| Dan, Duke of Zhou 周公旦 | |||||
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 Portrait of the Duke of Zhou inSancai Tuhui | |||||
| Regent of theZhou dynasty | |||||
| Reign | 1042–1035 BC | ||||
| Issue | Bo Qin | ||||
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| Father | King Wen of Zhou | ||||
| Mother | Tai Si | ||||
| Duke of Zhou | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Chinese | 周公旦 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese | 姬旦 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Posthumous name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese | 周文公 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Dan, Duke Wen of Zhou, commonly known as theDuke of Zhou, was a member of theroyal family of the earlyZhou dynasty who played a major role in consolidating the kingdom established by his elder brotherKing Wu.[1][2] He was renowned for acting as a capable and loyal regent for his young nephewKing Cheng, and for successfully suppressing theRebellion of the Three Guards and establishing firm rule of the Zhou dynasty over eastern China. He is also a Chineseculture hero, with the authorship of theI Ching and theClassic of Poetry having traditionally been attributed to him,[3] as well as the establishment of theRites of Zhou.
His personal name wasDan (旦). He was the fourth son ofKing Wen of Zhou and QueenTai Si. His eldest brotherBo Yikao predeceased their father (supposedly a victim of cannibalism); the second-eldest defeated theShang dynasty at theBattle of Muye around 1046 BC, ascending the throne asKing Wu. King Wu distributed many fiefs to his relatives and followers and charged Dan with securing the former Shang capital region near present-dayLuoyang.
Only three years after assuming power, King Wu died and left the kingdom to his young sonKing Cheng.[4][5]: 52 The Duke of Zhou successfully attained the regency and administered the kingdom himself,[5]: 54 leading to revolts not only from disgruntled Shang partisans but also from his own relatives, particularly his older brotherGuan Shu.[6] Within five years, the Duke of Zhou had managed to defeat theThree Guards and other rebellions[4] and his armies pushed east, bringing more land under Zhou control.
The Duke of Zhou was credited with elaborating the doctrine of theMandate of Heaven, which countered Shang propaganda that as descendants of the godShangdi they should be restored to power. According to this doctrine, Shang injustice and decadence had so grossly offendedHeaven that Heaven had removed their authority and commanded the reluctant Zhou to replace the Shang and restore order,[8] as Heaven itself follows the will of the people.[9] Therefore upholding virtue and ruling with justice and clemency, showing pity to the orphans and widows, and ensure respectful treatment to everyone corresponds to the will of Heaven and the people, as Duke Zhou expresses and emphasized to the young king Cheng and his courtiers.[10]
On a more practical level, the Duke of Zhou expanded and codified his brother'ssystem of territorial administration,[4] granting titles to loyal Shang clansmen and even establishing a new capital city atChengzhou around 1038 BC.[7] Laid outaccording to exact geomantic principles, Chengzhou was the home of King Cheng, the Shang nobility, and thenine tripod cauldrons symbolic of royal authority, while the Duke continued to administer the kingdom from the former capital ofHaojing. Once Cheng came of age, according to traditional narrative, the Duke of Zhou dutifully gave up the throne without trouble.[11]
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The duke's eight sons all received land from the king. The eldest son receivedLu; the second succeeded to his father's fief,Zhou [zh].[12][13]
In later centuries, subsequent emperors considered the Duke of Zhou a paragon of virtue and honored him withposthumous names. The empressWu Zetian named her short-lived 8th-century Zhou dynasty (known asWu Zhou in historiography) after him and called him theHonorable and Virtuous King (褒德王,Bāodé Wáng).[14] In 1008, theZhenzong Emperor gave the Duke the posthumous titleKing of Exemplary Culture (traditional Chinese:文憲王;simplified Chinese:文宪王;pinyin:Wénxiàn Wáng). He was also known as theFirst Sage (traditional Chinese:元聖;simplified Chinese:元圣;pinyin:Yuán Shèng).
In 2004, Chinese archaeologists reported that they may have found his tomb complex inQishan County,Shaanxi.[15]
Duke of Zhou is also known as the "God of Dreams".The Analects recordConfucius saying, "How I have gone downhill! It has been such a long time since I dreamt of the Duke of Zhou."[16] This was meant as a lamentation of how the governmental ideals of the Duke of Zhou had faded, but was later taken literally. In Chinese legends, if an important thing is going to happen to someone, the Duke[17] of Zhou will let the person know through dreams: hence the Chinese expression "Dreaming of Zhou Gong".[citation needed]Zhou Gong's "Explanations of Dreams" (周公解夢;Zhōu gōng jiěmèng) is attributed to him.[18]
The main line of the Duke of Zhou's descendants came from his firstborn son, theState of Lu rulerBo Qin's third son Yu (魚) whose descendants adopted the surname Dongye (東野). The Duke of Zhou's offspring held the title of Wujing Boshi (五經博士; Wǔjīng Bóshì).[19] One of the Duke of Zhou's 72 generation descendants family tree was examined and commented on bySong Lian.[20]
Duke Huan of Lu's son through Qingfu (慶父) was the ancestor ofMencius. He was descended from Duke Yang of theState of Lu魯煬公 Duke Yang was the son ofBo Qin, who was the son of the Duke of Zhou. The genealogy is found in the Mencius family tree (孟子世家大宗世系).[21][22][23]
The Zhikou Jiangs (also romanized as "Chiangs") such asChiang Kai-shek were descended from Jiang Shijie who during the 17th century moved there fromFenghua District, whose ancestors in turn came to southeastern China'sZhejiang province after moving out of Northern China in the 13th century CE. The 12th-century BCE Duke of Zhou's third son was the ancestor of the Jiangs.[24][25][26][27][28][29]
