Martial King

A man from around the 11th century BC. Founder of the Zhou Dynasty in China. His name was Hatsu. His father was King Wen. Following his father's wishes, King Wu attacked the Yin Dynasty, defeating King Chu's army at the Battle of Muye in Henan Province and destroying the Yin Dynasty. Afterwards, he established a new capital, Haojing, near Xi'an in Shaanxi Province and founded the Zhou Dynasty. With the help of his younger brother, the Duke of Zhou, Zhou Gongdan, Zhou Gongsun (who was also said to have been the head of the Zhao clan, a great clan since the Yin Dynasty), and Lu Shang (Taigong Wang), head of the Qiang clan, King Wu ran the country and created various feudal lords. In particular, King Chu's son Wu Geng Lufu was appointed to the former Yin lands to pacify the remaining Yin people, and his younger brothers Guan Shu and Cai Shu were stationed nearby to keep an eye on them. However, King Wu died after three years of reign, and a major rebellion broke out immediately afterwards, with Wu Geng, Guan, and Cai. King Wu was considered a sage king along with King Wen, and his achievements are praised in poems, calligraphy, and inscriptions on bronze vessels, and his conquest of the Yin was legitimized as a story of the expedition of the Yin.

[Akira Utsugi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

紀元前11世紀ごろの人。中国、周王朝の創始者。名は発。父は文王。父の志を継いで殷(いん)を討ち、河南省の牧野(ぼくや)の戦いで紂王(ちゅうおう)の大軍を破り、殷を滅ぼしたのち、陝西(せんせい)省西安付近に新都鎬京(こうけい)をつくり周王朝を建てた。武王は弟の周公旦(たん)や召公奭(せき)（実際は殷代以来の大族召氏の首長ともいう）、あるいは羌姓(きょうせい)族の首長呂尚(りょしょう)（太公望(たいこうぼう)）の助けを得て国政を行い、また諸侯を封建した。とくに殷の故地には紂王の子の武庚禄父(ぶこうろくほ)を封じて殷の遺民を鎮撫(ちんぶ)し、さらに付近に弟の管叔(かんしゅく)、蔡叔(さいしゅく)らを配して、その監視にあたらせた。しかし、武王は在位3年にして死んだので、たちまち武庚や管、蔡らの大反乱が生じたという。武王は文王とともに聖王とされ、「詩」「書」や青銅器銘文にもその功業がたたえられており、その殷の討伐も放伐物語として正統化された。

［宇都木章］

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