King Ling of Chu
Encyclopedia
King Ling of Chu was a king of the State of Chu
between 540 BC and 529 BC. His birth name was Wei (围/圍) and before ascending the throne he was known as Gongzi Wei (公子围/公子圍).
. Taking advantage of Jia'ao's sickness, Wei finally murdered Jia'ao along with his two sons. He buried Jia'ao at Jia, thus making the placename the style for the late young king. Wei took the throne himself and changed his personal name to Xiong Qian (熊虔). In the wake of his regicide, two of his younger brothers, Bi and Heigong ran off in fear for their lives.
As King Ling did not get the throne in a legal way, he was eager to gain fame among other lords. At that time, Qing Feng, former prime minister of Qi and one of the murderers of Duke Zhuang of Qi (the latter), had taken refuge in the State of Wu
where the king of Wu had placed him in Zhufang. King Ling sacked Zhufang, captured Qing Feng and killed all the Qing family. In the face of other lords, he ordered Qing Feng say, "Never follow the example of Qing Feng, who murdered his duke, bullied the people and threatened other ministers to get them to support him." But Qing Feng rebuffed the king, saying, "Never follow the example of Prince Wei of Chu, who murdered the king who was son of his elder brother and threatens other lords in order to gain their support." King Ling was so ashamed that he immediately ordered Qing Feng executed.
In his third year after taking the throne, King Ling tried to gather lords at Shen (in the State of Chu), but he was disappointed.
In 534 BC, the State of Chen
suffered internal disorder. Duke Ai of Chen favored his second son Liu rather than his legal heir Yanshi, so he asked his younger brothers Zhao and Guo to ensure that Yanshi would pass the throne to Liu in the future. But Zhao and Guo knew that Yanshi would rather pass the throne to his own grown son, Wu. So they planned an assassination and killed Yanshi, which also led to the death of Duke Ai, who was too regretful to hear this. Zhao and Guo installed Liu as the new marquis of Chen, so Wu and Sheng, the youngest son of Duke Ai, went to King Ling for help. King Ling soon conquered Chen. Liu fled whilst Zhao killed Guo and attributed the blame to Guo. Instead of installing Wu as the new marquis, King Ling made Chen a prefecture of Chu, destroyed its ancestral temple and took Wu back to Chu. He then appointed a general named Chuan Fengshu (穿封戍) Duke of Chen.
In 531 BC, King Ling tricked Marquis Ling of Cai into a party and captured him, blamed him for killing his own father(Marquis Jing of Cai) and executed him. What was more, he ordered his youngest brother Prince Qiji to attack the State of Cai
. Other lords tried to mediate, but their attempts were finally in vain. Eventually Qiji sacked Cai and captured the heir to Cai named You. In order to show worship to the gods King Ling ordered You executed. Qiji was made Duke of Cai.
Later, after becoming frustrated by Wu troops, King Ling built a grand palace to enjoy himself. The palace was named Zhanghua Palace and possessed a high terrace. He also conquered some other minor states and had their people resettled.
He considered the family of his consort too humble for a queen so instead sought marriage to a high born woman from the State of Jin. King Ling subsequently installed a new wife from Jin as his queen.
and settled at Qianxi. Once he was almost persuaded to withdraw, but soon his generals reported some victorious news, which made King Ling too confident about sacking Xu to withdraw.
While King Ling was away, Chu suddenly suffered a coup. Qiji decided to unite his elder brothers Bi and Heigong as well as the people of Chen and Cai. Chuan Fengshu, who had died right then, would never stop them. Qiji led his troops to Ying and sacked it. The prime minister Wei Pi committed suicide and the two sons of King Ling, Crown Prince Lu and Prince Pidi, were killed by Qiji. Bi was stored King Zi ao of Chu
in place of King Ling.
A loyal minister Zheng Dan tried to make some advice for King Ling, but King Ling knew that he could do nothing helpful now. Finally Zheng Dan went to the rebellions and told them about the condition of the now-sorehead king.
King Ling was eventually left alone. The rebellions threatened the people not to provide food or residence to him, so the king became starved. Fortunately there was still someone glad to settle him. The kind man named Shen Hai was the son of a late minister named Shen Wuyu. Shen Wuyu had offended King Ling twice, but the violent King Ling never punished him, so Wuyu told his son to pay a debt of gratitude to the king. Shen Hai led King Ling home, provided a meal for him and asked his two daughters to serve him. But King Ling was too sad to make love with the young girls, instead, he kept crying all night. At midnight, Shen Hai was told that the king had already committed suicide. Hai buried King Ling and killed his two daughters as sacrificial objects.
