King Wen

A man from the 12th to 11th centuries BC. A sage king of ancient China. Son of Zhou King Ji Li (Wang Ji). Father of King Wu. His name was Chang. Zhou developed around Qishan in Shaanxi Province during the time of ancient Duke Tanpo and Ji Li, and during the reign of King Wen, he conquered tribes such as the Kenrong, Misu, Wu, and Chong, and came to be known as the Western Bo. King Wen established a new capital, Fengyu, near Xi'an in Shaanxi Province, and is said to have attempted to defeat King Chu of Yin with the help of various lords, but failed. There are legends that King Wen ruled the people with virtue and was loved by the feudal lords, that he stopped the fighting between the neighboring states of Yu and Rui, and that when he was captured by King Chu at Youli, all the feudal lords followed him. There are also many poems, calligraphy, and inscriptions on bronze vessels that praise the founding achievements of King Wen and King Wu.

[Akira Utsugi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

紀元前12～前11世紀ごろの人。中国古代の聖王。周の王、季歴(きれき)（王季）の子。武王の父。名は昌(しょう)。周は古公亶父(たんぽ)、季歴のころ陝西(せんせい)省岐山の付近から発展し、文王の時代には犬戎(けんじゅう)、密須(みっしゅ)、邘(う)、崇(すう)などの部族を征し、西伯(せいはく)とよばれるに至った。文王は陝西省西安付近に新都豊邑(ほうゆう)を営み、諸侯を従えて殷(いん)の紂王(ちゅうおう)を討とうとしたが、果たさなかったという。文王は徳をもって万民を治め、諸侯もこれを慕い、隣国の虞(ぐ)、芮(ぜい)の争いを止めたとか、あるいは紂王に羑里(ゆうり)に捕らわれたとき、諸侯みなこれに従ったなどの伝説がある。「詩」「書」や青銅器銘文にも文王、武王の創業の功をたたえるものが多い。

［宇都木章］

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