King Mu of Zhou

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

King Mu of Zhou (ch 周穆王 zhōu mò wáng) or King Mu of Chou or Mu Wang was the fifth sovereign of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty.

King Mu Wang came into power after his father King Zhao's death during his tour to the South. King Mu was perhaps the most pivotal emperor of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty, reigning nearly sixty-six years, from c.1023 BC to c.957 BC. He was reputed to have lived until the age of 105. He liked to travel, and in particular visited the Kunlun Mountains several times during his reign. King Mu was more ambitious than wise. During King Mu's reign, the Zhou Dynasty was at its peak, and King Mu tried to stamp out invaders in the western part of China and ultimately expand Zhou's influence to the east. In the height of his passion for conquests, he led an immense army against the Jung Tribes, native to India, that had colonized the western part of China. His visits and travels allowed him to contact many tribes and swayed them to either join under the Zhou banner or be conquered in war with his mighty army. This expedition must have been more of a failure than a success, proven by the fact that he brought back only four white wolves and four white deer. Unintentionally and inadvertently, he thus sowed the seeds of hatred which culminated in an invasion of China by the same tribes in 771 B.C.

One Chinese myth tells a story about King Mu Wang, who dreamed of being an immortal god. He was determined to visit the heavenly paradise and taste the peaches of immortality. A brave Charioteer named Tsao Fu, used his chariot to carry the emperor to his destination.

[edit] Personal information

Family name	Ji (姬 jī) in Chinese
Given name	Man (滿 măn) in Chinese
Era name	none
Father	King Zhao of Zhou
Mother	unknown
Wife	unknown
Children	King Gong of Zhou and King Xiao of Zhou
Approximate duration of reign	1023 - 957 BCE
Tomb	unknown
Temple name	unknown
Courtesy name	unknown
Posthumous name	Mo 穆 (pinyin mò wáng), literary meaning: "reverend"