Chang 昌
King of Zhou Dynasty
Reign	1099 BC - 1050 BC (49 years)
Father	King Tai of Zhou
Born	1152 BC
Died	1056 BC (aged 96)

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King Wen of Zhou (Chinese: 周文王; pinyin: Zhōu Wén Wáng; Wade–Giles: Chou Wen-wang) family name is Ji(姬),clan name is Zhou (周）Personal name is Chang ,was called Zhou Chang（周昌）^[1] (1099–1050 BC) was the founder of the Zhou Dynasty. He was the son of King Ji of Zhou, the third son of King Tai of Zhou, and the favored grandson of his grandfather. He was the nephew of Wu Taibo and Zhongyong, both rulers of the State of Wu at one time.

Contents 1 Biography 2 See also 2.1 Notes 3 References

[edit] 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 in Youli (羑里 - present day Tangyin in Henan Province).^[2] However, many officials 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 current dynasty in power, the Shang Dynasty, but he died before he could accomplish this.

His family name was Ji (Chinese: 姬; pinyin: jī). He married TaiSi (Chinese: 太姒; pinyin: Tàisì) and had at least ten sons, two of who were Zhou Gong Wu (Chinese: 周公武; pinyin: Zhōu Gōng Wǔ) and Zhou Gong Dan. His second son became King Wu of Zhou and completed his father's wishes by defeating the Shang army at their capital. He eventually became the first king of the new Zhou dynasty with his capital at Zhouyuan (Chinese: 周原; pinyin: Zhōuyuán) in present day Qishan County, Shaanxi Province. This he later relocated to Haojing (沣京/灃京) near present day Xi'an, Shaanxi Province.

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.

[edit] See also

Wives:

• Taisi (太姒)
• unknown

Sons:

1. Bo Yi Kao (伯邑考)
2. Fa 發, King Wu of Zhou (周武王)
3. Guan Shu Xian,管叔鮮 Guan (state)
4. Duke of Zhou (周公旦), Duke Wen of Zhou
5. Cai Shu Du (蔡叔度), State of Cai
6. Cheng Shu Wu (郕叔武), State of Cheng
7. Huo Shu Chu (霍叔處), State of Huo
8. Kang Shu Feng 康叔封，first Kang changed to of Wèi
9. Mao Shu Zheng (毛叔鄭), State of Mao
10. Ran Ji Zai (冉季載), Ruler of Dan (聃国君)
11. Gao Shu (郜叔) Gao
12. Earl of Yong (雍伯) Ruler of Yong (雍国君) also known as 雝叔伯 Yong Shu Bo.
13. Caoshu Zhenduo ,State of Cao (曹叔振鐸)
14. Teng Shu Xiu (滕叔繡) State of Teng
15. Bi Gong Gao (畢公高) Duke Gao of Bi
16. Earl of Yuan (原伯) Ruler of Yuan (原國君)
17. Earl of Xun (郇伯) Ruler of Xun (郇國君)
18. Marquis of Feng (酆侯) Ruler of Feng (酆国君)

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Ci hai bian ji wei yuan hui (辞海编辑委员会. Ci hai （辞海. Shanghai: Shanghai ci shu chu ban she （上海辞书出版社）, 1979.

King Wen of Zhou Zhou Dynasty Born: 1152 BC Died: 1056 BC
Chinese nobility
Preceded by Duke Ji of Zhou	Duke of Zhou 1099 BC – c. 1050 BC	Succeeded by King Wu of Zhou