King Wu of Zhou

How vast was his virtue! The people could find no name for it.

How majestic was he in the works which he accomplished! How glorious in the elegant regulations which he instituted!" 二十章。舜有臣五人，而天下治。武王曰：“予有乱臣十人。”孔子曰：“才难不欺然乎？唐虞之际，于斯为甚。有妇人焉，九人而已。三分天下有其二，以服事殷，周之德岂可谓至德也已矣。” Chapter 20.

Shun had five ministers, and the empire was well governed.

King Wu said, "I have ten able ministers." Confucius said, "Is not the saying that talents are difficult to find true? Only when the dynasties of Tang and Yu met were they more abundant than in this of Chou, yet there was a woman among them.

thus it is that heaven in the production of things is surely bountiful to them according to their qualities hence the tree that is flourishing it nourishes while that which is ready to fall it overthrows in the book of poetry it is said the admirable amiable prince displayed conspicuously his excelling virtue adjusting his people and adjusting his officers therefore he received from heaven the emoluments of dignity it protected him assisted him decreed him the throne sending from heaven these favours as it were repeatedly we may say therefore that he who is greatly virtuous will be sure to receive the appointment of heaven chapter The master said, It is only King Wen of whom it can be said that he had no cause for grief.

His father was King Ji, and his son was King Wu.

His father laid the foundations of his dignity, and his son transmitted it.

King wu continued the enterprise of king tai king tsi and king he once buckled on his armour and got possession of the empire he did not lose the distinguished personal reputation which he had throughout the empire his dignity was the imperial throne his riches were the possession of all within the four seas He offered his sacrifices in his ancestral temple, and his descendants maintained the sacrifices to himself.

It was in his old age that King Wu received the appointment to the throne, and the Duke of Zhou completed the virtuous course of Wan and Wu, he carried up the title of king to tai and chi and sacrificed to all the former dukes above them with the imperial ceremonies and this rule he extended to the princes of the empire the great officers the scholars and the common people Was the father a great officer, and the son a scholar? Then the burial was that due to a great officer, and the sacrifice that due to a scholar.

Was the father a scholar, and the son a great officer? Then the burial was that due to a scholar, and the sacrifice that due to a great officer.

The one year's mourning was made to extend only to the great officers, but the three years' mourning extended to the emperor.

In the morning, for a father or mother, he allowed no difference between the noble and the mean.

It is remarkable that Xi'an is identified with the greatest men whom China has produced and with the most glorious epochs of Chinese history.

This is especially true of the time B.C. 1122, when it was first made the capital of the Middle Kingdom by Wu Wang, the founder of the Zhou dynasty.

No period of ancient Chinese history, says Dr.

Wells Williams, is more celebrated among the people than that of the founding of this dynasty, because of the high character of its leading men, who were regarded by Copernicus as the impersonation of everything wise and noble.

The Master said, It is only King One, of whom it can be said that he had no cause for grief.

His father was King Ji and his son was King Wu.

His father laid the foundations of his dignity and his son transmitted it.

King Wu continued the enterprise of King Tai, King Ji and King Wan.

He once buckled on his armor and got possession of the empire.

He did not lose the distinguished personal reputation which he had throughout the empire.

His riches were the possession of all within the four seas.

He offered his sacrifices in his ancestral temple, and his descendants maintained the sacrifices to himself.

Chapter 18 The Master said, It is only King Wan, of whom it can be said that he had no cause for grief.

His father was King Ji, and his son was King Wu.

His father laid the foundations of his dignity, and his son transmitted it.

King Wu continued the enterprise of King Tai, King Ji, and King Wan.

He once buckled on his armor and got possession of the empire.

He did not lose the distinguished personal reputation which he had throughout the empire.

His riches were the possession of all within the four seas.

He offered his sacrifices in his ancestral temple, and his descendants maintained the sacrifices to himself.

The master said, It is only King Wen, of whom it can be said that he had no cause for grief.

His father was King Ji, and his son was King Wu.

His father laid the foundations of his dignity, and his son transmitted it.

King wu continued the enterprise of king tai king tsi and king he once buckled on his armour and got possession of the empire he did not lose the distinguished personal reputation which he had throughout the empire his dignity was the imperial throne his riches were the possession of all within the four seas He offered his sacrifices in his ancestral temple, and his descendants maintained the sacrifices to himself.

It was in his old age that King Wu received the appointment to the throne, and the Duke of Zhou completed the virtuous course of Yuan and Wu, he carried up the title of king to tai and tsi and sacrificed to all the former dukes above them with the imperial ceremonies and this rule he extended to the princes of the empire the great officers the scholars and the common people Was the father a great officer, and the son a scholar? Then the burial was that due to a great officer, and the sacrifice that due to a scholar.

Was the father a scholar, and the son a great officer? Then the burial was that due to a scholar, and the sacrifice that due to a great officer.

The one year's mourning was made to extend only to the great officers, but the three years' mourning extended to the emperor.

In the mourning, for a father or mother, he allowed no difference between the noble and the mean.

It arose from a real political upheaval, the overthrow of the Shang Dynasty by the Zhou clan.

In 1046 BC, King Wu of Zhou led his forces to defeat King Di Xin, the last Shang king, at the Battle of Mu.

The Shang had ruled for centuries, claiming divine favor through their deity, Shangdi.

But by the end, their court was infamous for excess and cruelty.

To a populace suffering under a corrupt ruler, the fall of the Shang seemed both inevitable and justified.

Now before I go on, I need to note that the Zhou ruled China in some capacity for about 800 years after this overthrow, That is to say, they had significant time to make sure that the official surviving historical narratives portrayed the Shang dynasty they overthrew as decadent or even degenerate in nature.

Further, Confucius himself venerated the Duke of Zhou, the younger brother of King Wu, as a model sagely and political ideal for all individuals to aspire to.

This endorsement by the most influential moral philosopher in Chinese history would of course pay dividends for the Zhou dynasty at the expense of the Shang's reputation.