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43-683: Emperor Wen , Wendi , or the Wen Emperor may refer to: King Wen of Zhou (1112 BC–1050 BC), Emperor Wen of Han (202 BC–157 BC), Emperor Wen of Wei (187–226), see Cao Pi Emperor Wen of Jin (211–264), see Sima Zhao Emperor Wen of Eastern Wu (223–253), see Sun He Emperor Wen of Song (407–453) Emperor Wen of Western Wei (507–551) Emperor Wen of Northern Zhou (507–556), see Yuwen Tai Emperor Wen of Chen (522–566) Emperor Wen of Sui (541–604) See also [ edit ] Duke Hui (disambiguation) Topics referred to by

86-660: A Zhou minister. He remained loyal to the regent Duke of Zhou during the Rebellion of the Three Guards ; following the Duke's punitive raids against the restive Eastern Barbarians or Dongyi , Jiang was enfeoffed with their territory as the marchland of Qi . He established his seat at Yingqiu (in modern Linzi ). He is also celebrated as one of the main heroes in the Fengshen Bang . The first ruler of Qi bore

129-516: A country could become powerful only when the people prospered. If the officials enriched themselves while the people remained poor, the ruler would not last long. The major principle in ruling a country should be to love the people; and to love the people meant to reduce taxes and corvée labour. By following these ideas, King Wen is said to have made the Zhou state prosper very rapidly. His treatise on military strategy, Six Secret Strategic Teachings ,

172-505: A significant role in shaping Chinese culture. King Wen is also credited with having stacked the eight trigrams in their various permutations to create the sixty-four hexagrams of the I Ching . He is also said to have written the judgments which are appended to each hexagram. The most commonly used sequence of the 64 hexagrams is attributed to him and is usually referred to as the King Wen sequence . In 196 BC, Han Gaozu gave King Wen

215-402: A traditional relative chronology, the absolute date calculated by modern scholars of the celestial phenomena that formed the seed of what has been called the Zhou dynasty's most important contribution to Chinese political thought cannot be securely slotted into King Wen's timeline. Ah! Solemn is the clear temple, reverent and concordant the illustrious assistants. Dignified, dignified are

258-457: A voodoo-like ritual involving building a straw effigy of his rival which is later shot at with arrows, leading to Zhao's death. In Chinese and Taoist belief, Jiang Ziya is sometimes considered to have been a Taoist adept. In one legend , he used the knowledge he gained at Kunlun to defeat the Shang's supernatural protectors Qianliyan and Shunfeng'er , by using magic and invocations. He

301-493: A while, he finally caught a large carp with a military book in its belly. King Wen saw a sage in a dream, and then heard of Lü Shang, and ordered to bring him [to the Court]. And then, when king Wu fought king Zhou , Lü Shang suggested more than 100 military gimmicks. He consumed zézhī lotus , lichen and rock-marrow [or zézhī lotus and earth-marrow], lived two hundred years, and then announced his death . Due to

344-538: Is also a prominent character in the Ming-era Investiture of the Gods , in which he is Daji's archrival and is personally responsible for her execution. The storyline present throughout the novel revolves around the fate of Jiang Ziya. He is destined to deify the souls of both humans and immortals who die in battle using the "List of Creation" (Fengshen bang, 封神榜), an index of preordained names agreed upon at

387-529: Is considered one of the Seven Military Classics of Ancient China. In the Tang dynasty he was accorded his own state temple as the martial patron and thereby attained officially sanctioned status approaching that of Confucius . Wives: Sons: Daughters: His descendants acquired his personal name Shang as their surname. In the popular Ming-era novel Investiture of the Gods, Jiang Ziya

430-562: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages King Wen of Zhou Although frequently confused with his fourth son Duke of Zhou , also known as "Lord Zhou", they are different historical persons. Chinese scholars (e.g. Wang Yunwu ( 王雲五 ), Li Xueqin ( 李学勤 ), etc.) identified King Wen with a 周方白 ; Zhōufāng bó ; 'Elder of Zhou region' mentioned in inscriptions H11:82 & H11:84 among oracle bones excavated at Zhouyuan ( 周原 ), Qishan County . Born Ji Chang ( 姬昌 ), Wen

473-548: Is represented as a disciple of the Kunlun sect practicing Chan Taoism. Aside from fortune-telling, he is able to perform supernatural feats such as mounting clouds, using his internal energy to breathe out a divine fire from his mouth, releasing thunder and lightning at will, creating illusions to conceal the presence of an entire army, and through the use of ritual and incantation, of summoning wind storms to carry away hundreds of refugees, of bringing about snow in order to freeze

