Xie of Shang

This article is about the ancestor of the Shang dynasty. For the Eastern Jin general, writer and musician, see Xie Shang.
Image of Xie of Shang
Xie of Shang
Portrait of Xie (National Palace Museum)

Xie (Chinese: 偰) also appearing as Qi or Xie (Chinese: 契) was an ancient Chinese nobleman, an ancestor of the kings of the Shang dynasty.[1] He is the first known Shang ancestor and ruler of the Predynastic Shang.

His consort is unknown, but it is known he was a father of Zhao Ming of Shang and grandfather of Xiang Tu.

Xie’s father was Emperor Ku,[2] and Xie’s brothers were Houji, Emperor Zhi and Emperor Yao.[3] Xie’s mother was one of Ku’s consorts ‒ Jiang Yuan, Jiandi, Qingdu, or Changyi.[4][5]

  1. ^ Sima Qian, Records of the Grand Historian
  2. ^ "According to the Han imperial scribe Sima (c. 145 BC-86 BC), the legendary founder of Shang, “Hsieh [Xie] of Yin,” was a son of the Xia emperor Ku."
  3. ^ Wu, K. C. (1982). The Chinese Heritage. New York: Crown Publishers. ISBN 0-517-54475X.
  4. ^ Yang, 99
  5. ^ Wu, 64