King Li of Zhou (died in 828 BC) (Chinese: 周厲王; pinyin: Zhōu Lì Wáng), also known as King Fen of Zhou (周汾王), personal name Ji Hu, was a king of the Zhou dynasty of China. Estimated dates of his reign are 877–841 BC or 857–842 BC (Cambridge History of Ancient China).[1]
| King Li of Zhou 周厲王 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| King of the Zhou dynasty | |||||||||
| Reign | 877–841 BC | ||||||||
| Predecessor | King Yí of Zhou | ||||||||
| Successor | Gonghe Regency | ||||||||
| Died | 828 BC | ||||||||
| Spouse | Shen Jiang | ||||||||
| Issue | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| House | Ji | ||||||||
| Dynasty | Zhou (Western Zhou) | ||||||||
| Father | King Yí of Zhou | ||||||||
| Mother | Wang Ji | ||||||||
Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian depict King Li as a corrupt and decadent king. To pay for his pleasures and vices, King Li raised taxes and caused misery among his subjects. It is said that he barred the commoners from profiting from the communal forests and lakes. He enstated a new law which allowed him to punish anyone, by death, who dared to speak against him. King Li's bad rule soon forced many peasants and soldiers into revolt, and Li was sent into exile at a place called Zhi near Linfen (842 BC). His son was taken by one of his ministers and hidden.[2] When Li died in exile in 828 BC, power was passed to his son.[3]
Shen Dao fragments
editThe Shen Dao fragments also depict King Li as a decadent and corrupt king. The fragments say:[4]
Formerly, during the decline of the house of Zhou, King Li brought trouble and chaos to all under heaven, the feudal lords governed by means of force, and the people desired to act as if there were no hierarchy and annex one another’s land.
Family
editQueens:
- Shen Jiang, of the Jiang clan of Shen (申姜 姜姓), a sister of the Count of Shen; the mother of Crown Prince Jing and You
Sons:
- Crown Prince Jing (太子靜; d. 782 BC), ruled as King Xuan of Zhou from 827 to 782 BC
- Prince You (王子友; d. 771 BC), ruled as Duke Huan of Zheng from 806 to 771 BC
- Served as the Minister of Education of Zhou from 773 to 771 BC
Ancestry
edit| King Gong of Zhou (d. 900 BC) | |||||||||||||||
| King Yih of Zhou (899–892 BC) | |||||||||||||||
| King Yi of Zhou (d. 878 BC) | |||||||||||||||
| Wang Bo Jiang | |||||||||||||||
| King Li of Zhou (890–828 BC) | |||||||||||||||
| Wang Ji of E | |||||||||||||||
See also
editSources
edit- ^ Feng, Li (2006), Landscape and Power in Early China: The Crisis and Fall of the Western Zhou 1045–771 BC, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-85272-2.
- ^ Sources of Western Zhou History: Inscribed Bronze Vessels by Edward L. Shaughnessy
- ^ Sima Qian. Records of the Grand Historian. Vol. 4.
- ^ Eirik Lang Harris 2016. p127.
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