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King Wu of Zhou

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King Wu of Zhou ( Chinese : 周 武 王 ; pinyin : Zhōu Wǔ Wáng ; died c.  1043 BCE ), personal name Ji Fa , was the founding king of the Chinese Zhou dynasty . The chronology of his reign is disputed but is generally thought to have begun around 1046 BCE and ended with his death three years later.

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54-749: King Wu was the second son of Ji Chang (posthumously King Wen) and Tai Si . In most accounts, his older brother Bo Yikao was said to have predeceased his father, typically at the hands of King Zhou of Shang , the last king of the Shang dynasty ; in the Book of Rites , however, it is assumed that his inheritance represented an older tradition among the Zhou of passing over the eldest son. (Fa's grandfather Jili had likewise inherited Zhou despite two older brothers.) Upon his succession, Fa worked with his father-in-law Jiang Ziya to accomplish an unfinished task: overthrowing

108-481: A sub-provincial city ): The ten prefecture-level cities of Shaanxi are subdivided into 107 county-level divisions (30 districts , four county-level cities , and 73 counties ). The politics of Shaanxi is structured in a triple party-government system like all other governing institutions in mainland China. The Governor of Shaanxi is the highest-ranking official in the People's Government of Shaanxi. However, in

162-581: A major role in China's burgeoning aircraft and aerospace industries, producing more than 50% of the R&;D and manufacturing equipment for the country's domestic commercial air industry. Nominal GDP for 2011 was 1,239 billion RMB ( US$ 196.7 billion) and GDP per capita was 21,729 RMB (US$ 3,179), ranking 17th in the PRC. In the first half of 2019, Shaanxi's total production value reached 1,162.557 billion yuan,

216-505: 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

270-402: 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

324-629: A variety of climates. Under the Köppen climate classification , the northern parts , including the Loess Plateau, have either a cold arid (Köppen BWk ) or cold semi-arid (Köppen BSk ), with cold and very dry winters, dry springs and autumns, and hot, humid summers. The area known as Guanzhong is mostly semi-arid, though there are a few areas with a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cwa ), with cool to cold winters, and hot, humid summers that often see early-season heatwaves. The southern portion

378-547: A year-on-year increase of 5.4%. The added value of the primary industry was 55.319 billion yuan, an increase of 4.5%; the second industry was 557.935 billion yuan, an increase of 4.2%; the tertiary industry was 549.303 billion yuan, an increase of 6.8%. Established in 1992, Baoji Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone was approved as a national hi-tech zone by the State Council. It has a long-term planned area of 40 km (15 sq mi). The transportation system around

432-469: Is a national high-tech zone. It is surrounded by national highways and it is 30 minutes from Xi'an-Xianyang International Airport. Furthermore, it is ranked in the top three high-tech zones in China. Xi'an Software Park, established in December 1998, is the professional park for Xi'an to develop scale software and service outsourcing industries. The park has been appraised as a software industry base under

486-459: Is a new economic zone composing the three major city-level economies of Western China: Xi'an , Chongqing and Chengdu . It is believed that the addition of Xi'an to the Triangle will spur economic growth in the region and allow the city an opportunity to capitalize on the commercial potential of its high-technology industries. Established in 1993, Xi'an Economic and Technology Development Zone

540-592: Is likely to be in the Xianyang-Xi'an area. King Wu is considered one of the great heroes of China, together with the mythical Yellow Emperor and the legendary Yu the Great . Queens: Sons: Daughters: King Wen of Zhou King Wen of Zhou ( Chinese : 周文王 ; pinyin : Zhōu Wén Wáng ; 1152–1050 BC, the Cultured King) was the posthumous title given to Ji Chang ( Chinese : 姬昌 ),

594-592: Is much more humid and lies in the humid subtropical zone, with more temperate winters and long, hot, humid summers. Annual mean temperature is roughly between 8 and 16 °C (46 and 61 °F), with January temperatures ranging from −11 to 3.5 °C (12.2 to 38.3 °F) and July temperatures ranging from 21 to 28 °C (70 to 82 °F). Besides the provincial capital of Xi'an, other cities include: Baoji , Hanzhong , Lintong , Tongchuan , Xianyang , Yan'an and Ankang . Shaanxi consists of ten prefecture-level divisions : all prefecture-level cities (including

