King Zhuang of Chu
{{Short description|King of Chu from 613 to 591 BC}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name = King Zhuang of Chu
{{langn|zh|楚莊王}}
| image = 楚莊王 繡像東周列國全志.jpg
| title =
| full name = {{ubl
| Ancestral name: Mǐ ({{lang|zh|羋}})
| Clan name: Xióng ({{lang|zh|熊}})
| Given name: Lǚ ({{lang|zh|旅}} or {{lang|zh|呂}} or {{lang|zh|侶}})
}}
| succession = King of Chu
| predecessor = King Mu
| successor = King Gong
| reign = 613–591 BC
| father = King Mu
| issue = King Gong
| spouse = Lady Fan
| death_date = 591 BC
| posthumous name = King Zhuang (莊王)
or
King Zang (臧王)
or
King Jingzhuang (荊莊王)
| house = Mi
| dynasty = Chu
}}
File:“王子午”青铜鼎（附匕）03671.jpg. The inscription inside the ding documents that Prince Wu worshipped his ancestors and prayed for his offspring. Wu was a son of King Zhuang.]]
King Zhuang of Chu ({{zh|t=楚莊王|p=Chǔ Zhuāng Wáng}}), personal name Xiong Lü, was a monarch of the Chu state. He was one of the "Five Hegemons" who attempted to wrest control of China during the Spring and Autumn period.{{cite book |last1=Zhao |first1=Dingxin |title=The Confucian-legalist State: A New Theory of Chinese History |year=2015 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-935173-2 |page=112 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5fmJCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA112}}
Life
The son of King Mu, King Zhuang ascended the throne in 613 BC. According to a legend in the Records of the Grand Historian, for the first three years of his reign King Zhuang wasted time in pleasure-seeking, but, when challenged by two courtiers, reformed his ways.{{cite book |last1=Cook |first1=Constance A. |last2=Major |first2=John S. |title=Defining Chu: Image And Reality In Ancient China |year=2004 |publisher=University of Hawaiʻi Press |isbn=978-0-8248-2905-6 |page=63 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C_F4Y93n3l0C&pg=PA63}}
The king made Sunshu Ao his chancellor. Sunshu Ao began a series of major dam-works and an enormous planned reservoir in modern-day northern Anhui.
After some military successes, King Zhuang attempted to usurp King Ding of Zhou. According to a well-known story, probably an invention of the Warring States period, he asked a messenger from Zhou about the weight of the legendary Nine Tripod Cauldrons which Zhou possessed, a euphemism for seeking ultimate power in China, but was rebuffed. This incident gave rise to the chengyu "to enquire about ding in the central plains", i.e. to have great ambitions ({{zhi|t={{linktext|問鼎|中原}}|s=问鼎中原|first=t|p=wèn dǐng zhōngyuán}}).
In the Battle of Bi, his army defeated the state of Jin. His progress from lazy regent to hegemon gave rise to the Chinese chengyu "amaze others with one cry" ({{zhi|t={{linktext|一鳴驚人}}|s=一鸣惊人|first=t|p=yī míng jīngrén}}).
References
{{reflist}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|House of Mi||||591 BC||name=King Zhuang of Chu}}
{{s-reg}}
{{s-bef|before=King Mu of Chu}}
{{s-ttl|title=King of Chu|years=613–591 BC}}
{{s-aft|after=King Gong of Chu}}
{{s-end}}
{{Monarchs of Chu (state)}}
{{Five Hegemons}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhuang of Chu, King}}
Category:Monarchs of Chu (state)
Category:6th-century BC Chinese monarchs
Category:7th-century BC Chinese monarchs
Category:Year of birth unknown
{{China-royal-stub}}