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King Wu of Zhou

King Wu of Zhou (Chinese: 周武王; pinyin: Zhōu Wǔ Wáng; Wade–Giles: Chou Wu Wang) was the first king of the Chinese zhou dynasty. The chronology of his reign is disputed, but it probably began in 1046 and ended with his death in 1043 BC.

King Wu was the second son of King Wen of Zhou, but his older brother Boyi Kao predeceased his father. Upon his succession, Wu worked with Jiang Ziya to accomplish his father's unfinished task: overthrowing the shang dynasty.

In 1048 BC, King Wu marched down the Yellow River to the Mengjin ford and met with more than 800 dukes. In 1046 BC, King Wu took advantage of Shang disunity to launch an attack along with many neighboring dukes. The Battle of Muye destroyed Shang's forces and King Zhou of Shang set his palace on fire and burned himself to death.

King Wu followed his victory by establishing many feudal states under his 16 younger brothers and numerous allies, but his death three years later provoked several rebellions against his young heir King Cheng and the regent Duke of Zhou, even from three of his brothers.

Last update 19-06-2012

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