>King Xie of Zhou
Chinese Name
Pinyin Pinyin Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...	Zhōu Xié Wáng
Traditional Chinese	周攜王
Simplified Chinese	周攜王
Family name	Jī (姬)
Personal name Personal name A personal name is the proper name identifying an individual person, and today usually comprises a given name bestowed at birth or at a young age plus a surname. It is nearly universal for a human to have a name; except in rare cases, for example feral children growing up in isolation, or infants...	Yú Chén (余臣)
Dynasty	Zhou Dynasty
Lived	to 760 or 750 BCE
Reigned	c. 770 to 760 or 750 BCE

King Xie of Zhou claimed sovereignty during the final stages of the Chinese Western Zhou Dynasty (770–256 BCE). After King You of Zhou

King You of Zhou

King You of Zhou was the twelfth sovereign of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty and the last of Western Zhou Dynasty. He reigned from 781 to 771 BCE.In 780 BCE, a major earthquake hit Guanzhong...

 replaced the then Queen Shen with his concubine Bāo Sì

Baosi

Baosi was the concubine of the Ancient Chinese sovereign King You of Zhou. She was considered one of the most beautiful Chinese women ever.-Life:...

 (褒姒), whilst at the same time substituting Yíjiù (宜臼) as crown prince with Bāo Sì's son Bófú (伯服), Queen Shen's father, the Marquess of Shen

Marquess of Shen

The Marquess of Shēn was a ruler of the State of Shēn during the Zhōu Dynasty period of Chinese history. A vassal state of the Zhōu Kings, Shēn state covered the area of modern day Nanyang City in Henan Province....

 (申侯) became irate. Along with the State of Zeng (缯) and a band of Quanrong

Quanrong

The Quǎnróng , literally "Dog Rong", were an ethnic group active in the north western part of China during the Zhōu and later dynasties. Their language is classified as part of the Tibeto-Burman branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages family....

 nomads he attacked the Zhou capital at Hàojīng

Haojing

This article is about the ancient Zhou Dynasty capital, for Haojing'ao see MacauHaojing was one of the two settlements comprising the capital of the Western Zhou Dynasty , the other of which was Fēngjīng . Together they were known as Fēnghào and stood on opposite banks of the Feng River with...

 (鎬京/镐京). King You was killed in the assault whereupon the Marquesses of Shēn and Zēng, together with Marquess Wén of Xŭ (许文公) enthroned Yíjiù as King Ping of Zhou

King Ping of Zhou

King Ping of Zhou , also referred to as Crown Prince Yijiu or King P'ing of Chou was the thirteenth sovereign of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty and the first of Eastern Zhou Dynasty...

 in the State of Shēn

Shen (state)

The State of Shen was a Chinese vassal state during the Zhou Dynasty ruled by the Jiāng family as an earldom. At the beginning of the Spring and Autumn Period the State of Shen was annexed by the State of Chu and became one of its counties.-Territory:Located around the states of Chén and Zhèng,...

. At the same time, a stubborn courtier called Guó Gōng Hàn (虢公翰), conspired with the Quanrong to elevate Yú Chén to the throne as King Xie of Zhou. Thus began a period when there existed two parallel Zhou kings, a stalemate brought to an end in 760 BCE when Marquis Wen of Jin

Marquis Wen of Jin

Marquis Wen of Jin , Ancestral name is Ji, given name is Chou , was the eleventh ruler of the state of Jin. He was also the first ruler of Jin in the Spring and Autumn Period....

 (晋文侯) killed King Xie of Zhou.

Documented sources

According to the Zuo Zhuan

Zuo Zhuan

The Zuo Zhuan , sometimes translated as the Chronicle of Zuo or the Commentary of Zuo, is among the earliest Chinese works of narrative history and covers the period from 722 BCE to 468 BCE. It is one of the most important sources for understanding the history of the Spring and Autumn Period...

:

As far as King You was concerned, heaven had no pity for him, he was muddle-headed and not up to the job, having used criminal means to obtain the throne. King Xie violated the Mandate of Heaven

Mandate of Heaven

The Mandate of Heaven is a traditional Chinese philosophical concept concerning the legitimacy of rulers. It is similar to the European concept of the divine right of kings, in that both sought to legitimaze rule from divine approval; however, unlike the divine right of kings, the Mandate of...

, the vassal states usurped his power and he moved his capital to Jiaru (郏鄏).

Origin of the name

Tang Dynasty

Tang Dynasty

The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...

 (618-907CE) scholar Kong Yingda (孔穎達) noted that the Bamboo Annals

Bamboo Annals

The Bamboo Annals is a chronicle of ancient China. It begins at the earliest legendary times and extends to the Warring States Period , particularly the history of the Wei state...

contained the words "Guo Gonghan enthroned Yu Chen at Xie" inferring that Xie was a place name. A further scroll in the Bamboo Annals records that Xie was a place although its location unknown. However, according to Kong Yingda other parts of the Bamboo Annals contradict this suggestion.

The New Book of Tang

New Book of Tang

The New Book of Tang , is a classic work of history about the Tang Dynasty edited by Ouyang Xiu and Song Qi and other official scholars of the Song Dynasty. The emperor called for a revision of the former Book of Tang in 1044. The New Book was presented to the throne in 1060. It was given its...

 links Xie with Feng

Fenghao

Fenghao , is the name given to the twin Chinese Zhou Dynasty settlements of Hàojīng and Fēngjīng which together formed the capital of the Western Zhou. They were located in Xi'an in Shaanxi Province. When King Wen of Zhou Fenghao , is the name given to the twin Chinese Zhou Dynasty (1066-256 BCE)...

 (丰), Qi

Qi (Five Dynasties)

Qi was a Chinese kingdom during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period in China. The kingdom, at its prime, covered parts of modern-day Gansu, Shaanxi, and Sichuan provinces, but eventually shrank to only the immediate area around its capital Fengxiang in Shaanxi. Its only ruler was Li...

 (岐) and Li

Mount Li

Mount Li is a mountain located in the northwest of Xi'an in Shaanxi Province, China. The mountain is part of the Qinling mountain range and rises to a height of 1302 metres above sea level...

 (骊) as parts of the ancient province known as Yongzhou

Yongzhou

Yongzhou is a prefecture-level city in the Hunan province of China.YongZhou is located in the central and south of China, on the southern side of Xiang River, which is formed by the confluence of the Xiao and Xiang rivers. Yongzhou is one of the four ancient counties in Hunan; it is 2000 years old...

(雍州), thus adding weight to the theory that Xie was a location.