Wu of the Western Zhou Dynasty was named Jifa. He was the second son of King Wen, and the founder of the Western Zhou Dynasty.
The Zhou Dynasty would last almost 900 years. Source: Cultural China
The Zhou people lived along the western part of the Yellow River and were one of the first nations to develop agriculture. To the Northwest of Zhou were barbarian tribes.
Video: Chinese with English subtitles
The Zhou capital was near today’s modern city of Xian in Shanxi Province, and the Zhou, a vassal state, were given the job of protecting the Shang Dynasty’s western frontier.
However, while the brutal last king of the Shang Dynasty waged endless wars with surrounding tribes, the Zhou ruler placed more importance on developing agriculture and his small kingdom grew wealthy.
Zhou’s prosperity bothered the Shang king so he threw King Wen in prison. After his release, Wen recruited a talented general to lead his army to wage war on the Shang Dynasty.
The Zhou king died during the war and his son Wu became king and defeated the Shang. To achieve this victory King Wu forged an alliance with other Shang vassal states.
According to historical records, the Shang Dynasty fell in the first month of 1027 B.C.
Continued with Emperor Wu of Zhou Dynasty – Part 2
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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of The Concubine Saga. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. This is the love story Sir Robert Hart did not want the world to discover.
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