King Gong of Zhou

King Gong of Zhou (; died 900 BC), personal name Ji Yihu, was a king of China's Zhou dynasty. Estimated dates of his reign are 922–900 BC or 917/15–900.

Much of King Gong's reign was shrouded in mystery until the excavation and study of Chinese ritual bronzes, the inscriptions of which shed light on many rulers. In the case of King Gong, many of these detail the social mobility of Qiu Wei , who would engage in various transactions, of which the king would sometimes arbitrate. The first of these occurred in the king's third year, where he raised his banner in Fengjing, and Qiu Wei exchanged eighty peng of cowry money for ten fields. After going to the king's officials to ratify the transaction and transfer the land, he cast a he to honour his father, Hui Meng .

During the fourth year of King Gong's reign, he met with an official named Shi You , who, after being given praised by the king, was given a leopard-skin coat and told to serve him. Shi You then kowtowed and had a ding cast, which King Gong ordered to be used to pursue filial piety and revere their parents.

That same year, The Bamboo Annals states that this happened in the fourth year of King Gong's reign, describing it as an annihilation. The Ming dynasty scholar He Kai posited a theory that the Guofeng poem Choumou in the Classic of Poetry was a satire of Duke Mao of Mi.

After the war with the State of Mi, King Gong continued overseeing transactions for Qiu Wei. The first can be seen with the Wu Si Wei ding , produced in his fifth year, which details a land-for-luxury transaction being made, specifically regarding agricultural fields. The Bamboo Annals also record that in the same year, King Gong sent an internal scribe, named Liang, to confer an order upon Earl Mao of Qian .

In his 16th year, King Gong met with an individual named Shi Shan , who entered the gate of the palace courtyard. The king ordered a scribe named Yin to read out an order to them. This order was to install a newly-enfeoffed Marquis of Zhong , and stabilise the states of Ruo and the Jingfang . The ruler of Ruo treated Shi Shan as a guest and rewarded them with cowry money and metals. Shi Shan then cast a pan to remember the event.

Death The date for King Gong's death is disputed. The Bamboo Annals states that he died in his 12th year, while Records of the Grand Historian states his reign length was around 25 years. The Xia-Shang-Zhou Chronology Project concludes it was around 23 years. Upon his death, King Gong passed the throne to his son King Yì of Zhou and departed peacefully in his own palace.

Family Queens: Wang Gui, of the Gui clan

Sons: Crown Prince Jian (; 899–892 BC), ruled as King Yì of Zhou from 899–892 BC