King Li of Zhou

King of the Zhou dynasty
Names
  • Ancestral name: Ji ()
  • Given name: Hu ()
HouseZhou dynastyFatherKing Yí of ZhouMotherWang Ji
The Duo You ding inscription of the time of King Li, mentioning an attack from the northern tribe of the Xianyun.

King Li of Zhou (died in 828 BC) (Chinese: 周厲王; pinyin: Zhōu Lì Wáng), personal name Ji Hu, was the tenth king of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty. Estimated dates of his reign] are 877–841 BC or 857–842 BC (Cambridge History of Ancient China).[1]

The Zong Zhou Zhong (Bell of Zhou), 9th century BC, National Palace Museum, Taipei

King Li was a corrupt and decadent king. To pay for his pleasures and vices, King Li raised taxes and caused misery among his subjects. It is said that he barred the commoners from profiting from the communal forests and lakes. He enstated a new law which allowed him to punish anyone, by death, who dared to speak against him. King Li's bad rule soon forced many peasants and soldiers into revolt, and Li was sent into exile at a place called Zhi near Linfen (842 BC). His son was taken by one of his ministers and hidden.[2] When Li died in exile in 828 BC, power was passed to his son.[3]

Family

Queens:

  • Shen Jiang, of the Jiang clan of Shen (申姜 姜姓), a sister of the Count of Shen; the mother of Crown Prince Jing and You

Sons:

  • Crown Prince Jing (太子靜; d. 782 BC), ruled as King Xuan of Zhou from 827 to 782 BC
  • Prince You (王子友; d. 771 BC), ruled as Duke Huan of Zheng from 806 to 771 BC
    • Served as the Minister of Education of Zhou from 773 to 771 BC

Ancestry

King Mu of Zhou (992–922 BC)
King Gong of Zhou (d. 900 BC)
King Yih of Zhou (899–892 BC)
King Yi of Zhou (d. 878 BC)
Wang Bo Jiang
King Li of Zhou (890–828 BC)
Wang Ji of E

See also

Sources

  1. ^ Feng, Li (2006), Landscape and Power in Early China: The Crisis and Fall of the Western Zhou 1045–771 BC, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-85272-2.
  2. ^ Sources of Western Zhou History: Inscribed Bronze Vessels by Edward L. Shaughnessy
  3. ^ Sima Qian. Records of the Grand Historian. Vol. 4.
King Li of Zhou
 Died: 828 BC
Regnal titles
Preceded by
King Yí of Zhou
King of China
877–841 BC
Succeeded by
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Kings of the Zhou dynasty
Western ZhouEastern ZhouRemnants at Eastern Zhou
Xia → Shang → Zhou → Qin → Han → 3 Kingdoms → Jìn / 16 Kingdoms → S. Dynasties / N. Dynasties → Sui → Tang → 5 Dynasties & 10 Kingdoms → Liao / Song / W. Xia / Jīn → Yuan → Ming → Qing → ROC / PRC
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