Di Xin

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Names
Surname Zǐ ( Chinese   子 )
Birth Name Shòu ( Chinese  受 )
Throne name from Shiji Dì Xīn ( Chinese  帝辛 )
Throne name from oracle bone (Not known)
Temple name (No)
Postum name Zhòu king ( Chinese  纣王 )
in German Di Xin

King Dì Xīn of Shang ( Chinese  帝辛 , popular name: King (Shang) Zhou , Shāng Zhòu (Wáng) ( 商纣 (王) )), born as Zi Shou (子 受), (*? BC; † 1122 BC) ruled from 1155 BC. BC to 1122 BC As the last king (the 31st or 32nd king) of the Shang dynasty for 33 years over China . He was the son of the previous King Di Yi .

Life

His first name was Shòu ( 受 , similar to Zhòu 纣 ), which is why he was also called Zhou Xin (紂 辛, Pinyin Zhòu Xīn ). It is also known that he put the character Shang (商, Pinyin Shāng ) in front of his name.

In the historical work Shiji , which was important for Chinese history but was not written until 1000 years later, Sima Qian writes that Di Xin had unusual skills at the beginning of his reign and that he was quick to grasp and excitable. He was the younger brother of Wei Zi (微 子) and Wei Zhong (微 仲), both of whom were born to a concubine. His sons were Wu Geng (武庚) and Lu Fu (祿 父). His father Di Yi (帝乙) had two brothers, Ji Zi (箕子) and Bi Gan (比干, a famous sage). Di Xin enlarged the Shang empire through numerous battles with the surrounding peoples, in which he also defeated the Yiren (夷人) tribe, now known as the Dongyi .

In his later years in reign he succumbed to alcohol and women and was morally degenerate. He neglected state affairs and, after Sima Qian, held extravagant festivals and orgies at which wild songs were played. His brother Wei Zi tried to bring him to his senses but was reprimanded. His uncle Bi Gan admonished him, but he had Bi Gan's heart ripped out to know what a wise man's heart looks like. When his uncle Ji Zi heard about this, he went to the royal nephew and admonished the king, but he was imprisoned. After the Shang Dynasty army was defeated by that of the Zhou tribe (led by King Zhou Wu ), Di Xin set the Lu Tai ( 鹿台 ) palace on fire and killed himself.

The history book Shiji reports that Di Xin was very strong, so that he could even pull nine running oxen in the other direction. He favored his beautiful but evil concubine Da Ji ( 妲 己 ) and trusted her, and set up the so-called alcohol pool and the meat forest. Di Xin ordered very cruel tortures such as burning with red-hot bronze rods and throwing prisoners into a large cauldron full of scorpions. He also imprisoned the dissident liege lords such as the Xi Bo Margrave ( 西伯 侯 ) Ji Chang ( 姬昌 , father of King Zhou Wu ) from the Zhou tribe.

Historical Notes on King Zhou

Di Xin (King Zhou) was viewed in China by Confucianism like Xia Jie as a typical despot and therefore the last doomed ruler of a dynasty; z. B. the Chinese idiom "To help King Zhou with his despotism" ( 助纣为虐 ) means that one helps bad people with bad actions.

Another view is that the negative comments about King Zhou only intensified over time, but in fact the writers before the Qin dynasty did not criticize him as much. Based on the history of his rule, expanded by the imagination of the following generations, one of the most famous Chinese novels called Fengshen Yanyi ( 封神 演义 ), which was first published in the Ming Dynasty - i.e. H. over 2400 years later - and in which he is depicted as a slave to his concubine Daji , who is possessed by an evil fox spirit .

literature

  • Zhou , in: Helmut Freydank et al. (Ed.): Lexikon Alter Orient , VMA-Verlag, Wiesbaden 1997, ISBN 3-928127-40-3 , p. 486.

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ The year of death traditionally given for Di Xin is 1122 BC. Is very insecure. According to the data published by the Xia-Shang-Zhou Chronological Project initiated by the Chinese government in 2000, the Zhou king Wu , who overthrew Di Xin , ruled from about 1046 to 1043 BC. According to this new dating, Di Xin was found around 1046 BC. Chr. Death.
  2. ^ Zhou , in: Helmut Freydank et al. (Ed.): Lexikon Alter Orient , VMA-Verlag, Wiesbaden 1997, ISBN 3-928127-40-3 , p. 486.
predecessor Office successor
Di Yi King of China
1155–1122 BC Chr. 		Wu from Zhou
personal data
SURNAME Di Xin
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Dì Xīn; 帝辛 (Chinese); King Shang Zhou (popular name); King Zhou (popular name); Shang Zhou (Wang); 商纣 (Chinese); 商 纣王 (Chinese); Zi Shou (maiden name); 子 受 (birth name Chinese)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION chinese king of the Shang dynasty
DATE OF BIRTH 12th century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 1122 BC Chr.