Di Yi
Shang dynasty king
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Di Yi (Chinese: 帝乙), personal name Zi Xian (Chinese: 子羨), was a king of the Shang dynasty from 1101 BC to 1076 BC. His capital was at Yin in modern-day Anyang, Henan, and his reign is preserved in oracle bone inscriptions and bronzeware.
| Di Yi 帝乙 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| King of Shang dynasty | |||||||||
| Reign | 1101–1076 BC | ||||||||
| Predecessor | Wen Ding | ||||||||
| Successor | Di Xin | ||||||||
| Died | 1076 BC | ||||||||
| Issue |
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| Father | Wen Ding | ||||||||
| Di Yi | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese | 帝乙 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | "Thearch II" | ||||||||||||||||||
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Personal life
Di Yin was the older brother of Jizi and Bi Gan. He would have three sons: Weiziqi (微子啟), Weizhong (微仲), and Di Xin. Sima Qian records that due to Weiziqi and Weizhong being of lower birth, Di Xin became his heir, and would be the last last ruler of the Shang dynasty.[1] After the fall of Shang, Weiziqi was awarded the State of Song, and Weizhong succeeded him.[2]
Reign
Posthumous accounts
Most posthumous accounts of Di Yi were written from the perspective of the invading Zhou dynasty and an anachronistic perspective of the Mandate of Heaven being lost; ergo, they should be treated with caution.[5][6]
According to the Bamboo Annals, in the third year of his reign, Di Yi ordered Nanzhong (南仲) to fight Kun Barbarians and built Shuofang (朔方, roughly modern Ordos in Inner Mongolia) in the middle of Kun territory after winning a battle.
In the Book of Changes, Di Yi is twice recorded as having given his younger sister to King Wen of Zhou in marriage under the Tai ䷊[7] and Gui Mei ䷵ hexagrams.[8]
Sima Qian records that Di Yi's reign did not improve existing economic issues dating back to Wu Yi's reign.[2] However, Duke Dan of Zhou was comparatively charitable during his speech against drunkenness in the Book of Documents, citing the Shang not being addicted to drink as an example of common virtue.[9] The Book of Han records Di Yi as being infatuated with a deity and having died of shock.[10]
It is said that Di Yi is the origin of the surname hǎo 郝, citing a tale of Di Yi enfeoffing Haoxiang (郝乡, modern-day Taiyuan) to Zi Qi (子期), who then took the placename as their family name.[11][12]
Sacrifices
Di Yi is mentioned by name at least thrice in bronze inscriptions from Di Xin's reign, with the epithet "Civil and Military" 文武 attached both times. The first is from the 4th year of Di Xin's reign, where an yi sacrifice was performed to begin another ritual cycle;[13] the second is a rong sacrifice from the 22nd year of his reign marking the end of another cycle. In a second case, Di Xin rewarded the individual assisting him with cowry money, who would then produce a vessel inscribing to the matter.[14] Another sacrifice, was made during his 4th ritual cycle where yi and zhu sacrifices were made, and an individual assisting Di Xin named Bi Qi (邲其) was rewarded with cowry money, and the act recorded in bronzeware (rubbing pictured).[15]
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