However, the rebellions did not inform the death of the king at the first time. Convinced by his advisors, Qiji cheated that King Ling was leading his troops back, successfully cheated King Zi ao and Heigong into suicide. Now, as all his elder brothers having died, Qiji became the new king as King Ping of Chu. While ignorant of the condition of King Ling, King Ping once found a corpse and claimed it the corpse of King Ling. Later Shen Hai told him the actual burial of King Ling. King Ping reburied his elder brother in the ritual of a king and styled him as King Ling.
(reigned 1020-996 BC) involving his ancestor Xiong Yi
, but King Ling installed him as a duke instead of taking revenge. When he captured loyal ministers from his enemies, he seldom had them executed. Instead, he would release them, even recruiting them as his own ministers. In fact, some advisors for King Ping were just the former ministers of Cai recruited by King Ling. While attacking Xu, he had once expressed his admiration of a good historian named Yi Xiang, referred to him as "A good historian" and asked Zheng Dan to respect him.
Chu (state)
The State of Chu was a Zhou Dynasty vassal state in present-day central and southern China during the Spring and Autumn period and Warring States Period . Its ruling house had the surname Nai , and clan name Yan , later evolved to surname Mi , and clan name Xiong...
between 540 BC and 529 BC. His birth name was Wei (围/圍) and before ascending the throne he was known as Gongzi Wei (公子围/公子圍).
Taking the throne
Wei was the second son of King Gong of Chu, younger brother of King Kang of Chu and uncle of King Jia'ao of Chu. When Jia'ao took the throne, Wei served as prime minister and always behaved as if he himself were king. By then he had married someone from the Feng clan from the State of ZhengZheng (state)
Zheng （) was a vassal state in China during the Zhou Dynasty located in the centre of ancient China in modern day Henan Province on the North China Plain about east of the royal capital at Luoyang. It was the most powerful of the vassal states at the beginning of the Eastern Zhou...
. Taking advantage of Jia'ao's sickness, Wei finally murdered Jia'ao along with his two sons. He buried Jia'ao at Jia, thus making the placename the style for the late young king. Wei took the throne himself and changed his personal name to Xiong Qian (熊虔). In the wake of his regicide, two of his younger brothers, Bi and Heigong ran off in fear for their lives.
As King Ling did not get the throne in a legal way, he was eager to gain fame among other lords. At that time, Qing Feng, former prime minister of Qi and one of the murderers of Duke Zhuang of Qi (the latter), had taken refuge in the State of Wu
Wu (state)
The State of Wu , also known as Gou Wu or Gong Wu , was one of the vassal states during the Western Zhou Dynasty and the Spring and Autumn Period. The State of Wu was located at the mouth of the Yangtze River east of the State of Chu. Considered a semi-barbarian state by ancient Chinese...
where the king of Wu had placed him in Zhufang. King Ling sacked Zhufang, captured Qing Feng and killed all the Qing family. In the face of other lords, he ordered Qing Feng say, "Never follow the example of Qing Feng, who murdered his duke, bullied the people and threatened other ministers to get them to support him." But Qing Feng rebuffed the king, saying, "Never follow the example of Prince Wei of Chu, who murdered the king who was son of his elder brother and threatens other lords in order to gain their support." King Ling was so ashamed that he immediately ordered Qing Feng executed.
In his third year after taking the throne, King Ling tried to gather lords at Shen (in the State of Chu), but he was disappointed.
In 534 BC, the State of Chen
Chen (state)
Chen was a minor Zhou Dynasty vassal state during the Spring and Autumn Period of Chinese History. It was a relatively minor state based on a single urban centre near what is now Huaiyang County in the plains of eastern Henan province...
suffered internal disorder. Duke Ai of Chen favored his second son Liu rather than his legal heir Yanshi, so he asked his younger brothers Zhao and Guo to ensure that Yanshi would pass the throne to Liu in the future. But Zhao and Guo knew that Yanshi would rather pass the throne to his own grown son, Wu. So they planned an assassination and killed Yanshi, which also led to the death of Duke Ai, who was too regretful to hear this. Zhao and Guo installed Liu as the new marquis of Chen, so Wu and Sheng, the youngest son of Duke Ai, went to King Ling for help. King Ling soon conquered Chen. Liu fled whilst Zhao killed Guo and attributed the blame to Guo. Instead of installing Wu as the new marquis, King Ling made Chen a prefecture of Chu, destroyed its ancestral temple and took Wu back to Chu. He then appointed a general named Chuan Fengshu (穿封戍) Duke of Chen.
In 531 BC, King Ling tricked Marquis Ling of Cai into a party and captured him, blamed him for killing his own father(Marquis Jing of Cai) and executed him. What was more, he ordered his youngest brother Prince Qiji to attack the State of Cai
Cai (state)
The State of Cài was a Chinese state during the Zhōu Dynasty , prominent in the Spring and Autumn Period before being extinguished early in the Warring States Period .-History:...
