Ancient World

Di Xin

Di Xin of Shang (Chinese: 商帝辛; pinyin: Shāng Dì Xīn; Wade–Giles: Shang Ti-Hsin) or Shou, King of Shang (Chinese: 商王受; pinyin: Shāng Wáng Shòu; Wade–Giles: Shang Wang Shou), was the last king of the Shang dynasty of ancient China. He is also known by a pejorative title, King Zhou of Shang ([ʈ͡ʂoʊ˥˩]; Chinese: 商紂王; pinyin: Shāng Zhòu Wáng; Wade–Giles: Shang Chou-Wang) in Zhou dynasty texts and beyond. He is contemporaneously recorded in bronze relics, where his temple name, Di Xin, is used, and posthumously in the Chinese classics by his pejorative title of "King Zhou." In later times, the story of “King Zhou” became a cautionary tale on what could befall a kingdom if its ruler gave into corruption and moral depravity. However, owing to the small number of artifacts found from his rule, his actual life and deeds are not well understood beyond posthumous accounts.

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See also

• ▸Hellenistic theatre of Dion
• ▸Daniel Rhodes
• ▸Gustaf Dalman

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