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648-726: Is one of the four great ancient capitals of China and is the eastern terminus of the Silk Road , which leads to Europe, the Arabian Peninsula, and Africa. The region was briefly governed as the Three Qins after the fall of the Qin dynasty . This is the origin of one of Shaanxi's two abbreviations, 秦 ( Qin ), the other being 陝 ( Shaan ). Then it was conquered by Liu Bang during the Chu-Han Contention . Under

702-531: Is one of the centers of ancient Chinese civilization. The central part of Shaanxi, known as Guanzhong , where the provincial capital Xi'an is located, is more populous compared to the others ( Shaannan and Shaanbei ), Religion in Shaanxi The predominant religions in Shaanxi are Chinese folk religions , Taoist traditions and Chinese Buddhism . According to surveys conducted in 2007 and 2009, 7.58% of

756-552: The Gwoyeu Romatzyh transcription (1928) for 陝 , "Sh aa n". Nonetheless, the vowels and consonants of shǎn 陝 and shān 山 are distinguished in the more conservative Jin Chinese languages native to the two provinces, as shown on the chart to the right (refer to IPA for Jin Chinese for further information). This conservative phonology is reflected in the historical spelling of Shaanxi, " Shensi ", known to

810-603: The Qinling Mountains , where the majority of Shaanxi's population reside. Southern Shaanxi comprises the three prefectural cities in the edge of the historical Bashu region south of the Qinling Mountains and includes the three mountainous cities of Hanzhong , Ankang and Shangluo . The area comprising Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Henan formed the cradle of Chinese civilization. During the Republican era ,

864-721: The Tangut -led Western Xia contested their border in Shaanxi. Western Xia found the Luōwùchéng (罗兀城) frontier fort in 1071 but was taken by Song in 1081. Under the Ming dynasty , Shaanxi was established with the founding of the Shaanxi Provincial Administration Commission in 1376, whose administration also included the modern provinces of Gansu , Ningxia , and part of Qinghai . During this dynasty, most visitors from Central and West Asia entered

918-573: 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

972-616: The 16th-largest in China. Xi'an  – which includes the sites of the former capitals Fenghao and Chang'an  – is the provincial capital and largest city in Northwest China and also one of the oldest cities in China and the oldest of the Four Ancient Capitals , being the capital for the Western Zhou , Western Han , Jin , Sui and Tang dynasties . Xianyang , which served as

1026-672: The Dukes of Shao and Zhou marked their borders along Shan plateau ( 陝塬 , now Zhanbian plateau). In Chinese typing , the toponym 陝 often got mixed up with "valley" 陜 (note: distinguish 㚒 and 夾 ). Simplified characters merged the two as 陕 . The alphabet rendering of Shaanxi 陝西 and its neighboring province Shanxi 山西 are troublesome in Beijing Mandarin because their pronunciation differs only in tone (rendered as Sh ǎ nxī and Sh ā nxī in pinyin transcription, 1958). To avoid confusion, mainland China recognized

1080-630: The Europeans in the 18th century. "Shensi" was recognized in the 1906 Chinese postal romanization . "Shensi" continued to be popular until 1987 when the PRC banned pre-PRC romanizations. Shaanxi is considered one of the cradles of Chinese civilization. Thirteen feudal dynasties established their capitals in the province during a span of more than 1,100 years, from the Zhou dynasty to the Tang dynasty. The province's principal city and current capital, Xi'an ,

1134-876: The Han dynasty, the Northern Silk Road was expanded to advance exploration and military purposes to the west. This Northern Silk Road is the northernmost of the Silk Roads and is about 2,600 kilometres (1,600 mi) in length. It connected the ancient Chinese capital of Xi'an to the west over the Wushao Ling Pass to Wuwei and emerging in Kashgar before linking to ancient Parthia . The Xiongnu -led kingdom Northern Xia (407–431) set its capital in Tongwancheng . The Northern Song dynasty and

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1188-568: The National Torch Program, national software industry base, national software export base, city demonstrational area of national service outsourcing base. It is one of the four parks with "double bases" of software in China. Xi'an Software Park assembles 90% of enterprises engaging in software and service outsourcing in Xi'an. There were nearly 780 companies, of which foreign-funded enterprises account for 170, and over 71,000 jobholders in

