King You of Zhou facts for kids
Quick facts for kids King You of Zhou |
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| King of the Zhou dynasty | |||||||||
| Reign | 781–771 BC | ||||||||
| Predecessor | King Xuan of Zhou | ||||||||
| Successor | King Ping of Zhou | ||||||||
| Born | Ji Gongsheng 795 BC |
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| Died | 771 BC | ||||||||
| Spouse | Bao Si | ||||||||
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| House | Ji | ||||||||
| Dynasty | Zhou (Western Zhou) | ||||||||
| Father | King Xuan of Zhou | ||||||||
| Mother | Queen Jiang | ||||||||
| King You of Zhou | |||||||||
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| Posthumous name | |||||||||
| Chinese | 周幽王 | ||||||||
| Literal meaning | The Quiet King of Zhou The Secluded King of Zhou |
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King You of Zhou (born 795 BC, died 771 BC) was a king of ancient China. His personal name was Ji Gongsheng. He was the last king of the Western Zhou dynasty, which was part of the larger Zhou dynasty. He ruled from 781 BC to 771 BC. His reign ended with a big event that changed Chinese history.
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Important Events During His Rule
An Earthquake and a Warning
In 780 BC, a very strong earthquake hit an area called Guanzhong. This was a major event. A fortune teller named Bo Yangfu believed this earthquake was a bad sign. He thought it meant the Zhou Dynasty was going to be destroyed.
A New Queen and Prince
In 779 BC, a woman named Bao Si came to the palace. King You liked her very much. They had a son together named Bofu. Because of his feelings for Bao Si, King You made a big decision. He removed his first wife, Queen Shen, from her position. He also took away the title of Crown Prince from his son, Yijiu. A Crown Prince is the next person in line to become king. King You then made Bao Si his new queen and Bofu the new Crown Prince.
The End of Western Zhou
Queen Shen's father, the Marquess of Shen, was very angry about his daughter and grandson being removed. He decided to attack King You's palace. He teamed up with a group called the Quanrong. King You tried to call for help from his important leaders, called nobles. He used warning fires, which were meant to signal danger. But because he had used these warning fires to trick people before, no one came to help him. In the end, King You and his son Bofu were killed. Bao Si was captured.
After King You died, many important leaders, including the Marquess of Shen, supported Prince Yijiu. Yijiu became the new king, known as King Ping of Zhou. The old capital city, Haojing, was badly damaged and too close to the dangerous Quanrong. So, in 771 BC, King Ping moved the capital city to the east, to Luoyang. This move marked the start of the Eastern Zhou dynasty. It also began a long period in Chinese history called the Spring and Autumn period, which lasted for over 300 years.
Stories About King You
The Warning Fires Story
One famous story about King You and Bao Si comes from an old book called the Records of the Grand Historian. It says that Bao Si rarely laughed. King You tried many things to make her happy. He even lit the warning fires, pretending that the Quanrong were about to attack. The nobles rushed to the castle, ready to fight, only to find out it was a joke. Bao Si supposedly laughed at their confusion. The story says King You kept doing this, and eventually, his nobles stopped trusting him. When real danger came, they didn't respond.
However, historians today believe this story might not be true. The earliest warning fires like those described appeared much later in Chinese history. Other old texts suggest that King You actually attacked the Marquess of Shen first, and the Marquess then teamed up with the Quanrong to fight back.
Family of King You
- Queen Shen: She was from the Jiang family of Shen. She was the mother of Crown Prince Yijiu.
- Bao Si: She was another wife of King You. She married him in 779 BC and was the mother of Crown Prince Bofu.
- Crown Prince Yijiu: He later became King Ping of Zhou and ruled from 770 BC to 720 BC.
- Crown Prince Bofu: He was the son of King You and Bao Si. He died in 771 BC with his father.
See also
- Family tree of Chinese monarchs (ancient)
