Xuan

King Xuan of Zhou, personal name Ji Jing, was a king of the Western Zhou dynasty and the penultimate one before the change to the Eastern Zhou period. His reign has been reconstructed to be 827/25782 BC. He worked to restore royal authority after the Gonghe Regency led by He, Earl of Gong. His son, King You, would be the last king of the Western Zhou.

The Stone Drums of Qin were long mistakenly ascribed to King Xuan.

Reign Gonghe Regency

King Xuan was born in a troublesome time in the Western Zhou dynasty. King Li of Zhou had imposed serious taxes on his people and treated them with contempt. After a period of decadence for the upper-class, the Zhou people rebelled and exiled him to Zhi for his crimes. Thereafter, Zhou was ruled by He, Earl of Gong in an era called the Gonghe Regency. After King Li died in exile in , power was passed to King Xuan. records King Xuan discussing his anxiety about the then-failing Kingdom of Zhou. Recalling the premierships of Kings Wen and Wu, he saw himself inadequate, and, elevating Duke Yin of Mao to Qing Shi Liao and Tai Shi Liao , ordered the following: Help King Xuan stabilise the Mandate of Heaven. Ensure the people are not disturbed by King Xuan's early regency. If King Xuan issues a "stupid" order, do not allow it to leave the palace. Do not oppress the common people.

The Guoji Zibai pan records a campaign against the Xianyun along the Luo River. King Xuan had appointed Guoji Zibai , the caster of the pan, to lead the offensive. During this campaign, 50 captives were taken and 500 killed, and thus Guoji Zibai was rewarded with horses and wealth. Classical sources imply that the Xianyun had previously plundered Haojing and eroded at royal authority. Campaigns against Chu were also made due to them not upholding tribute to the king, which resulted in a victory recounted in the Classic of Poetry.

The Song gui records a meeting in which King Xuan ordered an individual named Song to take control of 20 storehouses in Chengzhou and manage the development of new ones. Song was awarded with robes and other garments for his efforts.

Decline In the ninth year of King Xuan's reign, he called a meeting of all the lords. In the same year, Duke Wu of Lu paid homage to King Xuan with his sons Kuo and Yi . King Xuan favoured Yi over Kuo, despite him being the younger brother, and desired to make him the crown prince of Lu. Zhong Shanfu advised against this, but was ignored, and Yi was made Duke Yi of Lu. Several years later, Boyu , the son of Kuo, would kill Duke Yi, leading to a military intervention by King Xuan. Following this, Duke Yi of Lu's younger brother, Cheng , was appointed on the advice of Fan Muzhong , and made Duke Xiao of Lu. Sima Qian said "from this time on, the many lords mostly rebelled against royal commands," which led to further interventions in Wey and Qi.

Sima Qian documents two further missteps during King Xuan's rule: One was an attempt to count the people in Taiyuan against advice from Zhong Shanfu, who said it was a violation of li, and another was a military defeat against the Jiang clan during the Battle of Qianmu.

Death According to Zhang Shoujie's annotation Correct Meanings to Sima's Shiji, King Xuan is said to have ordered a mass execution of women following a rumour that one woman would bring ruin to Zhou. Du Bo remonstrated the king for this act, but was killed by King Xuan in response. Another account claims that Nü Jiu, one of King Xuan's concubines, falsely accused Du Bo of rape. In both accounts, three years later, King Xuan dreamed of Du Bo shooting him with an arrow, and died. This claim would be repeated in Mozi, which serves as the primary source today.

Family Queens: Queen Xian of Zhou, of the Lü lineage of the Jiang clan of Qi , known as Queen Jiang; a daughter of Duke Wu of Qi; married in 826 BC; the mother of Crown Prince Gongsheng

Concubines: Lady Hou Nü Jiu

Sons: Crown Prince Gongsheng (; ), ruled as King You of Zhou Prince Yuchen (; ), claimed the throne as King Xie of Zhou Prince Changfu , ruled as the Marquis of Yang