1242-521: The People's Government of Shaanxi was established in Xi'an . Ma Minfang was then appointed as the first Governor of Shaanxi. As of the mid-19th century, Shaanxi exported animal skins, wine, liquor, and musk . Money loans were also common, with Shaanxi business people involved in the Guangzhou loan business. Shaanxi commonly imported European animal skins, watches, Chinese language books, and cloth. Shaanxi

1296-692: The Shaanxi Lu (circuit), governed from modern Xi'an in 997. The Yuan dynasty established Shaanxi Province (Yuan dynasty) , governed by a Branch Secretariat in 1286. After the founding of the Qing dynasty, Gansu was split from Shaanxi, but both provinces were governed under the Viceroy of Shaan-Gan . The Lantian Man site, with hominin fossils from approximately one million years ago, was found in Lantian County in northwestern Shaanxi province, near

1350-656: 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

1404-915: The Shang dynasty. During the ninth year of his reign, Fa marched down the Yellow River to the Mengjin ford and met with more than 800 dukes. He constructed an ancestral tablet with his father's posthumous name as King Wen and placed it on a chariot in the middle of the host; considering the timing unpropitious, though, he did not yet attack Shang. 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, dying within. King Wu followed his victory by establishing many feudal states under his 16 younger brothers and clans allied by marriage, but his death three years later provoked several rebellions against his young heir King Cheng and

1458-402: 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

1512-498: The capital of the Qin dynasty (221–202 BC), is just north across the Wei River. The other prefecture -level cities into which the province is divided are Ankang , Baoji , Hanzhong , Shangluo , Tongchuan , Weinan , Yan'an and Yulin . The province is geographically divided into three parts, namely Northern (or " Shaanbei "), Central ("Shaanzhong") and Southern Shaanxi (or " Shaannan "). Northern Shaanxi makes up

1566-882: The city of Yan'an was near the endpoint of the Long March by the Chinese Red Army , who fled from Jiangxi after the Chinese Soviet Republic were destroyed by the Kuomintang armies, and became the birthplace of the Chinese Communist Revolution from late 1935 to early 1947 and the Communists formed the Shaan-Gan-Ning Border Region in constituent parts of Shaanxi. The vast majority of

1620-657: The city of Xi'an. Scientists classify Lantian Man as a subspecies of Homo erectus . The fossils are displayed at the Shaanxi History Museum , Xi'an, China. The geography of the area is described as being part of the Ordos Desert in the north along the border with Inner Mongolia, the Loess Plateau in the central part of the province, the Qin Mountains (Qinling) running east to west in

1674-592: The country via Shaanxi. One of the most devastating earthquakes in history occurred near Hua Shan in southeastern Shaanxi on January 23, 1556, killing an estimated 830,000 people (see 1556 Shaanxi earthquake ). The end of the short-lived Jiangxi Soviet signaled the beginning of the Long March by Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communists to the Shaanxi Soviet at Yan'an. The administrative evolution of Shaanxi: The Northern Song established

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1728-479: The first epic hero of Chinese history. 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

1782-515: 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

1836-566: The middle tier among China's administrative divisions. The fossil fuel and high technology sectors compose the two largest industries in Shaanxi Province. The high technology sector includes aircraft and aerospace industries and Shaanxi produces more than 50% of the R&;D and manufacturing equipment for the country's domestic commercial aviation industry. The meaning of the province, "Shan's west", traces to circa 1000 BC when

1890-446: The park by the end of 2008. Yangling Agriculture Hi-Tech Industrial Zone was approved as a national-level hi-tech development zone by State Council in 1997. It is 82 km (51 mi) from Xi'an to the east and 70 km (43 mi) from Xi'an Xianyang International Airport. Nearly all the people in Shaanxi are ethnic Han Chinese , with pockets of Hui population in the northwestern region (adjacent to Ningxia). Shaanxi province

1944-533: The patriarch of the Zhou state during the final years of Shang dynasty in ancient China . Ji Chang himself died before the end of the Zhou-Shang War, and his second son Ji Fa completed the conquest of Shang following the Battle of Muye , and posthumously honored him as the founder of the Zhou dynasty . Many of the hymns of the Classic of Poetry are praises to the legacy of King Wen. Some consider him

