King Wen of Zhou, surnamed Ji (姬) and mingchang (名昌), was the grandson of King Tai of Zhou and the son of the "Zhou Xibo" Ji Calendar.
Due to the bravery and good fighting of his father Ji Li, which aroused the suspicion of the King of Shang, his father Ji Li was summoned to Yingdu by the King of Shang in the name of a reward, and was placed under house arrest, and Ji Chang never had the opportunity to see his father again.
After his father was inexplicably executed by the Shang King, he succeeded him to his father's title and was later called "Marquis of Xibo".
He was a son in danger, his father died tragically, and at a young age he had to take on the great task of governing a country.
He was a good lord, practicing benevolent government during his reign, recruiting talents, whether you were in the headquarters or outside, as long as you had a skill, King Wen of Zhou treated each other with courtesy and jointly paid for the prosperity of Western Zhou.
He was also a good student, he worshiped Jiang Shang as a teacher, discussed the military and national plans, expanded the territory, recovered some places, attacked some territories, and laid a good foundation for the discussion of the King of Wu; He was also a good monarch.
During his reign, King Wen of Zhou attached great importance to agricultural production, he was not arrogant and lascivious, lived diligently and frugally, wore ordinary people's clothes, ate coarse tea and light rice, and often went to the fields to work, leading by example and being widely loved by the people.
He was also a good writer, and some of the political ideas of his Zhou Yi are still favored by scholars even now.
There is a way to "Wen Wang Baizi", people often use "Wen Wang Baizi" to express the good wishes of many sons and many blessings, and the "Fengshen Yanyi" mentions that Lei Zhenzi is Ji Chang's 100th son.
So does Ji Chang really have a hundred sons? If not, then how many sons does Ji Chang have? Why is it said that Ji Chang has 100 sons? Let's analyze it:
First, "Poetry Classics Daya Siqi" is a poem that praises King Wen of Zhou's self-cultivation, Qi family, and governance of the country.
Among them, there is a sentence "Tai Ji Si Hui Yin, then Bai Si Nan", which means that King Wen of Zhou's wife Tai Ji , because she inherited the virtues of King Wen's mother TaiRen and King Wen's grandmother Tai Jiang , and gave birth to many sons.
The "hundred" here is a false finger and an exaggeration, and its words are too much, not that King Wen of Zhou is just having a hundred sons.
According to historical records: "Tai Ji was born beautiful, intelligent and virtuous, worried about state affairs, strictly taught his children, respected the superiors and subordinates, was deeply loved by King Wen and respected by his subordinates, was revered by people as 'Wen Mu', and praised Tai Ji in both the Book of Poetry and the Biography of the Daughters of Lie."
From this, it can be concluded that the number of Princess Wen should not be too large.
Second, the ancient book "Great Dai Li" records: King Wen was thirteen years old, Boyi Kao, and fifteen years were born Wu Wang Fa.
King Wen of Zhou was born about 1152 BC, died in 1056 BC, at the age of 96, we count according to King Wen's birth of a son every two years, then to the age of 96 King Wen is at most 42 children, coupled with the gradual aging of his physical functions, it is simply impossible to have 100 children.
Third, according to the historical records, King Wen had eighteen sons, namely: Boyikao (姬考), King Wu of Zhou (姬发), Guan Shuxian (姬鲜), Zhou Gongdan (姬丹), Cai Shudu (姬度), Cao Shu Zhenduo (姬振铎), Uncle Wu (姬武), Huo Shu (姬處), Wei Kang (姬封), Ran Jizai (姬載), Uncle Gao,Yong Uncle,Mao Uncle Zheng (姬郑), Teng Zuo (姬绣), Bi Gonggao (姬高), Yuan Shu (姬高), Uncle Yuan, Uncle Feng, and Uncle Hao.
Moreover, during his reign, he was diligent in government and loved the people, worshiped Jiang Shang as a teacher, and suspected that people were not used, and there was no doubt about the use of people, even if people who were externally left behind, as long as they had a skill that could be used by Ji Chang, he treated them with courtesy and did not avoid suspicion.
He himself led by example, lived a thrifty life, worked in the fields, and worked diligently to contribute to his country, and Qi Zhou was able to expand his territory and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment under his administration, laying a solid foundation for the Wu King Ji fa merchants.
According to historical records here: "During the reign of King Wen of Zhou, 'KeMingde was cautious and punished', diligent in political affairs, attached importance to the development of agricultural production, corporal Li Xian, Guangluo talent, worshiped Jiang Shang as a military master, asked for the grand plan of the military state, so that 'the world was divided into three parts, and the second returned to Zhou'; he annexed Yu and Rui and attacked the states of Li and Qi; built the capital Fengjing and laid the foundation for the king of Wu to destroy the merchants; and the old legend "Zhou Yi" was performed by him. In addition, the Creation Zhou Li was revered by later generations of Confucians. ”
If King Wen of Zhou had not put in a lot of energy and effort, how could he have achieved such a great deed?
In summary, the book's statement that King Jichang of Zhou Wen had 100 sons is pure nonsense and an exaggeration.
The ancients believed that most of the sons were blessed, and perhaps the legend that Ji Chang had a hundred sons is a statement that Ji Chang is blessed!