. Other lords tried to mediate, but their attempts were finally in vain. Eventually Qiji sacked Cai and captured the heir to Cai named You. In order to show worship to the gods King Ling ordered You executed. Qiji was made Duke of Cai.
Later, after becoming frustrated by Wu troops, King Ling built a grand palace to enjoy himself. The palace was named Zhanghua Palace and possessed a high terrace. He also conquered some other minor states and had their people resettled.
He considered the family of his consort too humble for a queen so instead sought marriage to a high born woman from the State of Jin. King Ling subsequently installed a new wife from Jin as his queen.
Downfall
In winter 529 BC, King Ling set off attacking XuXu (state)
The State of Xu was a vassal state of ancient China during the Zhou Dynasty and Spring and Autumn Period ruled by descendants of the Yíng family. Xu was a Dongyi state also known as Xurong , Xuyi or Xufang , all meaning either "Xu barbarians" or "Xu Proper". Xu was one of the largest and most...
and settled at Qianxi. Once he was almost persuaded to withdraw, but soon his generals reported some victorious news, which made King Ling too confident about sacking Xu to withdraw.
While King Ling was away, Chu suddenly suffered a coup. Qiji decided to unite his elder brothers Bi and Heigong as well as the people of Chen and Cai. Chuan Fengshu, who had died right then, would never stop them. Qiji led his troops to Ying and sacked it. The prime minister Wei Pi committed suicide and the two sons of King Ling, Crown Prince Lu and Prince Pidi, were killed by Qiji. Bi was stored King Zi ao of Chu
Zi ao of Chu
Zi'ao was a king of Chu, although his reign only lasted less than twenty days. His birth name was Xiong Bi and his courtesy name was Zigan . Some unreliable source refers him as King Chu of Chu....
in place of King Ling.
Death
After storing King Zi'ao, the rebellions informed the soldiers of King Ling, "If you surrender to the new king, all your current posts and lands would remain; otherwise, you would face severe penalty." As soon as the message spread, most of the soldiers scattered, leaving only hundreds with King Ling. King Ling was mourningful for the death of his sons, but when a servant said that was because the king had murdered too many sons of others, King Ling stopped weeping.A loyal minister Zheng Dan tried to make some advice for King Ling, but King Ling knew that he could do nothing helpful now. Finally Zheng Dan went to the rebellions and told them about the condition of the now-sorehead king.
King Ling was eventually left alone. The rebellions threatened the people not to provide food or residence to him, so the king became starved. Fortunately there was still someone glad to settle him. The kind man named Shen Hai was the son of a late minister named Shen Wuyu. Shen Wuyu had offended King Ling twice, but the violent King Ling never punished him, so Wuyu told his son to pay a debt of gratitude to the king. Shen Hai led King Ling home, provided a meal for him and asked his two daughters to serve him. But King Ling was too sad to make love with the young girls, instead, he kept crying all night. At midnight, Shen Hai was told that the king had already committed suicide. Hai buried King Ling and killed his two daughters as sacrificial objects.
However, the rebellions did not inform the death of the king at the first time. Convinced by his advisors, Qiji cheated that King Ling was leading his troops back, successfully cheated King Zi ao and Heigong into suicide. Now, as all his elder brothers having died, Qiji became the new king as King Ping of Chu. While ignorant of the condition of King Ling, King Ping once found a corpse and claimed it the corpse of King Ling. Later Shen Hai told him the actual burial of King Ling. King Ping reburied his elder brother in the ritual of a king and styled him as King Ling.
Assessment
King Ling was thought to be an ambitious but violent ruler. After he took power, some innocent ministers such as Wei Yan, Bo Zhouli and Qu Shen were executed. However, King Ling did have some strengths. Chuan Fengshu once threatened his life while arguing about events at the time of King Kang of ZhouKing Kang of Zhou
King Kang of Zhou or King K'ang of Chou was the third sovereign of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty. The dates of his reign are 1020-996 BC or 1005-978 BC ....
(reigned 1020-996 BC) involving his ancestor Xiong Yi
Xiong Yi
Xióng Yì , Family name : 芈, Clan name , was a ruler of the Zhou Dynasty vassal State of Chu in 11th Century BCE China...
, but King Ling installed him as a duke instead of taking revenge. When he captured loyal ministers from his enemies, he seldom had them executed. Instead, he would release them, even recruiting them as his own ministers. In fact, some advisors for King Ping were just the former ministers of Cai recruited by King Ling. While attacking Xu, he had once expressed his admiration of a good historian named Yi Xiang, referred to him as "A good historian" and asked Zheng Dan to respect him.