-Anyway, so King Wu Ding was now dead, so he was replaced by his second son, King Zu Geng (the first son had been shitty I guess, so he died in exile). He ruled for approximately seven years before dying.
-Next up was King Zu Jia (AKA Di Jia), who I guess was King Zu Genes uncle.
-During his reign he fought with the Xirong (AKA Rong) hordes to the west, beating them in battle and forcing them to submit to the Shang.
-Also put down a rebellion and some other shit I'm sure...ruled for roughly 30 years.
-According to the oracle bones, King Zu Jia wanted to make the government more "rational" by toning down the sacrifices to mythical ancestors and nature and shit and instead focus on worshiping non-mythical people (such as former kings like King Wu Ding).
-Next up was King Lin Xin (AKA Feng Xin), son of King Zu Jia. He ruled for 4-6 years.
-Next up was his younger brother, King Geng Ding (AKA Kang Ding). He ruled for approximately 23 years.
-Next up was King Wu Yi, son of King Geng Ding.
-It is at this point that the state of Zhou (AKA Pre-dynastic Zhou / Proto-Zhou) enters the narrative.
-The state of Zhou was allegedly founded by a dude named Old Duke Danfu ("Gugong Danfu" AKA Ji Danfu) posthumously referred to as King Tai of Zhou (Zhou Tai Wang) by his ancestors). He was a member of the Ji clan, which traced its lineage back to Hou Ji (possible descendant of Emperor Ku), a legendary folk hero who is credited with introducing the cultivation of millet to humanity and developing the philosophy of Agriculturalism in addition to ruling the city of Tai (modern day Xianyang, Shaanxi Province), the ancestral home of the Ji clan.
-Fun fact: according to legend, King Tai had three sons:
-Taibo (AKA Wu Taibo) was the eldest son and legendary founder of the state of Wu (capital was Meicun (modern-day Wuxi, Jiangsu Province). He apparently went to Japan (some records state that the "Wo People" (ancient Japanese) claimed Taibo as their ancestor, and there is actually some evidence to back this up!
-Zhongyong was the middle son, he also co-founded the state of Wu with Taibo.
-Jili (King Ji of Zhou) was apparently super-intelligent so he was chosen to rule Wu instead of his brothers (hence why they had left to start the state of Wu).
-It was Jili who was ruling Wu during the time King Wu Yi was ruling the Shang dynasty.
-Obviously, the Shang dynasty was way more powerful than Wu, so Jili submitted to King Wu Yi with a bunch of tribute c. 1118 BC.
-He then famously bought a battle against the Guirong barbarians, capturing 20 of their chieftains!
-Anyway, so King Wu Yi at this point started kind of to go crazy and act weird, like blaspheming the gods, making an idol of a god and then playing a game of Liubo (an ancient Chinese board game) against it. He would also shoot bags of blood and do other weird shit.
-According to legend, because of these blasphemies he was struck by lightning during a hunting trip, dying instantly!
-Next up was his son, King Wen Wu Ding (AKA Wen Ding).
-During his reign, Jili continued to score a number of victories against various barbarian tribes, and this led to the state of Wu becoming increasingly large and more powerful.
-This worried King Wen Ding, so he had Jili assassinated :(
-His son, Ji Chang, was the new lord of Wu.
-So King Wen Ding ruled for about 10 years before croaking c. 1102 BC, replaced by his son, King Di Yi.
-In the early years of his reign, fought battles with barbarians in modern-day Inner Mongolia and to the east (the eastern barbarians / "Dongyi").
-Had three (or four?) sons:
-Di Xin (AKA Zhou Xin or King Zhou)- last king of the Shang dynasty and a really shitty dude.
-Weiziqi- future (first) ruler of the state of Song.
-Weizhong- future (second) ruler of the state of Song.
-Jizi (AKA Qizi / Chit-tzu / Gija / Kija)- possible fourth son, more on him later.
-So King Di Yi ruled for about 25 years before dying c. 1076 BC.
-Next up was King Zhou (see above), the last king of the Shang dynasty.