1998-410: 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

2052-413: The population of Shaanxi is Han Chinese , with Hui , Manchu and Mongol being the more significant ethnic minorities . Mandarin Chinese is the main spoken language in Shaanxi, including Central Plains Mandarin and Southwestern Mandarin dialects; another variety of Chinese , Jin Chinese , is also spoken in the regions neighboring Shanxi. Shaanxi is China's 15th largest economy , ranking within

2106-837: The province's dual party-government governing system, the Governor is considered to have less power than the Shaanxi Chinese Communist Party Provincial Committee Secretary ( 中共陕西省委书记 ), colloquially termed the "Shaanxi CCP Party Chief "; since the Governor is always ranked as the First-Deputy Secretary in the Shaanxi Chinese Communist Party Provincial Committee. Shaanxi was established as a provincial government since Qing dynasty . On 10 January 1950,

2160-485: The regent Ji Dan , even from three of his brothers . A burial mound in Zhouling town, Xianyang, Shaanxi was once thought to be King Wu's tomb. It was fitted with a headstone bearing Wu's name in the Qing dynasty. Modern archeology has since concluded that the tomb is not old enough to be from the Zhou dynasty, and is more likely to be that of a Han dynasty royal. The true location of King Wu's tomb remains unknown, but

2214-647: The seven pioneer EPZs with the function of bonded logistics in China. XEPZ is under the leadership of the Administrative Committee of Xi'an Economic and Technological Development Zone (XETDZ), which is designated by Xi'an municipal government to exercise economic and administrative power within the zone. XEPZ is a special economic zone. By now, there are more than 40 enterprises home and abroad settled in XEPZ. The pillar industries feature aviation, machinery, electronics and new energy. The Western Triangle

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2268-423: 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

2322-490: 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

2376-624: The south central part, and subtropical climate south of the Qinling. In between the Loess Plateau and the Qinling lies the Wei River Valley, or Guanzhong , a cradle of early Chinese civilization. Going clockwise, Shaanxi borders Shanxi (E, NE), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), Ningxia (NW), and Inner Mongolia (N). In terms of number of bordering provincial-level divisions, Shaanxi ties Inner Mongolia. Due to its large span in latitude, Shaanxi has

2430-594: The southeastern portion of the Ordos Basin and mainly comprises the two prefectural cities of Yulin and Yan'an on the northern Loess Plateau , demarcated from the Ordos Desert and the grasslands of Inner Mongolia 's Ordos City by the Ming Great Wall . Central Shaanxi is also known as the Guanzhong region, and comprises the drainage basin of lower Wei River east of Mount Liupan and north of

2484-588: 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

2538-536: 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

2592-441: The title "Greatest of All Kings". Wives: Concubines: Sons: Shaanxi Shaanxi is a province in Northwestern China . It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north, Shanxi and Henan to the east, Hubei , Chongqing , and Sichuan to the south, and Gansu and Ningxia to the west. Shaanxi covers an area of over 205,000 km (79,000 sq mi) with about 37 million people,

2646-509: 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

2700-462: The zone includes Xi'an-Xianyang International Airport and National Highway 310, and industries operating within the zone include auto parts, electronics, IT, pharmaceuticals and bioengineering industries and new materials. Shaanxi Xi'an Export Processing Zone (XEPZ) was approved on 21 June 2002 by the State Council for its establishment and was put on 5 April 2004. As the first state-level export processing zone in northwest China, XEPZ has become one of

2754-426: Was a major recipient of China's investment in industrial capacity during the Third Front campaign. The fossil fuel and high technology sectors compose the two largest industries in Shaanxi province. During 2009, the province ranked third in China for production of coal, natural gas and crude oil. As the home of several of the leading universities and research institutes in Western China, Shaanxi province also plays

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2808-526: Was approved as a national zone in 2000. The zone is 20 minutes from Xi'an Xianyang International Airport, and national highways pass through. It has formed four pillar industries: automotive, electronics, food, and new materials industries. So far, the zone has attracted more than 1,700 enterprises. Xi'an HTDZ opened its gates in 1991. It was established as a "pivotal location" for investment by high-tech industry companies in central and northwest China. Established in 1991, Xi'an Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone

2862-486: 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

2916-548: 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

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