The Mandate of Heaven: How China Became Chinese

A History of Mankind (50)

(This post is a sequel to this earlier post. To see all older posts in a list arranged by subject, click here)

China’s great King Wu died young, possibly in 1043 BC, and the Zhou were in serious danger of losing control of the state. The possibility was averted by the successful intervention of Zhou Gong, also known as Duke of Zhou, a younger brother of…