Shao Kang

Shao Kang (Chinese: 少康; pinyin: Shào Kāng, his surname was Sì 姒) was the sixth king of the Xia dynasty of ancient China. He was the son of Xiang. His father was killed in a battle against Han Zhuo's two sons, Han Jiao and Han Yi; Shao Kang's mother Ji managed to escape and had him after a few months. After he grew up, Shao Kang and his followers engaged in a battle against Han Zhuo, defeated and killed him, and restored the Xia Dynasty.^{[1] [2]}

He was succeeded as king by his son Zhu; another son Wuyi was traditionally credited with civilizing the Yue of Zhejiang and establishing the state of Yue at Kuaiji.

Shao Kang is sometimes identified with Du Kang, the legendary inventor of wine in Chinese mythology.

Early history

Shao Kang's restoration of Xia is considered as a significant Chinese legend/story. Prior to Shao Kang, the Xia kings had become corrupt, squandered away the family fortune, and lost the good will of the people.^[3] Shao Kang's father was on the run, and only held the title of King in name. When Xiang was killed, Shao Kang's mother supposedly escaped by crawling through a hole dug by dogs at the foot of a wall. She escaped to her parents' holding, and secretly gave birth to Shao Kang. Because the world did not know about Shao Kang, most presumed that the last of the Xia family had died.^[4]

Under the protection of his maternal grandfather, Shao Kang grew up. From an early age, his mother taught Shao Kang his birthright, the failing of his family in corruption, and the need to restore rule. Under his mother and grandfather's watchful eyes, Shao Kang learned history, literature and the art of war, for the eventual goal of overthrowing Han Zhuo and restoring Xia.

By the time Shao Kang turned 16, the rumor of his existence as the last heir of Xia had reached Han Zhuo. Soon Han Zhuo dispatched his two sons to find and kill Shao Kang and he was forced to flee from his grandfather's estate.

Restoration

He managed to find safety in a northern tribe. The tribal leader had some past ties to the Xia family, and resented the rule of Han Zhuo and his tyrannical ways. He saw potential in the young exiled prince of Xia, so he decided to grant Shao Kang his daughter's hand in marriage, and 100 sq. "li" (about 25 sq. miles) of rich farm land as his own fief. This gave Shao Kang a base of operation, from which he could learn the art of state management and build his own population center to prepare.

In the 1st three dynasties of China, most of China were sparsely populated wilderness. It was often the case that secondary heirs of noble and royal families were given land grants over vast empty regions, where they were expected to build their own population centers, attract migrant populations to settle in their regions, and thus build their own fortunes. Eldest sons were expected to inherit the primary estate of their fathers, and continue to build the existing population centers. Younger sons, secondary heirs, were given the opportunity to prove their worth by the land grants. Successful leaders could build their own city states and eventually their own Kingdoms. In the Zhou dynasty, the Zhou King gave a land grant to Feizi, a royal horse breeder, for his service. Feizi's descendants managed to turn this small land grant in the western wilderness of China into the state of Qin, which eventually conquered all of China and established the first imperial dynasty of Qin in 221 BC.

Coincidentally, to the good fortune of Shao Kang in his marriage and his land grant, a former minister of Xia had hidden away a vast sum of fortune and had been buying arms and building an army in secret preparation for revenge on Han Zhuo. This minister, upon hearing that the heir of Xia had survived, rejoiced and immediately joined his forces with Shao Kang, thus renewing his loyalty to Xia. With his base secure and his army building and training, Shao Kang continued to build his estate under the old banner of Xia, preaching and reminding people of the benevolence of old Xia rule.

Han Zhuo, in the meantime, grew increasingly tyrannical and imposed heavy taxes upon the people of Xia. Many people fled from his rule. When Shao Kang's new Xia Kingdom grew in size and fortune, so spread the word of Shao Kang's benevolence. People began to compare Shao Kang to the 1st benevolent kings of Xia. Many fled to settle in Shao Kang's estate.

Victory

Han Zhuo became fearful that Xia had survived and now rivaled his power in size. He despatched his sons in the largest expedition force he could muster to destroy Shao Kang. Shao Kang by this time has become a seasoned leader. He gathered up his forces to meet Han Zhuo's army. He won the battle decisively and killed Han Zhuo's sons. Then Shao Kang's army swept to the door step of the old Xia capital, where the Xia people greeted him as a liberator by opening the door to the citadel. Han Zhuo, sensing defeat, committed suicide.

Shao Kang entered the Xia capital, once again as the King of Xia. He ordered his army to protect the people and their possessions, and help them restore peace and allow Xia to prosper.

As a king

With Xia's ancestral home secured, Shao Kang paid homage to his ancestors and received the homage of surrounding tributary kingdoms.

In this ritual this grew into the official religion in China in the form of ancestor veneration. This is a highly political and symbolic ritual. Royal families were heads of clans. Each Kingdom was essentially one clan. Royal families were thus also protectors of the ancestors' bones for that clan, and they were responsible for officiating religious ceremonies as a state function. This kind of religious ceremony of paying homage to one's ancestors was also considered as a status symbol. A kingdom who was too poor to conduct the ceremony with sufficient amount of expense was considered to be weak enough to be destroyed. Shao Kang thus had to officiate a ceremony to pay homage to his ancestors as part of his reclaiming of his birthright as a king.

Notes