King Wen of Zhou

King Wen of Zhou

King Wen (zh-cp|c=周文王|p=Zhōu Wén Wáng) (1099–1050 BC) was the founder of the Zhou Dynasty.

Biography

The Zhou state was located in the Wei River valley in present day Shaanxi Province. At one point, King Zhou of Shang, fearing Wen's growing power, imprisoned him. However, many officals respected Wen for his honourable governing. So they gave King Zhou many gifts, and requested Wen 's release. These gifts included gold, horses and women. Zhou agreed, and Wen was released.

King Wen planned the conquest of the contemporaneous dynasty in power, the Shang Dynasty, but he died before he could accomplish this.

His family name was Ji (zh-cp|c=姬|p=jī). He married TaiSi (zh-cp|c=太姒|p=Tàisì) and had at least two sons, Zhou Gong Dan and Zhou Gong Wu (zh-cp|c=周公武|p=Zhōu Gōng Wǔ). His second son became King Wu of Zhou and completed his fathers wishes by defeating the Shang army at their capital. He eventually became the first king of the new Zhou dynasty.

King Wen is also known for his contributions to the Yi Jing, a manual of divination. King Wen is attributed with having stacked the eight trigrams in their various permutations, to create the sixty-four hexagrams. He is also said to have written the judgements which are appended to each hexagram (the line statements are attributed to his son, the Duke of Zhou. The most commonly used sequence of the sixty four hexagrams is attributed to King Wen and is usually referred to as the King Wen sequence.

ee also

* Bo Yi Kao


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • King Wu of Zhou — Chinese Emperor birth = death = family name = Ji (姬 jī) clan name = given name = Fa (發 fā) begin reign = 1111 BC end reign = 1105 BC dynasty = Zhou Dynasty era name = none begin era = end era = temple name = posthumous name short = Wu (武 wŭ),… …   Wikipedia

  • King Wen sequence — The King Wen sequence (Chinese: 文王卦序) is an arrangement of the sixty four divination figures in 易經 Yì Jīng, the I Ching or Book of Changes. They are called hexagrams in English because each figure is composed of six 爻 yáo broken or unbroken lines …   Wikipedia

  • Zhou Dynasty — For other uses, see Zhou Dynasty (disambiguation). Zhou Dynasty 周朝 Kingdom ← …   Wikipedia

  • Wen — The term Wen may refer to:*Wen family, a major family in the history of Hong Kong *King Wen of Zhou, a Zhou Dynasty Chinese ruler. *Emperor Wen of Han China, a Han Dynasty Chinese ruler. *Emperor Wen of Liu Song, a Liu Song Dynasty Chinese ruler …   Wikipedia

  • King Zhou of Shang — King xia 商紂王 King of Shang Dynasty Reign 1075 BC – 1046 BC (29 years) Spouse Daji Full name Family name: Zi (子) Given name: Shou (受) / Shoude (受德) …   Wikipedia

  • Wen Ding — (文丁) was king of the Shang Dynasty of China from 1112BC to 1102BC. Another name Da Ding (大丁), and his given name is Tuo (托).According to Bamboo Annals , His capial was at Yin (殷) or Zimou (自沬). In the second year of his regime, his vassal (诸侯) of …   Wikipedia

  • Duke of Zhou — Ji Dan Duke of Zhou Portrait of the Duke of Zhou in Sancai Tuhui Issue Boqin, Duke of Lu …   Wikipedia

  • Nangong Kuo (Western Zhou) — Nangong Kuo (Chinese: 南宫括 or 南宫适; Pinyin: Nángōng Kuò) was an official of Zhou. According to Classic of History, he was one of the key ministers of King Wen of Zhou.[1] Plot in Fengshen Yanyi Nangong Kuo was also a character featured within the… …   Wikipedia

  • Wen Yanbo — (溫彥博) (575 637), formal name Wen Dalin (溫大臨) but went by the courtesy name of Yanbo, [The New Book of Tang actually indicated that Yanbo was the formal name while Dalin was the courtesy name. See New Book of Tang , vol. 91… …   Wikipedia

  • Family tree of the Zhou Dynasty — This is a family tree from which King Nan of Zhou, the last king of the Zhou Dynasty was a descendant of the first founder Duke Wu of Zhou who overthrew the last Shang ruler Di Xin. Ruling from 1046 BC to 256 BC of Zhou rule, it is remarked as… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”