Yuxiong or Yu Xiong (Chinese: 鬻熊; pinyin: Yùxióng) was the teacher of King Wen of Zhou (reigned 1099–1050 BCE), the first king of the Zhou Dynasty of ancient China. He was the ancestor of the rulers of the State of Chu (c. 1030–223 BC).[1] Yuxiong's ancestral surname was Mi (Chinese: 芈), and his descendants adopted Xiong (literally "bear"), the second character of his name, as their clan name, which is now the 72nd most common surname in China.[2]
According to legends recorded in the Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji) by Sima Qian, Yuxiong descended from the mythical Yellow Emperor and his grandson and successor emperor Zhuanxu. Zhuanxu's great-grandson Wuhui (吳回) was put in charge of fire by Emperor Ku and given the title Zhurong. Wuhui's son Luzhong (陸終) had six sons, all born by Caesarian section. The youngest son Jilian (季連) adopted the ancestral surname Mi, and Yuxiong was Jilian's descendant.[1]
Yuxiong died during the reign of King Wen. After Zhou overthrew the Shang Dynasty, King Wen's grandson King Cheng of Zhou (reigned 1042-1021 BC) awarded Yuxiong's great-grandson Xiong Yi the hereditary title of zĭ (子), equivalent to viscount, and the fiefdom of Chu, which in the ensuing centuries developed into one of the most powerful kingdoms of the Spring and Autumn Period.[1]