Ancient China · Ruler

King Kang 康

Kang

Attested BC 1020 - BC 996

Passages: 3
Chapters: 1
Histories: 1

Overview

King Kang was a ruler.

Life and dates

Attested activity

BC 1020 to BC 996 成康其隆也
Strongly inferred · Records of the Grand Historian 112, passages 160, 166

Places and affiliations

Polity Zhou 周 · Relation Ruled
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 112, passage 166

Events and relationships

Reigned at Zhou's zenith, when punishments were set aside for more than forty years
Political · Ruler
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 112, passage 166

Source notes

Value historical
Directly stated · Records of the Grand Historian 112, passage 160

References in the histories

Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 112Biographies of the Marquis of Pingjin and Zhufu · 3 passages

名何必湯武，俗何必成康！ Why would your fame need to match that of Kings Tang and Wu? Why would your customs need to rival those of the reigns of Cheng and Kang?

雖然，臣竊以為陛下天然之聖，寬仁之資，而誠以天下為務，則湯武之名不難侔，而成康之俗可復興也。 Even so, I privately believe that with Your Majesty's natural sagacity and generous nature, if you truly take the welfare of the realm as your foremost concern, then the fame of Tang and Wu would not be hard to match, and the prosperous customs of the Cheng and Kang reigns could yet be revived.

臣聞周有天下，其治三百餘歲，成康其隆也，刑錯四十餘年而不用。 I have heard that the Zhou dynasty held the empire and governed well for over three hundred years. The reigns of Kings Cheng and Kang marked its zenith—for more than forty years, punishments were set aside and never needed.