Author: CHUNG Yoon Ngan
Date: 12-26-05 09:56
The Shang Dynasty (商朝 1783BC to 1122BC)
It was said that Jian Di (簡狄) was the daughter of You Song Shi (有娀氏
). Ku Di (嚳帝), who was the grandson of Huang Di or the Yellow Emperor,
married Jian Di as his second wife. Jian Di gave birth to a baby boy who
was named Qi (契). When Qi grew up he helped Si Wenming (姒文命) to dredge the rivers which broke their banks and the water inundated the inhabitant lands. Shun Di (舜帝), the chief of the community, rewarded Qi by bestowing upon him the surname of Zi (子). Shun Di appointed Qi to administer a place called Shang (商 in the present day of Shangqiu county 商邱縣 in Henan province 河南省). Qi married the daughter of the leader of a local tribe. Qi introduced the advanced culture of hi father's plce to this tribe which was renamed as the Shang clan (商族). Qi surnamed his children ZI (子).
After the death of Qi [01] he was succeeded by his eldest son Zi Zhaoming
[02] (子昭明) as the leader of the Shang people. Zi Zhaoming's son, Zi Xiangtu [03](子相土), succeeded him. When Zi Xiangtu died his son, Zi Changruo [04](子昌若), succeeded him.
The succession for new leaderships were as follow:
(05) Zi Caoyu (子曹圉)
(06) Zi Ming (子冥)
(07) Zi Zhan (子展)
(08) Zi Wei (子微)
(09) Zi Baoding (子報丁)
(10) Zi Baoyi (子報乙)
(11) Zi Baobing (子報丙)
(12) Zi Zhuren (子主壬)
(13) Zi Zhugui (子主癸)
(14) Zi Tianyi (子天乙)
Zi Tianyi founded the Shang Dynasty and its chronology is as follow:
Name========================Reigning Period
(15) Zi Tianyi (Tang) 子天乙(湯)==1783BC to 1754BC
(16) Zi Waibing (子外丙)=======1753BC to 1751BC
(17) Zi Zhongren (子中壬)======1750BC to 1747BC
(18) ZiTaijia (子太甲)==========1746BC to 1721BC
(19) Zi Woding (子沃丁)========1720BC to 1692BC
(20) Zi Taikang (子太康)========1691BC to 1667BC
(21) Zi Xiaojia (子小甲)=========1666BC to 1650BC
(22) Zi Yongji (子雍己)==========1649BC to 1638BC
(23) ZiTaiwu (子太戊)===========1637BC to 1563BC
(24) Zi Zhongding (子仲丁)=======1562BC to 1550BC
(25) Zi Wairen (子外壬)=========1549BC to 1535BC
(26) Zi He Danjia (子河亶甲)=====1534BC to 1526BC
(27) Zi Zuyi (子祖乙)============1525BC to 1507BC
(28) Zi Zuxin (子祖辛)===========1506BC to 1491BC
(29) Zi Wojia (子沃甲)==========1490BC to 1466BC
(30) Zi Zuding (子祖丁)==========1465BC to 1434BC
(31) Zi Nangeng (子南庚)========1433BC to 1409BC
(32) Zi Yangjia (子陽甲)=========1408BC to1402BC
(33) Zi Pangeng (子盤庚)========1401BC to 1374BC
Changed the Dynatic title from Shang (商) to Yin (殷)
(34) Zi Xiaoxin (子小辛)=========1373BC to 1353BC
(35) Zi Xiaoyi (子小乙)==========1352Bc to 1325BC
(36) Zi Wuding (子武丁)=========1324BC to 1266BC
(37) Zi Zugeng (子祖庚)=========1265BC to 1259BC
(38) Zi Zujia (子祖甲)===========1258BC to 1226BC
(39) Zi Linxin (子廩辛)==========1225BC to 1220BC
(40) Zi Gengding (子庚丁)=======1219BC to 1199BC
(41) Zi Wuyi (子武乙)===========1198BC to 1195BC
(42) Zi Taiding (子太丁)=========1194BC to 1192BC
(43) Zi Diyi (子帝乙)============1191BC to 1155BC
(44) Zi Xinzhou 子辛 (紂)========1154BC to1122BC
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It was during the period of the Xia Dynasty (2205BC to 1766BC) that in
1818BC Si Lugui (姒履癸) was installed the 17th ruler of the Xia Dynasty
(夏朝 2205BC to 1766BC). Si Lugui was officially known as Xia King Jie (夏
桀王) who was a very capable and intelligent man, but he was a tyrant too.
