Real name: Ji Chang Alias: Xi Bochang, Bochang, Wen Wangchang Representative works: "Zhou Yi"
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King Wen of Zhou was the grandson of King Tai of Zhou, the son of Ji Li, and the founder of the Zhou Dynasty. After his father's death, Ji Chang succeeded to the throne of Xi Bohou, so he was called Xi Bochang. He reigned for 50 years and was a generation of Ming emperors in Chinese history. King Ji of Zhouwu destroyed Shang and posthumously honored him as King Wen of Zhou. Later generations honored it as "Yi Sheng".
The "Records of History" records that "King Wen detained and performed "Zhou Yi"" and during his imprisonment by King Shang, King Wen of Zhou continued to interpret the I Ching Bagua according to Fu Xi's research in Qili (present-day Tangyin County, Henan), and launched "Zhou Yi", which played a great guiding role in overthrowing the Shang Dynasty, and was evaluated by posterity as "three points under the heavens, and the second belongs to Zhou".
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Ji Chang's life's performance mainly includes the following four items:
The first is to abolish the "cannon branding." During the Shang Dynasty, the King of Shang invented the punishment of cannon burning, that is, to order prisoners to walk on copper pillars coated with lubricating oil, and when they slipped and fell, they would fall into the boiling oil pot, and their skin would be scorched. King Wen of Zhou came to Chaoge, and he was willing to sacrifice a piece of land on the west bank of the Guoluo River in order to abolish the "cannon branding". The King of Shang had long heard that people had a great opinion on this kind of criminal law, and now he could get a piece of land for free, which would be the best of both worlds. Therefore, he agreed to King Wen of Zhou's request. King Wen of Zhou took advantage of this to make a big publicity, and the princes and the people praised King Wen of Zhou for his immeasurable merits. Although King Wen of Zhou lost a piece of land, he was supported by the vast number of princes. This created a favorable condition for him to prosper and destroy the business.
The second is the Battle of Inuyasha. During the reign of Emperor Xin of the Shang Dynasty (c. 11th century BC), before the Battle of the Zhou Dynasty against the Shang, the Zhou army attacked Inuyasha. During the reign of King Wen, the center of Zhou rule was in the area of Xiqi, adjacent to Xi Rong. Inuhou was ordered to join forces with the merchants' multi-son tribes to attack Zhou Fang. In order to relieve the worries of attacking Shang to the east, King Wen sent the Zhou army to attack Inuyasha, and finally won the victory.
The third is to open up frontiers. On the surface, he submitted to the Shang Dynasty, but secretly he actively prepared to destroy the Shang. He divided and disintegrated the vassals of the Shang Dynasty, and successfully mediated the dispute between Yu and Rui over land, causing the small countries in Hedong to come to the annexation. The princes all regarded King Wen of Zhou as a "ordained prince" who could replace Shang. In the second year of Yu and Rui's annexation, King Wen of Zhou sent troops to the northwest and southwest, establishing a consolidated rear for the annihilation of the Shang. Then, he developed eastward, crossing the Yellow River to attack the qi and qi and other countries. Later, it marched east along the Weishui River and captured Chong, an important stronghold of the Shang Dynasty in the upper reaches of the Weishui River. In the second year of Vachong, King Wen of Zhou built Fengyi on the west bank of Fengshui and moved his political center to Feng (in present-day southwest of Xi'an, Shaanxi). At this point, King Wen of Zhou had completed the pincer siege of the Shang capital, and the Zhou people had formed an aggressive offensive against the Shang Dynasty.
Ji Chang performed "Zhou Yi" while imprisoned in Qiangli City
The fourth is to perform easy "gossip". The western Zhou dynasty grew stronger, causing uneasiness in the Shang Dynasty. King Shang's confidant, The Chancellor Chonghou Hu, secretly told King Huan that King Wen of Zhou had done good deeds everywhere and established his own prestige, and that all the princes had begun to submit to him, which was probably not conducive to King Shang. When king Huan heard this, he was furious and detained Ji Chang in a cage. In captivity, Ji Chang devoted himself to "performing the sixty-four trigrams of Yi, each for the sake of Yan". King Wen of Zhou's son Boyikao went to Chaoge City to meet king Huan, hoping to see his father and take his place as a hostage in Chaoge. King Huan was afraid that King Wen was a capable man and rebelled after returning to Xiqi, so he did not want to let King Wen of Zhou go, but he was worried that he had wronged his loyal subjects. When the king heard that he was a saint and could not be a prophet, he killed his son to make meatloaf for him to eat. If he eats it, it means that he is a mediocre person and has nothing to worry about. If he doesn't eat it, it means that he is really a capable person, so he will be killed to get rid of the trouble. King Wen of Zhou knew this well, and in order to save his life, he ate "meat cakes". King Huan thought that he was just a vulgar man with a vain name, and since then he has relaxed his vigilance against him, and a trace of regret has arisen in his heart.
King Wen of Zhou was imprisoned for 7 years, and after his release, he made up his mind to destroy Shang. Once, he went out hunting and happened to meet Jiang Shang, also known as Jiang Ziya, by the Weishui River. He found Jiang Ziya fishing with a straight hook at the water's edge, very curious (commonly known as "Jiang Ziya fishing wisher hooked"), so he went forward to talk to him, did not expect the two to talk speculatively. Zhou Wen Wang Xing Zhou Fei Yi urgently needed to recruit talents. He concluded that Jiang Ziya, who was more than an ancient man, had a profound plan, was extraordinary, and was the material of a pillar. Therefore, King Wen of Zhou fasted for three days, bathed and changed clothes, and personally went to hire Jiang Ziya with a generous gift. Later, Jiang Ziya assisted King Wen of Zhou in establishing the state, and assisted King Wu of Zhou in destroying the Shang Dynasty. Jiang Ziya was enfeoffed by King Wu of Zhou in Qidi, realizing his wish to make meritorious achievements.
This article is excerpted from Elephant Publishing House "Chinese Sage"