Ji Zha

Also known as Ji Zi · Gong Zizha

Ji Zha was the fourth son of King Shoumeng of Wu, who wanted him as heir; he declined, and when his brother Zhufan and the people of Wu later pressed the throne on him, he left his household to farm. He was enfeoffed at Yanling and known as Jizi of Yanling. On a mission to Lu in 544 BCE he asked to hear the music of Zhou and commented on the airs, odes and hymns of each state, as the Zuo Commentary (Zuozhuan) records, and on the same journey he met Yan Ying of Qi and Zichan of Zheng. The Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji) tells how the lord of Xu admired his sword; returning to find the lord dead, Ji Zha hung it on a tree by his grave. After King Liao's murder he mourned at his tomb and resumed his post. The Zuozhuan mentions a Jizi relieving Chen in 485 BCE, possibly him, and a tomb inscription for him is traditionally credited to Confucius.