Overview
The translated histories identify King Wen of Zhou as an aristocrat, royal family member, and ruler. This record brings together 58 passages from 28 chapters across 13 histories, with names, dates, relationships, offices, and events preserved as source-backed claims.
Names
| Type | English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal | King Wen of Zhou | 周文王 | Zhōu Wén Wáng |
| Personal | Chang | 昌 | |
| Personal name | Chang | 昌 | Chāng |
| Title | Earl of the West | 西伯 | Xī bó |
| Title | Earl of the West, Chang | 西伯昌 | Xī bó Chāng |
| Personal | Ji Wen | 姬文 | Jī Wén |
| Title | King Wen | 文王 | |
| Title | King Wen | 文王 | Wen Wang |
| Temple | King Wen | 文王 | Wen Wang |
| Personal | King Wen | 文王 | Wen Wang |
| Regnal | King Wen | 文王 | Wen Wang |
| Title | King Wen | 周文 | Wen Wang |
| Title | King Wen | 文王 | Wenwang |
| Title | King Wen | 文 | |
| Alternate | King Wen | 文 | Wen |
| Title | King Wen | 文王 | Wen wang |
| Title | King Wen | 文王 | Wén Wáng |
| Temple name | King Wen | 文王 | Wén wáng |
| Posthumous name | King Wen | 文王 | Wénwáng |
| Temple name | King Wen | 文 | Wén |
| Title | King Wen | 文王 | Wénwáng |
| Personal | King Wen | 文 | |
| Title | King Wen of Zhou | 周文 | Zhou Wen |
| Posthumous | King Wen of Zhou | 周文王 | Zhou Wen Wang |
| Title | King Wen of Zhou | 周文王 | Zhou Wen Wang |
| Title | King Wen of Zhou | 周文王 | |
| Title | King Wen of Zhou | 周文王 | Zhōu Wénwáng |
| Temple | King Wen of Zhou | 周文王 | Zhōu Wén Wáng |
| Title | King Wen of Zhou | 周文王 | Zhōu Wén Wáng |
| Personal name | King Wen of Zhou | 周文 | Zhou Wen |
| Personal name | Wen | 文 | Wen |
| Personal | Wen | 文 | Wen |
| Title | Wen | 文 | |
| Title | Western Earl | 西伯 | Xibo |
| Title | Western Earl | 西伯 | |
| Title | Western Earl Chang | 西伯昌 |
Identity
- Historicity
- Uncertain
- Identification
- Named
- Sex
- Male
- Sex: male
- Sex: maleStrongly inferred · hanshu:067:s0192, hanshu:076:s0259, jinshi:035:s0062, shiji:116:s0074, shiji:124:s0013, shiji:127:s0063, songshi:107:s0190
- Value: maleExplicit · xintangshu:184:s0042
Roles
- Aristocrat
- Royal Family Member
- Ruler
Life and dates
Death
- Explicit · shiji:061:s0022
Attested activity
- Qualitative: legendary antiquity
- Qualitative: legendary antiquityExplicit event contextual date · xintangshu:184:s0042
- Source Date: Text: 周文王 · Western Interval: Start: BC 1100 · End: BC 1050Strongly inferred · liangshu:015:s0023
- Source Date: Text: 周文王 · Western Interval: Start: BC 1150 · End: BC 1050Explicit · songshu:055:s0041
- Source Date: Text: 周文王演三百八十四爻 · Western Interval: Start: BC 1100 · End: BC 1050Explicit · shiji:127:s0063
- Source Date: Text: 在周為文王師 · Western Interval: Start: BC 1100 · End: BC 1050Explicit · shiji:116:s0074
- Source Date: Text: 文武不以其故貶王 · Western Year: BC 1050Explicit · shiji:124:s0013
- Source Date: Text: 文王 · Western Interval: Start: BC 1100 · End: BC 1050Explicit · hanshu:098:s0171, hanshu:098:s0176
- Source Date: Text: 文王 · Western Year: BC 1100Explicit · qingshigao:483:s0120
- Source Date: Text: 文王之時 · Western Year: BC 1100Explicit event contextual date · hanshu:025:s0139
- Source Date: Text: 文王改制 · Western Interval: Start: BC 1099 · End: BC 1050Strongly inferred · hanshu:067:s0192
- Source Date: Text: 文王附六爻 · Western Year: BC 1100Explicit event contextual date · hanshu:099:s0138
- Source Date: Text: 泰和三年 · Western Year: AD 1203Explicit event contextual date · jinshi:035:s0063
- Source Date: Text: 西伯昌 · Western Interval: Start: BC 1075 · End: BC 1046Explicit event contextual date · shiji:003:s0187, shiji:003:s0209
- Source Date: Text: 顯德二年 · Western Year: AD 955Explicit event contextual date · jiuwudaishi:115:s0014
Family
Immediate source-linked family. Drag to pan, scroll or pinch to zoom, and select a person to open their record.
- Parent of King Wu of Zhou (武王)Kinship Term: son / 子 · Parentage: biological · Subject Role: son · Object Role: father · Line: paternal
Kinship Term: son / 子 · Parentage: biological · Subject Role: son · Object Role: father
Kinship Term: father / 父 · Parentage: biological · Subject Role: father · Object Role: son · Line: paternal
Kinship Term: father / 父 · Parentage: biological · Subject Role: father · Object Role: son - Parent of Bo Yi Kao (伯邑考)Kinship Term: son / 子 · Parentage: biological · Subject Role: son · Object Role: father
- Descendant of Gong Liu (公劉)Kinship Term: Zhou ancestral line · Line: paternal
Career and standing
- Explicit · shiji:061:s0022
- Title: Earl of the West / 西伯 · Action: heldExplicit · shiji:061:s0021, shiji:061:s0022
Places and affiliations
- Label: Zhou / 周 · Relation: ruledExplicit · shiji:061:s0021, shiji:061:s0022
- Polity: Zhou / 周 · Relation: ruledExplicit · shiji:116:s0074, shiji:127:s0063
Works and attributed material
- Work: Ballad of King Wen / 文王操 · Relation: subjectExplicit · xintangshu:184:s0043
Events and relationships
- Kind: cultural · Role: elaborator · Action: elaborated-384-linesExplicit · shiji:127:s0063
- Kind: legendary-rule · Role: ruler · Action: made-feudal-lords-subjects-from-hundred-liExplicit · shiji:076:s0046
Assessments and attributes
- Assessment: good at supporting the elderly · Provenance: Mode: reported-reputationExplicit · shiji:061:s0021
- Assessment: virtue was the model by which the four quarters were pacified and the states became trusting · Provenance: Mode: source-work · Source Work: OdesExplicit · hanshu:025:s0139, hanshu:025:s0140
- Description: praised in the edict as supremely enlightened / 詔中稱為至明 · Western Year: AD 955 · Provenance: Mode: narratorExplicit · jiuwudaishi:115:s0014
Source notes
- Historicity: legendaryExplicit · shiji:061:s0021
- From: Earl of the West, Chang / 西伯昌 · To: King Wen / 文王 · Reason: posthumous-temple-styleExplicit · shiji:061:s0022
References in the histories
Open any source group to read the Chinese and English passage in context.