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

King Li of Zhou
周厲王
King of the Zhou dynasty
Reign877–841 BC
PredecessorKing Yí of Zhou
SuccessorGonghe Regency
Died828 BC
SpouseShen Jiang
Issue
Names
Posthumous name
King Li (厲王) or King La (剌王)
HouseJi
DynastyZhou (Western Zhou)
FatherKing Yí of Zhou
MotherWang Ji
The Duo You ding inscription of the time of King Li, mentioning an attack from the northern tribe of the Xianyun.
The Zong Zhou Zhong (Bell of Zhou), 9th century BC, National Palace Museum, Taipei

Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian depict King Li as 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]

Shen Dao fragments

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The Shen Dao fragments also depict King Li as a decadent and corrupt king. The fragments say:[4]

Formerly, during the decline of the house of Zhou, King Li brought trouble and chaos to all under heaven, the feudal lords governed by means of force, and the people desired to act as if there were no hierarchy and annex one another’s land.

Family

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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:

Ancestry

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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

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Sources

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  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.
  4. ^ Eirik Lang Harris 2016. p127.
King Li of Zhou
 Died: 828 BC
Regnal titles
Preceded by King of China
877–841 BC
Succeeded by