-Really shitty king, and it's been speculated that the "zhou" character used in his name is the Chinese character for a crupper (part of a horse saddle or harness that is most likely to be shat on by a horse).
-Early in his reign, King Zhou was a badass; he was really clever, quick-witted, hot-tempered, and also a fan of hunting wild animals with his bare hands!
-Also battled more with the eastern barbarians as well.
-However, over time King Zhou began to become more and more depraved and debauched. He stopped giving a fuck about running the state and just wanted to party and bang chicks and shit. He also loved torturing and executing people, including high-ranking officials.
-According to legend, King Zhou had a beautiful but sadistic concubine named Daji who was said to have been possessed by an evil fox spirit ("huli jing" / "jiuweihu" ("nine-tailed fox") ("gumiho" or "구미호" in Korean)) and loved to have people tortured as well. She also allegedly invented a bunch of different sadistic methods of torture.
-King Zhou and Daji had a lake of wine constructed and a "meat forest" in which party guests could grab meat and shit from the branches (called "jiu chi rou lin" ("pool of wine and forest of meat")).
-This may have actually been a true story, as archaeologists seem to have actually found this pool (now known as Deer Terrace Pavilion in modern-day Hebi, Henan Province) in 1999!
-Anyway, so King Zhou and Daji were apparently psychopaths and super fucked up. However, the king became fearful of the rising power of the state of Zhou, so he stupidly decided to have the current lord of Zhou, Ji Chang (son of Jili) and his son, Bo Yikao, arrested on presumably trumped-up charges.
-However, because Ji Chang was such a nice dude whom everyone loved, a bunch of other officials and local lords bribed King Zhou with gold, horses, and sex slaves to let Lord Ji Chang and his son free.
-Of course, once Ji Chang returned back to Zhou he raised an army.
-However, he knew that he'd have to do it like how Lord Tang did it when he brought down the Xia dynasty. So, he started minor wars with smaller vassal states of the Shang dynasty in order to weaken King Zhou's overall power.
-Unfortunately, Ji Chang was unable to fulfill his vision of bringing about the end of the Shang dynasty because he died c. 1056 BC (he was super old too, almost a century old!). He was replaced as Lord of Zhou by his second son, Ji Fa.
-Lord Ji Fa kicked off his reign by working with his father-in-law, the veteran ex-Shang court official Jiang Ziya (AKA Lu Shang / Jiang Shang / Shangfu / etc.).
-Jiang Ziya had become so sickened with the madness of King Zhou that he fled the court to the state of Zhou, where, according to legend, he ended up shacking up near modern-day Xi'an, Shaanxi Province. There he spent his days fishing along a tributary of the Wei River.
-One day, while Lord Ji Chang was hunting in the area, he encountered Jiang Ziya along the banks of the river. Thus, Lord Ji Chang took on Jiang Ziya as prime minister of the state of Zhou, and Jiang Ziya's teachings were recorded in the Chinese military classic "The Six Secret Teachings".
-The Six Secret Teachings are:
1. The Civil Strategy
2. The Military Strategy
3. The Dragon Strategy
4. The Tiger Strategy
5. The Leopard Strategy
6. The Dog Strategy
-Anyway, so Lord Ji Fa was ready to attack after he inherited the throne, but Jiang Ziya told him to wait until the time was right.
-Finally, after about 10 years, the two decided it was time to strike!
-Lord Ji Fa marched his army down to the Mengjin Ford on the Yellow River (modern-day Luoyang, Henan Province) where he met with 800 other nobles and minor lords and shit.
-Here they constructed a new ancestor table, naming Lord Ji Fa's father, Ji Chang, as the first king of a brand new dynasty- the Zhou dynasty!
-Also, Ji Chang was renamed King Wen of Zhou, and Ji Fa was renamed King Wu of Zhou ("Zhou Wu Wang").
-1046 BC- King Wu led his forces across the Yellow River. War had begun.
-According to historical records, King Wu had about 50,000 troops under his banner.
-Chinese historical records claim that King Zhou had like 700,000 men, but this is most likely a wild exaggeration, and they probably only had like 70,000.
