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King Wu of Zhou (; died ), personal name Ji Fa, was the founding
king
King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
of the Chinese Zhou dynasty
The Zhou dynasty ( ) was a royal dynasty of China that existed for 789 years from until 256 BC, the longest span of any dynasty in Chinese history. During the Western Zhou period (771 BC), the royal house, surnamed Ji, had military ...
. The chronology of his reign is disputed but is generally thought to have begun around 1046 BCE and ended with his death three years later.
King Wu was the second son of Ji Chang (posthumously King Wen) and Tai Si. In most accounts, his older brother Bo Yikao was said to have predeceased his father, typically at the hands of King Zhou of Shang, the last king of the Shang dynasty
The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty that ruled in the Yellow River valley during the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and followed by the Western Zhou d ...
; in the '' Book of Rites'', however, it is assumed that his inheritance represented an older tradition among the Zhou of passing over the eldest son. (Fa's grandfather Jili had likewise inherited Zhou despite two older brothers.)
Upon his succession, Fa worked with his father-in-law Jiang Ziya to accomplish an unfinished task: overthrowing the Shang dynasty. During the ninth year of his reign, Fa marched down the Yellow River
The Yellow River, also known as Huanghe, is the second-longest river in China and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system on Earth, with an estimated length of and a Drainage basin, watershed of . Beginning in the Bayan H ...
to the Mengjin ford and met with more than 800 dukes. He constructed an ancestral tablet with his father's posthumous name
A posthumous name is an honorary Personal name, name given mainly to revered dead people in East Asian cultural sphere, East Asian culture. It is predominantly used in Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand. ...
as King Wen and placed it on a chariot in the middle of the host; considering the timing unpropitious, though, he did not yet attack Shang. In 1046 BC, King Wu took advantage of Shang disunity to launch an attack along with many neighboring dukes. The Battle of Muye
The Battle of Muye, Mu, or Muh () was fought between forces of the ancient Chinese Shang dynasty led by King Zhou of Shang and the rebel state of Zhou led by King Wu. The Zhou defeated the Shang at Muye and captured the Shang capital Yin, ...
destroyed Shang's forces and King Zhou of Shang set his palace on fire, dying within.
King Wu followed his victory by establishing many feudal states under his 16 younger brothers and clans allied by marriage, but his death three years later provoked several rebellions against his young heir King Cheng and the regent Ji Dan, even from three of his brothers.
A burial mound in Zhouling town, Xianyang, Shaanxi was once thought to be King Wu's tomb. It was fitted with a headstone bearing Wu's name in the Qing dynasty. Modern archeology has since concluded that the tomb is not old enough to be from the Zhou dynasty, and is more likely to be that of a Han dynasty
The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...
royal. The true location of King Wu's tomb remains unknown but it is likely to be in the Xianyang-Xi'an area.
King Wu is considered one of the great heroes of China, together with the mythical Yellow Emperor
The Yellow Emperor, also known as the Yellow Thearch, or Huangdi ( zh, t=黃帝, s=黄帝, first=t) in Chinese, is a mythical Chinese sovereign and culture hero included among the legendary Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. He is revered as ...
and the legendary Yu the Great
Yu the Great or Yu the Engineer was a legendary king in ancient China who was credited with "the first successful state efforts at flood control", his establishment of the Xia dynasty, which inaugurated Dynasties in Chinese history, dynastic ru ...
.
Family
Queens
* Yi Jiang, of the Lü lineage of the Jiang clan of Qi (), the first daughter of the Great Duke of Qi; the mother of Song and YuSons
* Prince Song (; 1060–1020 BC), ruled asKing Cheng of Zhou
King Cheng of Zhou (; 1055–1021 BC), personal name Ji Song, was the second king of the Chinese Zhou dynasty. The dates of his reign are 1042–1021 BCE or 1042/35–1006 BCE. Ji Dan, Duke of Zhou served as regent during his minority. His pare ...
from 1042 to 1021 BC
* Second son, ruled as the Monarch of Yu (), the ancestor of the surname Yu (于)
* Third son, Prince Yu (), ruled as the Marquis of Tang from 1042 BC
* A son who ruled as the Marquis of Ying ()
* A son who ruled as the Marquis of Han
Daughters
* First daughter, Da Ji () ** Married Duke Hu of Chen (1071–986 BC) * Youngest daughter, personal name Lan () ** Married Duke Yǐ of Qi (d. 933 BC)See also
* Family tree of Chinese monarchs (ancient)References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wu of Zhou, King 11th-century BC deaths Kings of the Zhou dynasty 11th-century BC Chinese monarchs Investiture of the Gods characters Shang dynasty people Year of birth unknown Founding monarchs in Asia 11th-century BC rebels