Shang dynasty's “nine generations chaos” and the reign of Wu Ding: towards a unilineal line of transmission of royal power

This article explores the political crisis before Wu Ding. The accession of king Wu Ding to the throne was not a given but the result of a political move by his father Xiao Yi. It must be seen as one of the consequences of an earlier political crisis named the “nine generations chaos” by Sima Qian,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 2023-06, Vol.86 (2), p.293-315
Main Author: Boileau, Gilles
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Inscriptions
Kings
Political crises
Politics
Power
Primacy
Sima Qian
Sons
Succession
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Summary:This article explores the political crisis before Wu Ding. The accession of king Wu Ding to the throne was not a given but the result of a political move by his father Xiao Yi. It must be seen as one of the consequences of an earlier political crisis named the “nine generations chaos” by Sima Qian, during which an attempt to share royal power between two royal lines finally collapsed and led to a move by Pan Geng to a new capital. This new city has recently been discovered north of the Huai river. The political crisis of the time led Shang kings to try to implement a unilineal system of succession. Other steps, ritual in particular, were involved after the reign of the king Zu Jia, one of the reigning sons of Wu Ding, in order to ensure the primacy of the unilineal system of royal succession.
ISSN:0041-977X
1474-0699
DOI:10.1017/S0041977X23000277