Houyi's wife.. In one account, the pair waylaid him as he was returning from a hunt; in another, Han Zhuo bludgeoned him to death with help from Xuan Qi; in another, he was waylaid by his own retainers led by his closest pupil Pangmeng (); in a fourth, he talked the palace staff into turning on the king and killing him.. Houyi's body was prepared as a meal for his son or sons, who refused to eat it and were killed. Their bodies were displayed at the gates of Qiong (). Houyi's wife Chun Hu (純狐 lit. "Sable/Pure Fox"; aka Xuan Qi 眩妻 "Dark Lady"), Han Zhuo's co-conspirator, then became Han Zhuo's consort and bore him two sons, Ao (, ''Ào'') or Jiao (, ''Jiāo'') and Yi (). As ruler, Han Zhuo conquered two other states but their refugees gathered with the Ge (, ''Gé'') under a man named Mi who espoused the cause of Shaokang, who claimed to be the long-lost son of the deposed Xia king Xiang by his escaped wife Min. In some accounts, Han Zhuo was killed by a Kuei minister. while in battle with the Xia refugees. In others, he was first succeeded by his son Ao, remembered as a strongman and revered as the "Arrogant King", a

culture hero A culture hero is a mythological hero specific to some group ( cultural, ethnic, religious, etc.) who changes the world through invention or discovery. Although many culture heroes help with the creation of the world, most culture heroes are impo ...

credited with the invention of ships and numbered among the Kings of the Water Immortals. Han Jiao was killed by Xiang's son .

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* . * . * . * . * . * {{citation , last=Selby , first=Stephen , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wY3sAQAAQBAJ , title=Chinese Archery , location=Hong Kong , publisher=Hong Kong University Press , date=2000 , isbn=9789622095014 . Xia dynasty