He married a beautiful woman named Shi Meixi (施妹喜) who loved to listen
to the sound of tearing silk. So Si Lugui employed many weavers to produce silk clothing for her to tear. He built many big palaces and in the process he wasted all the resources of the country. The couple were masochists. They derived pleasure by torturing people. Many minor offenders of his subjects were tortured to death. His subjects suffered greatly under such a ruler.
Guan Longfeng (關龍逢) was a highly respected and much honoured high-ranking official in the Xia Court. He warned Si Lugui of the danger lying ahead of him if he were to continue to neglect the welfare of the country and spending lavishly. Si Lugui told Guan Longfeng,
" People must have a ruler just like the earth must have a sun. When the
sun dies then I will die".
Si Lugui not only refused to listen to Guan Longfeng but tortured him to
death for daring to criticize him.
So the people prayed to heaven,
"Sun, sun please die quickly so that the King will die with you".
Zi Tianyi [015] (子天乙) was the leader of the powerful clan of Shang.
Si Lugui suspected that Zi Tianyi seemed intriguing against him. So Si Lugui had Zi Tianyi arrested and imprisoned him in a prison in Xia Tai (夏台 present day Yu Xian 禹縣 in Henan province 河南省). For unknown reasons Si Lugui released Zi Tianyi who returned to his domain.
Zi Tianyi formed an alliance with Yi Yin (伊尹), the leader of the Xin Clan
(莘族 present day Chen Liu 陳留in Henan province). Together they began to conquer
the neighbouring protectorate States of the Xia Dynasty. Such States like
Ge (葛國 present day Ningling 寧陵縣 county in Henan province), Wei (韋國
present day Hua county 滑縣 in Henan province), Gu (顧國 present day Dongfan county 東范縣 in Shandong province 山東縣) and Kunwu (昆吾國 present day Puyang county 濮陽縣 in Henan province) had all been subjugated by the combined forces of Shang and Xin Clan.
In 1766BC, Zi Tianyi believed that it was time to destroy the Xia Dynasty.
So he and Yi Yin assembled a large army and marched towards the Xia capital of Anyi (安邑 present day Xia county 夏縣 in Shanxi province 山西縣).
On hearing the news Si Lugui led his army to encounter the advancing alliance forces. A decisive battle was fought at Mingtiao (鳴絛 present day near Kaifeng city 開封市 in Henan province). The Xia army were routed. Si Lugui was captured. Si Ligui banished him to Nanchao (南巢 present day Chao county 巢縣 in Anhui province 安徽縣) and later he died at Tingshan (亭山 present day He county 和縣 in Anhui province). That was the end of the Xia Dynasty after in existence of about 440 years.
Zi Tianyi established the Shang Dynasty (商朝) and his capital was at Boyi
(亳邑 present day Shangqiu 商邱 in Henan province). He was installed as King Cheng Tang (成湯王), the first King of the Shang Dynasty. Zi Tianyi bestowed upon Yi Yin the title of A Heng (阿衡).
King Cheng Tang encouraged his subjects to domesticate animals such as sheep, cattle and pigs for food. He spurred his people to open up new land for agricultural and he reduced the taxes. Within a few decades the country prospered.
Zi Tianyi died in1754BC and his grandson Zi Taijia (子太甲) became the ruler
of Shang. Zi Taijia appointed Yi Yin as the Prime Minister. 200 years later, in around 1562BC, the Shang Dynasty began to decline. The Shang Court was having problems to control such a vast country with a primitive
communication systems. The government became unstable.
In 1401BC, Pan Geng (盤庚) became the seventeenth ruler of the Shang Dynasty. Pan Geng decided to move his capital to Yin (殷 present day Anyang 安陽 city in Henan province). Many landlords refused to follow him to the new capital. He intimidated them by using force and eventually they agreed to shift to Anyang with their slaves.
Pan Geng reformed the political structure of the Shang administration and
the social system of the country. He rejuvenated the whole country. From
1400BCthe Shang Dynasty was called the Yin Dynasty named after the capital, Yin (殷).
