WU-WANG

flourished 12th century BC, China Pinyin Wuwang (posthumous name, or shih), personal name (hsing-ming) Chi Fa founder and first ruler (reigned 11111104 BC) of the Chou dynasty (1111255 BC). He was regarded by later Confucians as a wise king. Wu succeeded his father, the famous Wen-wang, as head of the semibarbaric state of Chou, located on the western border of China. Wen had assumed the title Hsi Po (King of the West) and had begun to plot against the Chinese Shang dynasty (18th12th century BC). Wu continued his father's work and formed a coalition with eight other border states, which defeated the evil last ruler of the Shang. The final battles were said to have been extremely bloody, and Shang survivors may well have served as Chinese culture bearers to places as far removed as Korea. After establishing the Chou dynasty, Wu, assisted by his brother, known as the duke of Chou, consolidated his rule by establishing a feudalistic form of government, which parceled out territory to relatives and vassals willing to acknowledge Chou suzerainty. Even descendants of the defeated Shang were allowed to rule over a portion of their former domain.