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King Wu of Zhou
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
King Wu of Zhou (Chinese: 周武王; pinyin: zhōu wŭ wáng) or King Wu of Chou was the first sovereign of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty. Various sources quoted that he died at the age of 93, 54 or 43. Zhou Gong Dan was one of his brothers.
King Wu was the second son of King Wen of Zhou. After ascending to the throne, King Wu tried to accomplish his father's dying wish: the defeat of the Shang Dynasty. King Wu used many wise government officials--most notably Prime Minister Jiang Ziya, a man evidentially declared as "the master of strategy"--resulting in the Zhou government growing far stronger as the years elapsed.
In 1048 BC, King Wu called for a meeting of the surrounding dukes at Meng Jin. More than 800 dukes came to the meeting. In 1046 BC, seeing that the Shang government was in a shambles, King Wu launched an attack along with many neighboring dukes. In the Battle of Muye, Shang forces were destroyed, and King Di Xin of Shang set his palace on fire and burned himself to death.
Following the victory, King Wu established many smaller feudal states under the rule of his brothers and generals. He died three years later in 1043 BC.
| Family name | Ji (姬 jī) in Chinese |
| Given Name | Fa (發 fā) in Chinese |
| Era name | none |
| Father | King Wen of Zhou (second son) |
| Mother | Taisi (太姒) |
| Wife | Yi Jiang (邑姜) of state of Qi, daughter of Jiang Shang (姜尚) |
| Children | at least 2 sons: King Cheng (to Jiang)(1st Son)and Shu Du (5th Son) |
| approximate duration of reign | became king in 1111 BC, established the dynasty in 1111 BC, ruled until 1105 BC |
| Tomb | unknown |
| Temple name | unknown |
| Courtesy name | unknown |
| Posthumous name | Wu (武 wŭ), literary meaning: "martial" |
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King Wu of Zhou
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| Preceded by Wen |
Duke of Zhou 1050 BC – 1111 BC |
Promoted to King of China |
| Preceded by Di Xin |
King of China 1046 BC – 1043 BC |
Succeeded by Cheng |