-The two armies clashed at the Battle of Muye (AKA Battle of Mu) (near modern-day Xinxiang, Henan Province). About 35 km south of the Shang capital of Yin.
-However, many of King Zhou's troops defected (including all of the slaves), so that helped the outnumbered Zhou army.
-Also, apparently the Zhou army had an advantage with their chariots, which they used for attacking (as opposed to just transportation, which I guess was a new tactic).
-Obviously, the Zhou army won! Mad King Zhou was now on the defense, so he fled back to the capital.
-He knew that he was doomed, so he gathered up all of his treasure and then committed suicide by burning down his palace (with him still inside). It's unclear what exactly happened to Lady Daji, but she must have either committed suicide or was murdered/executed.
-King Wu was thus hailed as a hero of the people!
-The house of Shang was not punished for the actions of King Zhou, although it was obvious that they were no longer in power.
-King Wu was now enthroned as the official head of the brand new Zhou dynasty.
-King Zhou's brother, Weizi, was allowed to continue administrative duties as lord of the state of Song. This would happen later on, though.
-It was considered good etiquette during this time for a defeated house to be allowed to continue to worship their ancestors at their ancestral capital, so I guess the house of Shang stuck around still for at least a little bit.
-During the time that King Wu was enthroned, King Zhou's brother (or relative? It's unclear what this dude was or if he even existed) Jizi returned from exile (he had been exiled by King Zhou for whatever reason) and served as an advisor to King Wu.
-As a reward for his service, King Wu allegedly gave Jizi some newly conquered land to rule over as lord in the northeast.
-This territory was called "Joseon" (조선) by the local barbarians living there, and today is a land/period we identify as "Gija Joseon". However, this is extremely controversial.
-Before 300 BC there was no mention in the records of Jizi being a lord/ruler of this area.
-The records after 300 BC, however, say that Jizi did indeed lead some 5000 troops to the NE to fight with the Joseon people, and upon victory established the kingdom of Joseon (or "Gojoseon" as it's called today).
-Of course, some scholars believe that both the Korean and Chinese versions are correct and that Jizi's Joseon kingdom (Gija Joseon) existed to the west of the pre-existing Gojoseon kingdom.
-This is based on records from the Han dynasty AND the Goryeo dynasty in Korea. However, according to Goryeo dynasty records, King Wu actually had Jizi enthroned as king/lord of Gojoseon.
-It is also thought that if the Chinese record is correct and General Wi Man did indeed usurp the throne (thus beginning the era of Gojoseon known as Wiman Joseon) and disrupt the lineage of Jizi and his descendants. This lineage is listed as 73 kings who ruled Gija Joseon, but it seems as if many Korean historians disagree with this.
-The Korean nationalist Shin Chaeho, however, stated that he believed Gija Joseon was simply another name for Beonjoseon, which, according to some sources, was one of the three confederacies (the "Samhan") which made up the kingdom of Gojoseon (the other two were Majoseon and Jinjoseon). He argued that Gija Joseon was actually started c. 323 BC when the king of Beonjoseon was assassinated and the government ministers began began fighting for control of the state. The minister who ended up winning and becoming king (a dude named Gihu) renamed the kingdom "Gija Joseon" after his famous ancestor Gija (see above).
-The scholars who try to match archaeological evidence with evidence from the book of Han (which states that Jizi took 5000 Zhou dynasty troops to settle the new kingdom of Gija Joseon) believe that Gija Joseon did indeed exist, but it was to the west of Gojoseon/Beonjoseon.
-Korea University professor Kim Jung-bae, however, argues that Gija Joseon was completely made up by the Han dynasty, as none of the other records about Gija/Jizi said he went east to Gojoseon.
-"The Records of the Grand Historian" say nothing about this as well.
-The archaeological evidence, however, does seem to suggest that the region of Gija Joseon was indeed inhabited by a culture with Chinese origins, although with certain distinctly Korean characteristics as well, and that also this Chinese (as well as Pazyryk) cultural influence continued until c. 400 BC.
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