China: Carving of King Wu-Wuwang (King Wu of Zhou), depicting his role in the 16th...

King Wu of Zhou was the first king of the Zhou Dynasty of ancient China, with his rule generally thought to have started around 1046 BCE, before ending only three years later in 1043 BCE. His story and rise is dramatised in the classic Ming Dynasty novel 'Fengshen Yanyi'. Originally called Ji Fa, he was the second son of King Wen of Zhou, and younger brother of Bo Yikao, who had been killed by King Zhou of Shang after having rejected the advances of King Zhou's favourite concubine, the vixen spirit Su Daji. After his father's death, Ji Fa continued his father's unfinished task of overthrowing the Shang Dynasty, working alongside his father-in-law, the sage Jiang Ziya. Taking advantage of the disunity and riots within the Shang Dynasty, he launched an attack with the aid of many neighbouring dukes, eventually destroying Shang's forces during the Battle of Muye, which resulted in King Zhou of Shang committing suicide by setting his own palace on fire. Taking the name Wu ('martial') for himself, he started the Zhou Dynasty, becoming one of the great heroes of China. Editor: Anandajoti