Wu Ding

Wu Ding (Chinese: 武丁) was a king of the Shang dynasty in ancient China, whose reign lasted from approximately 1250-1192 BC.

Wu Ding is the earliest figure in the history of the Chinese dynasties who has been confirmed by contemporary records. The annals of the Shang dynasty compiled by later historians were long thought to be little more than legends until oracle script inscriptions on bones dating from his reign were unearthed at the ruins of his capital Yin (near modern Anyang) in 1899.

History

In the sixth year of his father's reign, he was ordered to live at He (河) and study at Ganpan (甘盘). These early years spent among the common people allowed him to become familiar with their daily problems.

In the Records of the Grand Historian he was listed by Sima Qian as the twenty-second Shang king, succeeding his father Xiao Yi (小乙). He was enthroned in the year of Dingwei (丁未) with Gan Pan (甘盘) as his prime minister and Yin (殷) as his capital.

He cultivated the allegiance of neighbouring tribes by marrying one woman from each of them. His favoured consort Fu Hao entered the royal household through such a marriage and took advantage of the semi-matriarchal slave society to rise through the ranks to military general and high priestess.