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516-456: Is said that, while in exile, he continued to wait placidly, fishing in a tributary of the Wei River (near today's Xi'an ) using a barbless hook or even no hook at all, on the theory that the fish would come to him of their own volition when they were ready. King Wen of Zhou, (central Shaanxi), found Jiang Ziya fishing. King Wen, following the advice of his father and grandfather before him,

559-407: The given name Shang . The nobility of ancient China bore two surnames , an ancestral temple surname and a lineage surname . His were Jiang ( 姜 ) and Lü ( 呂 ), respectively. He had two courtesy names , Shangfu ( 尚父 ; "Esteemed Father") and Ziya ( 子牙 ; lit. "Master Ivory , Master Tusk "), which were used for respectful address by his peers. The names Jiang Shang and Jiang Ziya became

602-573: The inscription on the Da Yu ding , describe Heaven's Mandate in terms of an actual astronomic event: "the great command in the sky" ( 天有大令 ). The transmitted record does not place King Wen's receipt of the Mandate in his biography, although the widespread traditions that hold the idea of its existence to be true universally agree that he did receive it at some point during his career. While his conquests, imprisonment, establishments, and rebellion form

645-437: The "Hoped-for Lü" (Lü Wang; 呂望). as Jiang Ziya was seen as the sage – whom King Wen of Zhou 's ancestor Revered Uncle Ancestor Lei ( 公叔祖類 ) (also titled 太公 "Great ~ Grand Lord") had prophesied about and hoped for – to help the Zhou prosper. The last ruler of the Shang dynasty, King Zhou of Shang , was a tyrant who spent his days with his favorite concubine Daji and executing or punishing officials. After faithfully serving

688-492: The Shang army encamped in a mountain valley, and of conjuring a barrier made of the water of the North Sea in order to protect the Zhou capital. He is ruthless with his enemies, usually executing captive generals from the Shang side, but is loyal to the Zhou cause. When outmatched by another wielder of supernatural powers, Zhao Gongming, he employs underhanded means on the advice of another thaumaturge named Lu Ya, employing

731-604: The Shang at Muye , founding the Zhou dynasty . The name "Wen" now means "the Cultured" or "the Civilizing" and was made into an official royal name by King Wu in honor of his father. He was the only noble to bear the posthumous name "Wen" for almost the entire first half of the Zhou dynasty, despite its common usage as an epithet of eulogy, suggesting a special privilege. The theory of political legitimacy that prevailed during

774-467: The Shang court for approximately twenty years, Jiang came to find King Zhou insufferable, and feigned madness in order to escape court life and the ruler's power. Jiang was an expert in military affairs and hoped that someday someone would call on him to help overthrow the king. Jiang disappeared, only to resurface in the Zhou countryside at the apocryphal age of seventy-two, when he was recruited by King Wen of Zhou and became instrumental in Zhou affairs. It

817-402: The Zhou dynasty and found adherents throughout the following millennia was known as the Mandate of Heaven. According to this theory, Heaven established the sovereign lexically the same way a sovereign would establish a vassal, legitimacy flowed from Heaven's will through the person of the ruler to his lords and his family. The sovereign was held to be Heaven's eldest son in a manner analogous to

860-516: The basis of the text in the Six Secret Teachings . When King Wen met Jiang Ziya, at first sight he felt that this was an unusual old man who is angling with a straight hook hanging out of water, and began to converse with him. He discovered that this white-haired fisherman was actually an astute political thinker and military strategist. This, he felt, must be the man his grandfather was waiting for. He took Jiang Ziya in his coach to

903-444: The beginning of time by the leaders of the three religions. This list is housed in the "Terrace of Creation" (Fengshen tai, 封神臺), a reed pavilion in which the souls of the deceased are gathered to await their apotheosis. In the end, after defeating the Shang forces, Jiang deifies a total of 365 major gods, along with thousands of lesser gods, representing a wide range of domains, from holy mountains, weather, and plagues to constellations,

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946-472: The court and appointed him prime minister and gave him the title Jiang Taigong Wang ("The Great Duke's Hope", or "The expected of the Great Duke") in reference to a prophetic dream Danfu, grandfather of Wenwang, had had many years before. This was later shortened to Jiang Taigong. King Wu married Jiang Ziya's daughter Yi Jiang, who bore him several sons. After King Wen died, his son King Wu , who inherited

