Wu Ding

Common card · No. 285304

Wu Ding (Chinese: 武丁; died c. 1192 BC); personal name Zi Zhao (子昭), was a king of the Chinese Shang dynasty who ruled the central Yellow River valley. He is the earliest figure in Chinese history mentioned in contemporary records. The annals of the Shang dynasty compiled by later historians were once 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. Oracle bone inscriptions from his reign have been radiocarbon dated to 1254–1197 BC ±10 years, closely according with regnal dates derived by modern scholars from received texts, epigraphic evidence, and astronomical calculations. Wu Ding's reign is characterized by a prosperous period of the late Shang state, with a wide network of allies and subordinates. The first inscriptions unequivocally recognized as Chinese appeared during his reign, together with new technological innovations. More than half of Shang inscriptions...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Wang Qiji of the Ming Dynasty, Wanli engraved "Three Talents Picture Club", Public domain