Royals › Monarch / Emperor
Di Xin
Last king of Shang, known as Zhou, whom the Shiji depicts as gifted but tyrannical and who burned himself on the Deer Terrace after defeat at Muye
Mural of the event “Battle of Muye”, which this person took part in.
The last Shang king Zhou was depraved and brutal, plundering at home and overstretching abroad, having lost the hearts of the people. Risen in the west under King Ji Fa, the Zhou tribe resolved to launch a punitive war on behalf of the suffering populace.
Also known as Zi Shou · Shang Zhou · King Zhou · Xin
- Roles
- Monarch / Emperor
Di Xin, personal name Shou, was the youngest son of King Yi and became heir because his mother was the principal queen; later ages called him Zhou. The Basic Annals of Yin in the Shiji credits him with quick wits, eloquence and the strength to kill beasts bare-handed, but charges him with drunkenness, devotion to Daji, heavy taxes to fill the Deer Terrace and the Juqiao granary, a pool of wine, a forest of meat and the roasting pillar. The same text says he imprisoned the Lord of the West at Youli, had Bigan's heart cut out, drove Jizi to feign madness and Weizi to flee. The Zuo Commentary says he conquered the Eastern Yi but lost his life for it. Beaten at Muye by King Wu, he put on his jade robes on the Deer Terrace and threw himself into the fire. In the Analects, Zigong observes that his wickedness was less extreme than reported, but that all the world's evils are laid on one who sinks low.
Life and times
- UnknownBorn
Shang
Zhoulast king of Shang - 1075 BCESongs of the Lutai Banquet
In powerKing Zhou's favor toward Da Ji of Su fed lavish Lutai revelry; excess and cruelty estranged the people, culminating in King Wu's victory at Muye and Shang's fall.- King Zhou Takes Consort Daji Suc. 1075 BCEAccording to the Guoyu, King Zhou (Di Xin) of Shang attacked the Su clan, which presented Da Ji (Daji) to him; the story became a starting point of later memories of the late-Shang palace.
- Lutai Treasury and Royal Revelryc. 1075 BCEThe Shiji says King Zhou raised taxes to fill the Lutai treasury and the Juqiao granary, and at Shaqiu held all-night revels with a pool of wine and a forest of hanging meat.
- King Zhou Takes Consort Daji Su
- 1075 BCETyranny of King Zhou
Took partShang's apex reversed into political collapse by the cruelty of its final king.- King Zhou's Extravagance at Lutai1060 BCEKing Zhou built the immense Lutai treasure tower, amassing royal hoard and squandering state coffers in hedonistic excess.
- King Zhou's Extravagance at Lutai
- 1046 BCEBattle of Muye
Took partKing Wu's coalition defeated Shang at Muye as troops turned against their commanders, ending Shang and founding Western Zhou.- Fall of Shang at Muye BattleIn 1046 BCE, King Wu's coalition defeated Shang at Muye and the dynasty fell; later tradition says Di Xin burned himself at Lutai, making the terrace a symbol of the final collapse.
- Fall of Shang at Muye Battle
- 1042 BCERebellion of the Three Guards
PrecursorThe crucial war that consolidated the newly founded Zhou dynasty and feudalism. - UnknownDied
Family tree
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Connections
- Shared events5
- Interactions1
- Rulers and officials6
