Duchy of Zhou
Zhou (Chinese: 周) was a vassal state (諸侯) of the Shang Dynasty in ancient China during the 2nd millennium BC. It was ruled by the Ji clan who later overthrew the Shang and established the Zhou dynasty. It later continued as an appanage state for the Ji during the 1st millennium BC.
History
According to Sima Qian, it was established by Gugong Danfu when he relocated his clan from their home of Bin to a new settlement along the Wei River.[1] His two elder sons Count Tai and Zhongyong were said to have abandoned the territory and fled south to establish Wu on the lower Yangtze. His youngest son Jili then inherited Zhou and expanded it with numerous campaigns against the Rong "barbarians" around Shang. His power threatened King Wen Ding and he was tricked into an ambush at a place called Saiku (塞库). Jili's son Wen was likewise imprisoned by King Zhou at Youli before being ransomed by other nobles. In some accounts, Wen was forced to consume his eldest son as meat cakes or a soup at the king's bequest. His second son then avenged his grandfather and brother at the Battle of Muye, defeating King Zhou and ending the Shang.
After the defeat of Shang, the old fief was passed on to cadet branches of the dynasty, most famously Ji Dan Duke of Zhou.
Dukes of Zhou
Shang
- Old Duke Danfu, also known as King Tai of Zhou
- Duke Jili, also known as King Ji of Zhou
- Duke Wen, also known as King Wen of Zhou
- Duke Chang, who conquered Shang and proclaimed the Zhou dynasty as King Wu
Zhou
- Dan, the Duke of Zhou
- Duke Ping
- intermediate generation(s) lost
- Duke Ding
- intermediate generation(s) lost
- Duke Huan
- Duke Kong
- Duke Jifu
- Duke Yue
- intermediate generation(s) lost
- Duke Chu
See also
- Kings of Zhou
- Zhou Empire
- Ancestry of the Zhou dynasty