King Jie of Xia

Also known as Si Lugui · Xia Jie · Jie

Jie, in the traditional account the last ruler of the Xia, appears in the Annals of Xia of the Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji) under the personal name Lugui, son of Di Fa. That chapter says many lords had already turned away from Xia, and that Jie, relying on force rather than virtue, harmed the people; he once summoned Tang of Shang, imprisoned him at Xiatai and then let him go. As the lords rallied to Tang, Tang attacked; Jie fled to Mingtiao and died in exile, regretting that he had not killed Tang when he could. Other texts add colour: the Discourses of the States (Guoyu) has him take Meixi as spoil from the Youshi, the Zhuangzi says he put Guan Longfeng to death, and the Hanshi waizhuan credits him with a lake of wine large enough for boats. The pairing Jie and Zhou later became a byword for tyranny.