Tai Jia
Encyclopedia
Tai Jia was the son of Tai Ding (Chinese: 太丁) and a Shang Dynasty
King of China.
In the Records of the Grand Historian
he was listed by Sima Qian
as the fourth Shang king, succeeding his uncles Wai Bing (Chinese: 外丙) and Zhong Ren
(Chinese: 仲壬). He was enthroned in BCE 1535 with Yi Yin (Chinese: 伊尹) as his prime minister and Bo (Chinese: 亳) as his capital.
He was an autocratic ruler who treated his people badly and broke his own laws. A few years into his reign saw internal disorder among the court. Prime Minister Yi Yin advised him to change his ways but the headstrong king ignored the advice of the elder statesman. Eventually Yi Yin had no other choice but to exile the king to the Tong Palace (Chinese: 桐宫), in present day Southwest Yanshi
county, Henan
provin (Chinese: 偃師縣) near the tomb of the first Shang king Tang
, to repent.
Sima Qian says that following the exile Yi Yin ruled the country as regent for three years until he felt that the king had sufficiently changed and invited him back to the capital to reclaim his throne. From that point on the king took care of his people and managed the government well. So that in the 10th year of his reign Yi Yin resigned from his post and retired, honoring the king, after his death, as Zhong Zong (中宗).
The Bamboo Annals
however tell a very different story; claiming that after the exile Yi Yin seized the throne and ruled as king for seven years later until Tai Jia secretly returned to the palace and killed his former Prime Minister. Afterwards the king assigned Yi Yin's land and castle to his sons, Yi She (Chinese: 伊陟) and Yi Fen (Chinese: 伊奋).
Since archaeological evidence shows that Yi Yin was still worshipped by the Shang people several hundred years after his death the former account is widely considered the more reliable. According to both sources the king ruled for 12 years before death. He was given the posthumous name Tai Jia (Chinese: 太甲) and was succeeded by his son Wo Ding (Chinese: 沃丁).
Oracle script inscriptions on bones
unearthed at Yinxu
alternatively record that he was the third Shang king, succeeding his father Da Ding (Chinese: 大丁), given the posthumous name Da Jia (Chinese: 大甲), and succeeded by his brother Bu Bing
(Chinese: 卜丙).
Shang Dynasty
The Shang Dynasty or Yin Dynasty was, according to traditional sources, the second Chinese dynasty, after the Xia. They ruled in the northeastern regions of the area known as "China proper" in the Yellow River valley...
King of China.
In the Records of the Grand Historian
Records of the Grand Historian
The Records of the Grand Historian, also known in English by the Chinese name Shiji , written from 109 BC to 91 BC, was the Magnum opus of Sima Qian, in which he recounted Chinese history from the time of the Yellow Emperor until his own time...
he was listed by Sima Qian
Sima Qian
Sima Qian was a Prefect of the Grand Scribes of the Han Dynasty. He is regarded as the father of Chinese historiography for his highly praised work, Records of the Grand Historian , a "Jizhuanti"-style general history of China, covering more than two thousand years from the Yellow Emperor to...
as the fourth Shang king, succeeding his uncles Wai Bing (Chinese: 外丙) and Zhong Ren
Zhong Ren
Zhòng Rén is traditionally held to be a Shang Dynasty King of China but recent archaeological evidence has thrown this into doubt....
(Chinese: 仲壬). He was enthroned in BCE 1535 with Yi Yin (Chinese: 伊尹) as his prime minister and Bo (Chinese: 亳) as his capital.
He was an autocratic ruler who treated his people badly and broke his own laws. A few years into his reign saw internal disorder among the court. Prime Minister Yi Yin advised him to change his ways but the headstrong king ignored the advice of the elder statesman. Eventually Yi Yin had no other choice but to exile the king to the Tong Palace (Chinese: 桐宫), in present day Southwest Yanshi
Yanshi
Yanshi is a county-level city administered by the prefecture-level city of Luoyang in western Henan province, People's Republic of China. The ancient Erlitou culture existed in the area. Yanshi lies on the Luo River. The ruins the first Shang Dynasty capital, Xibo, are located in Shixianggou...
county, Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
provin (Chinese: 偃師縣) near the tomb of the first Shang king Tang
Tang of Shang
King Cheng Tang of Shang was the first ruling king of the Shang dynasty in Chinese history. He overthrew Jie, the last ruler of the Xia dynasty.-Early life:...
, to repent.
Sima Qian says that following the exile Yi Yin ruled the country as regent for three years until he felt that the king had sufficiently changed and invited him back to the capital to reclaim his throne. From that point on the king took care of his people and managed the government well. So that in the 10th year of his reign Yi Yin resigned from his post and retired, honoring the king, after his death, as Zhong Zong (中宗).
The Bamboo Annals
Bamboo Annals
The Bamboo Annals is a chronicle of ancient China. It begins at the earliest legendary times and extends to the Warring States Period , particularly the history of the Wei state...
however tell a very different story; claiming that after the exile Yi Yin seized the throne and ruled as king for seven years later until Tai Jia secretly returned to the palace and killed his former Prime Minister. Afterwards the king assigned Yi Yin's land and castle to his sons, Yi She (Chinese: 伊陟) and Yi Fen (Chinese: 伊奋).
Since archaeological evidence shows that Yi Yin was still worshipped by the Shang people several hundred years after his death the former account is widely considered the more reliable. According to both sources the king ruled for 12 years before death. He was given the posthumous name Tai Jia (Chinese: 太甲) and was succeeded by his son Wo Ding (Chinese: 沃丁).
Oracle script inscriptions on bones
Oracle bone
Oracle bones are pieces of bone normally from ox scapula or turtle plastron which were used for divination chiefly during the late Shang Dynasty. The bones were first inscribed with divination in oracle bone script by using a bronze pin, and then heated until crack lines appeared in which the...
unearthed at Yinxu
Yinxu
Yinxu is the ruins of the last capital of China's Shang Dynasty. The capital served 255 years for 12 kings in 8 generations.Rediscovered in 1899, it is one of the oldest and largest archeological sites in China and is one of the historical capitals of China and a UNESCO World Heritage Site...
alternatively record that he was the third Shang king, succeeding his father Da Ding (Chinese: 大丁), given the posthumous name Da Jia (Chinese: 大甲), and succeeded by his brother Bu Bing
Bu Bing
Bu Bing was a Shang Dynasty King of China.In the Records of the Grand Historian, he was listed by Sima Qian as the second Shang king, succeeding his father King Tang , following the earlier death of his elder brother Tai Ding...
(Chinese: 卜丙).