Wu Ding

Wu Ding (Chinese: 武丁; pinyin: Wǔ Dīng); personal name Zi Zhao, was a king of the Shang dynasty who ruled China around 1200s BC. He is the earliest figure in Chinese history mentioned in contemporary records. The annals of the Shang dynasty compiled by later historians were once thought to be little more than legends until oracle script inscriptions on bones dating from his reign were unearthed at the ruins of his capital Yin (near modern Anyang) in 1899.[1] Oracle bone inscriptions from his reign have been radiocarbon dated to 1254–1197 BC.[2]

Wu Ding
武丁
Portrait of King Wu Ding of Shang from Sancai Tuhui
King of Shang dynasty
Reign1250 – 1192 BC or 1254 – 1197 BC
PredecessorXiao Yi
SuccessorZu Geng
Died1192 BC or 1189 BC or 1197 BC
SpouseFu Jing
Fu Hao
Fu Gui
IssueZu Ji
Zu Geng
Zu Jia
Xiao Chen Tao
Names
Family name: Zi (子)
Given name: Zhao (昭)
Posthumous name
Wu Ding (武丁)
Temple name
Gaozong (高宗)
FatherXiao Yi

History

Dating

Because Wu Ding is the earliest Chinese ruler whose reign is confirmed by contemporary material, dating his reign is a matter of significant historical interest.

According to the traditional chronology, he reigned from 1324–1266 BC.[3] Cambridge History gives 1189 BC as the end date of his reign.[4] The Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project (2000), sponsored by the Chinese government, gives his reign as 1250–1192 BC.[5] Inscriptions from twenty-six oracle bone divinations of his reign have been radiocarbon dated to 1254–1197 BC±10 years.[2]

Early life

According to later tradition, in the sixth year of his father's reign, he was ordered to live at He (河) and study under Gan Pan (甘盤). These early years spent among the common people allowed him to become familiar with their daily problems.

Documentation

In the Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji) he was listed by Sima Qian as the twenty-second Shang king, succeeding his father Xiao Yi (小乙). The oracle bone script inscriptions unearthed at Yinxu alternatively record that he was the twenty-first Shang king.[6][7] The Shiji says that he was enthroned in the dingwei (丁未) year with Gan Pan (甘盤) as his prime minister and Yin (殷) as his capital.

He cultivated the allegiance of neighbouring tribes by marrying one woman from each of them. Oracle bone inscriptions mention no fewer than sixty-four of his wives.[8]: 464  His favoured consort Fu Hao entered the royal household through such a marriage and served as military general and high priestess.[9] Another of Wu Ding's wives, Fu Jing, was probably responsible for overseeing agricultural production, as this was the subject she divined about most frequently.[10]

According to the Bamboo Annals, in the twenty-fifth year of his reign, his son Zu Ji (祖己) died at a remote area after being exiled.

According to the Book of Documents, in the twenty-ninth year of his reign, he conducted rituals in honour of his ancestor Da Yi (大乙), the first king of the Shang dynasty, at the Royal Temple. Angered by the presence of a wild chicken standing on one of the ceremonial bronze vessels, he condemned his vassals and wrote a proclamation called "Day of the Supplementary Sacrifice of Gao Zong" (高宗肜日).[11][lower-alpha 1] The Book of Documents passage in question is attributed to Zu Ji, reflecting a different tradition of vital dates for that individual.

According to the Bamboo Annals, the thirty-second year of his reign, he sent troops to Guifang (鬼方) and after three years of fighting he conquered it. The Di (氐) and Qiang (羌) immediately sent envoys to Shang to negotiate. His armies went on to conquer Dapeng (大彭) in the forty-third year of his reign, and Tunwei (豕韋) in the fiftieth year of his reign. Exactly how this is related to the campaigns in the oracle bone divinations is unclear, where the Gui Fang appears once, but the Gong Fang and Tu Fang campaigns have hundreds of divinations.

He died in the fifty-ninth year of his reign according to all the sources available, none of which are contemporary. Widely regarded in later tradition as one of the best kings of the Shang dynasty, he was given the posthumous name Wu Ding (武丁) and was succeeded by his son Zu Geng (祖庚).

References
  1. Bai, Shouyi (2002). An Outline History of China. Beijing: Foreign Language Press. ISBN 7-119-02347-0.
  2. Kexin Liu, Xiaohong Wu, Zhiyu Guo, Sixun Yuan, Xingfang Ding, Dongpo Fu, and Yan Pan (2020-10-20). "Radiocarbon Dating of Oracle Bones of the Late Shang Period in Ancient China". Radiocarbon. Cambridge University Press. 63 (1): 155–175. Archived from the original on 2022-03-14.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  3. S J Marshall (14 December 2015). The Mandate of Heaven: Hidden History in the Book of Changes. Taylor & Francis. p. 145. ISBN 978-1-317-84928-5.
  4. Keightley, David, "The Shang: China's First Historical Dynasty," Cambridge History of Ancient China (1999), Table 4.1, p. 240.
  5. Thorp, Robert L. (2006). China in the Early Bronze Age: Shang Civilization. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 0812239105.
  6. Theobald, Ulrich (2018). "The Shang Dynasty Rulers". China Knowledge. Archived from the original on 4 June 2004. Retrieved 7 August 2007.
  7. Eno, R (2006). "Shang Kingship And Shang Kinship" (PDF). Indiana University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 April 2008. Retrieved 7 August 2007.
  8. Allan, Sarah (2007). "Erlitou and the Formation of Chinese Civilization: Toward a New Paradigm". The Journal of Asian Studies. Duke University Press. 66 (2): 461–496. JSTOR 20203165.
  9. "Woman General Fu Hao". All China Women's Federation. Archived from the original on 27 August 2009. Retrieved 4 August 2007.
  10. Zeng Wenqing (曾文清) (1993). 关于"司母戊""司母辛"大方鼎的"司"字质疑 [On the question of the si character on the Simuwu-Simuxin great square ding]. Huaihua Shizhuan Xuebao (in Chinese). 21 (4): 71–73.
  11. "《高宗肜日 - Day of the Supplementary Sacrifice to Gao Zong》". Chinese Text Project. Archived from the original on 2014-04-12. Retrieved 2022-07-17.
  1. Per source, this title is translated as a sacrifice to "Gaozong", but as the recipient of the sacrifice bore the temple name "Taizu" while the performer of the sacrifice bore the temple name "Gaozong", the title should be read as a sacrifice of Gaozong. The source follows this reading in the body of the translation, but not in the title.
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