989-487: The cyclical nature of time, and the five elements. There are two xiehouyu about him: Liexian Zhuan , a book on Taoist immortals, contains his short legendary biography: 呂尚者冀州人也。 生而內智，預見[or 豫知]存亡。 避紂之亂，隱於遼東四[or 三]十年。 適西周，匿於南山，釣於溪[or 磻溪, or 卞谿]。 三年不獲魚，比閭皆曰：「可以止矣。」 尚曰：「非爾所及也。」 已而，果得大鯉，有兵鈐在腹中。 文王夢得聖人，聞尚，遂載而歸。 至武王伐紂，尚作陰謀百餘篇。 服澤芝地衣石髓[or 澤芝地髓]， 具二百年而告亡。 有難而不葬。 後子葬之，無屍， 唯有《玉鈐》六篇在棺中云。 呂尚隱釣，瑞得赬鱗。 通夢西伯，同乘入臣。 沈謀籍世，芝體煉身。 遠代所稱，美哉天人。 Lü Shang

1032-419: The fact that many surrendered or revolted, enabled Zhou to take the capital. King Zhou set fire to his palace and perished in it, and King Wu and his successors as the Zhou dynasty established rule over all of China. As for Daji, one version has it that she was captured and executed by the order of Jiang Taigong himself, another that she took her own life, another that she was killed by King Zhou. Jiang Taigong

1075-488: The king would be successful. The divinations revealed that, "'While hunting on the north bank of the Wei river you will get a great catch. It will not be any form of dragon, nor a tiger or great bear. According to the signs, you will find a duke or marquis there whom Heaven has sent to be your teacher. If employed as your assistant, you will flourish and the benefits will extend to three generations of Zhou Kings.'" Recognizing that

1118-515: The many officers, holding fast to the virtue of King Wen. Responding in praise to the one in Heaven, they hurry swiftly within the temple. Greatly illustrious, greatly honored, may [King Wen] never be weary of [us] men. Many of the older odes from the Classic of Poetry ( Shijing 詩經) are hymns in praise of King Wen. He was additionally a great hero of Confucius , whose followers played

1161-604: The most common after their use in the popular Ming-era novel Fengshen Bang , written over 2,500 years after his death. Following the elevation of Qi to a duchy , he was given the posthumous name 齊太公 Grand ~ Great Lord of Qi , on occasions left untranslated as "Duke Tai". It is under this name that he appears in Sima Qian 's Records of the Grand Historian . He is also less often known as "Grand Lord Jiang" ( 姜太公 ; Jiang Taigong), Taigong Wang ( 太公望 ), and

1204-410: The patrilineal kin-based society of Predynastic Zhou. If the sovereign was insufficiently virtuous, Heaven would choose a new successor, portended by various omens or disasters. King Wen was said to be mandated by Heaven because the virtue of the Shang kings had declined too greatly. While this political theory gained a great deal of sophistication over time, it seems to have begun with King Wen reading

1247-436: The result of this divination was similar to the result of divinations given to his eldest ancestor, King Wen observed a vegetarian diet for three days in order to spiritually purify himself for the meeting. While on the hunt, King Wen encountered Jiang fishing on a grass mat, and courteously began a conversation with him concerning military tactics and statecraft. The subsequent conversation between Jiang Ziya and King Wen forms

1290-462: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Emperor Wen . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Emperor_Wen&oldid=1226556186 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Title and name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

1333-423: The skies. In 1059 BCE , two unusual celestial phenomena took place. In May, the densest clustering in five hundred years' time of the five planets visible to the naked eye could be seen in the constellation of Cancer, followed a few seasons later by an apparition of Comet 1P/Halley . One or more of these was interpreted by King Wen as a visible sign indicating his divine appointment. Early records, such as

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1376-490: The smaller states of Ruan and Gong, thus annexing the three of them. The following year, he attacked Li, a puppet of Shang, and the next year he attacked E , a rebel state opposed to Shang, conquering both. One year later he attacked Chong, home of Hu, Marquis of Chong, his arch-enemy, and defeated it, gaining access to the Ford of Meng through which he could cross his army to attack Shang. By then he had obtained about two thirds of

