Zhu (Chinese: 杼, also 予, 宁, 佇, or 宇) was the seventh king of the semi-legendary Xia dynasty (c. 2070–1600 BCE) of Ancient China. Along with the reign of his father Shao Kang, Zhu's rule was considered a peaceful and prosperous period of the Xia's history.
| Zhu 杼 | |
|---|---|
| 7th King of the Xia dynasty | |
| Predecessor | Shao Kang |
| Successor | Huai |
| Issue | Huai |
| Dynasty | Xia dynasty |
| Father | Shao Kang |
| Mother | A daughter of Yu Si |
Background
editThe Xia dynasty (夏朝; c. 2070–1600 BCE) is the first dynasty of traditional Chinese historiography.[1] Founded by Yu the Great, both the dynasty and its rulers are of highly uncertain and controversial historicity.[1][2]
There is some uncertainty as to the correct character for Zhu's name.[3] Some sources refer to him as Yu (予).[4] According to Sima Zhen, his named is read "Zhù".
Traditional narrative
editExtant sources offer little information on Zhu's reign.[5] He was the son of Shao Kang.[6][7] According to the Zuo Zhuan, Shao Kang's wife—and presumably Zhu's mother—was a daughter of Yu Si, a descendant of the legendary Yu dynasty.[8] Shao Kang had been born during an interregnum in the Xia's history, when the region was ruled by the usurper Han Zhuo.[5] During Shao Kang's attack to restore the throne, the Zuo Zhuan described Zhu as commanding a "diversionary force" at the rear.[9] Towards his reign's end, Shao Kang enfeoffed his son Wuyu with a fief near Kuaiji; the sinologist Wu Kuo-Chen speculates that a rivalry from Wuyu living under the heir Zhu "might have grown into bickering that could be resolved only by this settlement".[10]
The Bamboo Annals gives a brief account of Zhu's reign. He ascended in the year of the ji si (己巳) and resided in Yuan (原; now Jiyuan), moving the capital to Laoqiu (老丘; now Kaifeng) after five years. During his reign's eighth year Zhu undertook a punitive expedition in the East China Sea, conquering as far as Sanshou. While hunting amid the exhibition, Zhu killed a nine-tailed fox. In the thirteenth year his Shang vassal Ming died at He. He died in the seventeenth year of his reign and was succeeded by his son Huai.[6][5]
Traditional accounts are generally interpreted as indicating the reigns of Shao Kang and Zhu as a "period of union and tranquillity".[11] Amid the renewed peace and conquering of Eastern peoples, Zhu's reign has been described as "the most powerful and prosperous period of the Xia dynasty."[12] The Guoyu describes Zhu as following Yu the Great's example, a "further indication that this is in some sense a new beginning".[4]
Chronology
editZhu is traditionally held to have succeeded his father Shao Kang and been succeeded by his son Huai.[7] Aside from this, all reign periods and lengths are speculative and unverifiable.
| Source | Length | Speculative Years |
|---|---|---|
| Traditional | 16 | 2057–2041[5] |
| Bamboo Annals | 17 | 1851–1868[6] |
References
editCitations
edit- ^ a b Morton & Lewis 2004, p. 14.
- ^ Chang 1999, pp. 71–73.
- ^ SJ in Allen 1895, p. 109.
- ^ a b Allan 1991, p. 72.
- ^ a b c d Imperial China 2020, p. 315.
- ^ a b c BA in Legge 1865, p. 121.
- ^ a b SJ in Allen 1895, p. 108.
- ^ ZZ.
- ^ Wu 1982, pp. 124, 144.
- ^ Wu 1982, pp. 125–126.
- ^ Wu 1982, p. 125.
- ^ Ye, Fei & Wang 1991, p. 27.
Sources
edit- Early
- 吴许越成. Zuǒ Zhuàn 春秋左氏傳 [Zuo Zhuan] (in Traditional Chinese).
（少康）逃奔有虞，为之庖正，以除其害。虞思于是妻以二姚。
- "Dì Zhù" 帝杼 [Emperor Zhu]. Zhúshū Jìnián 竹書紀年 [Bamboo Annals] (in Traditional Chinese).
- "The Annals of the Bamboo Books". The Chinese Classics: A Translation Critical and Exegetical Notes, Prolegomena, And Copious Indexes. Translated by Legge, James. London: Trübner. 1865.
- "Juǎn Er Xià 卷二夏" [Volume 2: Xia]. Shǐjì 史記 [Records of the Grand Historian] (in Traditional Chinese).
- "Ssŭma Ch'ien's Historical Records, Chapter II – The Hsia Dynasty". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. 27 (1). Translated by Allen, Herbert J.: 93–110 1895. doi:10.1017/S0035869X00022784. S2CID 250351018.
- Modern
- Allan, Sarah (1991). The Shape of the Turtle: Myth, Art, and Cosmos in Early China. Albany: State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-0459-1.
- Chang, Kwang-chih (1999). "China on the Eve of the Historical Period". In Loewe, Michael; Shaughnessy, Edward L. (eds.). The Cambridge History of Ancient China: From the Origins of Civilization to 221 BC. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-47030-8.
- Morton, W. Scott; Lewis, Charlton M. (2004). China: Its History and Culture. New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 978-0-07-146526-7.
- Wu Kuo-Chen (1982). The Chinese Heritage. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc. ISBN 978-0-517-54475-4.
- Ye, Lang; Fei, Zhenggang; Wang, Tianyou (1991). China: Five Thousand Years of History and Civilization. Hong Kong: City University of Hong Kong Press. ISBN 978-962-937-140-1.
- Imperial China: The Definitive Visual History. New York: DK and Encyclopedia of China Publishing House. 2020. ISBN 978-0-7440-2047-2.
