Pan Geng

Infobox Chinese emperor


name = Pán Gēng (Zi Xun) 盤庚 (子旬)
ances-name = Zi (子)
clan-name =
given-name = Xun (旬)
courtesy-name =
title1 = King of Shang Dynasty
reign1 =
off-title1 =
title2 =
reign2 =
off-title2 =
temple-name =
post-name = Pán Gēng (盤庚)
notes =

Pán Gēng (Chinese: 盤庚, born Zi Xun, Chinese: 子旬) was a Shang Dynasty King of China. He is best known for having moved the capital of the Shang Dynasty to Yīn.

In the "Records of the Grand Historian" he was listed by Sima Qian as the nineteenth Shang king, succeeding his older brother Yang Jia (Chinese: 陽甲). He was enthroned in the year of Bingyan (Chinese: 丙寅) with Yan (Chinese: 奄) as his capital and in the seventh year of his regime, the Ying vassal (Chinese: 应侯) came to Yan to pay homage to him.

In the fourteenth year of his reign he moved his capital to Beimeng (Chinese: 北蒙) renaming it Yin (Chinese: 殷); henceforth the Shang dynasty was also called the Yin Dynasty.

In the fifteenth year of his reign he reviewed his army at the new capital and in the nineteenth year of his reign he assigned his minister Fen (Chinese: 邠侯) in Yawei (Chinese: 亚圉).

He ruled about 28 years according to both the "Bamboo Annals" and the "Records of the Grand Historian", was given the posthumous name Pán Gēng and was succeeded by his younger brother Xiao Xin (Chinese: 小辛).cite book |last=Bai |first=Shouyi |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=An Outline History of China |year=2002 |publisher=Foreign Language Press |location=Beijing |isbn=7-119-02347-0] cite web |url =http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/history/shang/shang-dynasty-emperors.htm |title = Emperor Table of Shang Dynasty |accessdate = April 15 |accessdaymonth = |accessmonthday = |accessyear = 2008 |author = |last = |first = |authorlink = |coauthors = |date = |year = |month = |format = |work = |publisher = Travel China Guide |pages = |doi = |archiveurl = |archivedate = |quote = ] cite web |url =http://chinaknowledge.de/History/Myth/shang-rulers.html |title = The Shang Dynasty Rulers |accessdate = August 7 |accessdaymonth = |accessmonthday = |accessyear = 2007 |author = |last = |first = |authorlink = |coauthors = |date = |year = |month = |format = |work = |publisher = China Knowledge |pages = |doi = |archiveurl = |archivedate = |quote = ] cite web |url =http://www.indiana.edu/~g380/Kings.pdf |title = Shang Kingship And Shang Kinship |accessdate = August 7 |accessdaymonth = |accessmonthday = |accessyear = 2007 |author = |last = |first = |authorlink = |coauthors = |date = |year = |month = |format = |work = |publisher = Indiana University |pages = |doi = |archiveurl = |archivedate = |quote = ]

Oracle script inscriptions on bones unearthed at Yinxu alternatively record that he was the eighteenth Shang king.

In the "Classic of History", there exists a chapter entitled "Pán Gēng", which tradition holds to have been a speech by this king; however, the language in it is so different from that of Pán Gēng's time that it is most likely not a product of his era.cite book |last=Loewe |first=Michael |authorlink= |coauthors=Shaughnessy, Edward L. |title=The Cambridge History of Ancient China – from the Origins of Civilization to 221 B.C. |year=1999 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=0-521-47030-7]

Historical message

The example of Pan Geng is remembered by Wang Anshi in his response to Sima Guang's accusatory letter.

References