1419-588: The special rank of Overlord of the West (Western Shang). Wen offered a piece of his land in Western Luo to King Zhou, who in turn allowed Wen to make one last request. He requested that the Burning Pillar punishment be abolished, and so it was. . Subsequently, upon returning home Wen secretly began to plot to overthrow King Zhou. In his first year as Overlord of the West, he settled a land dispute between

1462-536: The states of Yu and Rui, earning greater recognition among the nobles. It is by this point that some nobles began calling him "king". The following year, Wen found Jiang Ziya fishing in the Pan River and hired him as a military counselor. He also repelled an invasion of the Quanrong barbarians and occupied a portion of their land. The following year, he campaigned against Mixu, a state whose chief had been harassing

1505-463: The throne, decided to send troops to overthrow the King of Shang. But Jiang Taigong stopped him, saying: "While I was fishing at Panxi, I realised one truth – if you want to succeed you need to be patient. We must wait for the appropriate opportunity to eliminate the King of Shang". Soon it was reported that the people of Shang were so oppressed that no one dared speak. King Wu and Jiang Taigong decided this

1548-470: The title "Greatest of All Kings". Wives: Concubines: Sons: Jiang Ziya Jiang Ziya ( fl.  12th century BC – 11th century BC), also known by several other names , was a Chinese military general, monarch, strategist, and writer who helped kings Wen and Wu of Zhou overthrow the Shang in ancient China . Following their victory at Muye , he continued to serve as

1591-565: The whole kingdom either as direct possessions or sworn allies. That same year he moved his administrative capital city one hundred kilometers east from Mount Qi to Feng , placing the Shang under imminent threat. The following year, however, the Overlord of the West died before he could cross the Ford. Nonetheless, that other sources suggest he died in battle during the Zhou campaign against the Shang. Four years after his death, his second son, known as King Wu , followed his footsteps and crushed

1634-604: Was from Jizhou . Born with inherent wisdom, he could foresee life and death. Avoiding the chaos of king Zhou , he has been hiding in Liaodong for 40 [or 30] years. Then at Western Zhou he fled to Nanshan , and fished in mountain creeks [or in Panxi , or in Bianxi]. For three years he hadn't caught any fish, and the villagers told him, "You maybe should stop". But he said: "That's not what you can understand". And after

1677-634: Was in search of talented people. In fact, he had been told by his grandfather, the Grand Duke of Zhou, that one day a sage would appear to help rule the Zhou state. The first meeting between King Wen and Jiang Ziya is recorded in the book that records Jiang's teachings to King Wen and King Wu, the Six Secret Teachings (太公六韜). The meeting was recorded as being characterized by a mythic aura common to meetings between great historical figures in ancient China. Before going hunting, King Wen consulted his chief scribe to perform divination in order to discover if

1720-515: Was made duke of the State of Qi (today's Shandong province), which thrived with better communications and exploitation of its fish and salt resources under him. As the most notable prime minister employed by King Wen and King Wu, he was declared "the master of strategy"—resulting in the Zhou government growing far stronger than that of the Shang dynasty as the years elapsed. An account of Jiang Ziya's life written long after his time says he held that

1763-593: Was slandered by the Marquis of Chong. His eldest son, Bo Yikao , went to King Zhou to plead for his freedom, but was executed in a rage by lingchi and made into meat cakes which were fed to his father in Youli. However, many officials (in particular San Yisheng and Hong Yao) respected Wen for his honorable governance and gave King Zhou so many gifts – including gold, horses, and women – that he released Wen, and also bestowed upon him his personal weapons and invested him with

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1806-757: Was the son of Tairen and Ji Jili , the Elder of Zhou , a vassal clan of the Kingdom of Shang along the Wei River in present-day Shaanxi . Jili was betrayed and executed by the Shang king Wen Ding in the late 12th century BC, leaving the young Chang as the Elder of the Zhou lineage. Wen married Taisi and fathered ten sons and one daughter by her, plus at least another eight sons with concubines. At one point, King Zhou of Shang , fearing Wen's growing power, imprisoned him in Youli (present-day Tangyin in Henan ) after he

1849-468: Was the time to attack, for the people had lost faith in the ruler. The bloody Battle of Muye then ensued some 35 kilometres from the Shang capital Yin (modern day Anyang, Henan Province). Jiang Taigong charged at the head of the troops, beat the battle drums and then with 100 of his men drew the Shang troops to the southwest. King Wu's troops moved quickly and surrounded the capital. The Shang King had sent relatively untrained slaves to fight. This, plus

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