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Dromo's Den
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[Up] [Dromo's Den] Wen Wang Biography WEN WANG, (1231-1135 B.C.). One of the most noted names in Chinese history. It was posthumously conferred on Ch'ang, the Duke of Chow, by his fourth son, the noted Chow Kung. He was hereditary chieftain of a small principality in what is now the Province of Shensi, was commonly known as Si-Peh, Chief of the West, and was honored by everybody, except the infamous tyrant Chow-sin (then on the throne of China), as a pattern of every princely virtue. Denounced to Chow-sin in 1144 by the Marquis Ch'ung as a menace to the dynasty, he was imprisoned for two years. Yielding at last to the entreaties of the people, Chow-sin released him, and gave him a commission to make war on the frontier tribes. He died at the age of 96, bequeathing his army to his son Fa, who, in 1123, overthrew Chow-sin and became the first ruler of the new dynasty of Chow (1122-255 B.C.) under the title of Wu Wang, his younger brother, Chow-kung, becoming his wisest and most trusted counselor. Consult Friedrich Hirth, Ancient History of China (New York, 1911). The New International Encyclopaedia, Vol. XXIII (New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1920) 468. |