In 1324BC, Shang King Wu Ding [36] (商武丁王) became the twenty second
King of Shang/Yin Dynasty. Shang King Wu Din, who reigned from 1324BC to 1266BC, appointed Gan Pan (甘盤) as his Prime Minister. Gan Pan was a high-ranking official during the reign of Shang King Xiao Yi (商小乙王), Shang King Wu Ding's father. Gan Pan had the talent and the administrative experience required to be a Prime Minister but, Gan Pan was also very old.
Aristocratic society at the time was described by historical texts as extravagant,
vain, corrupted and debauch. Constant friction between the aristocrats and
the slaves, who tilled the land, was a source of great instability in the
country. Yet outwardly Shang King Wu Ding appeared to do nothing about it and he had given Gan Pan full authority to run the country.
Unbeknownst to most people at the time, Shang King Wu Ding planning to retire Gan Pan and in fact had spent the last three years searching the country for a clever and capable person to replace Gan Pan. Shang King Wu Ding eventually found a capable replacement amongst the slaves; Shang King Wu Ding wanted to appoint him as the Prime Minister to replace Gan Pan, but he was afraid that his subjects especially the aristocrats might not agree.
By modern standards, the people during the Shang Dynasty were a superstitious lot; they worshipped spirits and believed in ghosts. One morning, in 1319BC Shang King Wu Ding woke up with excitement and told his officials (untruthfully) that in his dream he had found a sage called A Shuo (阿說). Shang King Wu Ding went on to say that A Shuo's spirit that told him that he could help him to run the country.
Immediately Shang King Wu Ding summoned an artist to help Shang King Wu Ding produce a portrait of A Shuo.
Shang King Wu Ding provided his officials with copies of the portrait of
A Shuo and ordered his officials to search for him. Eventually they found
a man looked like the one in the portrait, who was in fact Shang King Wu
Ding's choice for a replacement Prime Minister.
The new Prime Minister's name was not A Shuo but Fu Shuo (傅說). Fu Shuo
was born and brought up in a place called Fu Yan ( 傅岩), located in the
present day northeast of Pinglu county (平陸縣) in Shanxi province (山西
省) -- this was how Fu Shuo got his name. Fu Shuo was a slave, but Shang
King Wu Ding appointed him Prime Minister anyway and retired Gan Pan. Since it was the spirit that appeared in the ruler's dream that Fu Shuo would be the Prime Minister no one dared disagree. So by exploiting contemporary superstition Shang King Wu Ding achieved his plan without any objections.
Within a year of Fu Shuo's installation as Prime Minister, the hostility
between the aristocrats and the slaves had been settled and Shang King Wu Ding was able to effectively reform and rejuvenate the country. Under the competent guidance of Fu Shuo the country prospered. Fu Shuo died of old age.
In 1198BC, Zi Wuyi [41] (子武乙), the 27th King of the Yin/Shang Dynasty,
moved his capital to Chaoge (朝歌 present day Qi county 淇縣 in Henan province)
In 1154BC, Zi Shouxin (子受辛) became the King of Shang. Zi Shouxin was
officially known as Shang King Zhou (商紂王). Zi Shouxin was a clever and
capable king; however, he was also capable of great cruelty. Shang King
Zhou was also very proud, and as such did not accept advice from anyone.
Shang King Zhou married Su Daji (蘇妲己) who was alleged to be the most
beautiful woman in the land. The couple neglected the welfare of the country and they built many palaces, exhausting the resources of the country. King Zhou would torture or kill anyone who dared to disagree with his extravagance.
The people of Zhou Clan (周族) lived in the Wei (渭) Valley west of the
great bend in the Yellow River. The Zhou Clan was within the domain of the Shang. The leader of the Zhou Clan was Ji Fa (姬發) who organized a land army and marched towards the Shang capital of Zhaoge (朝歌 present day Qi Xian in Henan province). Zi Shouxin also led his army to intercept Ji Fa. A decisive battle was fought at Muye. Zi Shouxin's army were defeated and he escaped to his summer palace and committed suicide there ending the Shang Dynasty's 660 years reign. Ji Fa established the Zhou Dynasty (周朝1134 BC to 256 BC) and became better known as Zhou King Wu (周武王).
From the book Shi Ji chapter three by Si-Ma Qian
(司-馬遷的史記第三卷)
CHUNG Yoon-Ngan (鄭永元)
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