Wai Ren

King of Shang dynasty
  • Family name:
    Zi (子)
  • Given name:
    Fa (發)
Posthumous nameWai Ren

Wai Ren (Chinese: 外壬) or Bu Ren (Chinese: 卜壬), personal name Zi Fa, was a Shang dynasty King of China.

In the Records of the Grand Historian he was listed by Sima Qian as the eleventh Shang king, succeeding his brother Zhong Ding (仲丁). He was enthroned in the year of Gengxu (Chinese: 庚戌) with Ao (隞) as his capital. During his reign there was a rebellion from Shang's vassals of Pei (邳) and Xian (侁) peoples. He ruled for 15 years (although the Bamboo Annals claim 10 years) before his death. He was given the posthumous name Wai Ren and was succeeded by his son He Dan Jia (河亶甲).[1][2][3]

Oracle bone script inscriptions on bones unearthed at Yinxu alternatively record that he was the tenth Shang king, given the posthumous name Bu Ren (卜壬) and succeeded by his youngest brother Jian Jia.[2][4]

References

  1. ^ Bai, Shouyi (2002). An Outline History of China. Beijing: Foreign Language Press. ISBN 7-119-02347-0.
  2. ^ a b "The Shang Dynasty Rulers". China Knowledge. Retrieved August 7, 2007.
  3. ^ "Shang Kingship And Shang Kinship" (PDF). Indiana University. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 9, 2008. Retrieved August 7, 2007.
  4. ^ Chang, Kwang-chih; Xu, Pingfang; Lu, Liancheng (2013). The Formation of Chinese Civilization. An Archaeological Perspective. Yale University Press. p. xiii. ISBN 9780300093827. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
Wai Ren
Shang dynasty
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Zhong Ding
 King of China Succeeded by
  • v
  • t
  • e
Kings of the Shang dynasty
Predynastic Shang
商
Early ShangLate Shang+
+ The term here refers to the period in the historiographical sense, starting from Pan Geng who is traditionally said to have moved the Shang capital to Yinxu. The same term can also refer to the historical polity as the earliest known literate civilization in China, starting from Wu Ding.
Xia → Shang → Zhou → Qin → Han → 3 Kingdoms → Jìn / 16 Kingdoms → S. Dynasties / N. Dynasties → Sui → Tang → 5 Dynasties & 10 Kingdoms → Liao / Song / W. Xia / Jīn → Yuan → Ming → Qing → ROC / PRC