Creation of the Gods: The Wronged King Zhou of Shang

Today, we’ll look into the life and times of King Zhou – the most infamous tyrant in Chinese history who was cinematically brought back to life in a much-anticipated summertime blockbuster this year.

After watching the first installment of The Lord of the Rings trilogy in 2001, Chinese film director Wu’ershan decided it was time to finally do something to fulfill his childhood dream. But who could have known that it would take more than two decades to finally turn a mythological story he’s been fascinated with since childhood into the biggest blockbuster of this year’s summer season?

Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms, the first installment of Wu’ershan’s mega-budget trilogy, has topped China’s box office since its premier on July 20, raking in more than 2 billion yuan, or US$273 million, as of Aug 23rd and marking a potential milestone in this distinct genre of Chinese cinema.

The film is loosely adapted from the 16th-century novel Creation of the Gods, an epic story set in the Bronze Age of China around 3,000 years ago. The novel tells how Ji Fa, the righteous lord of Zhou周, led his army to overthrow Yin Shou, the notorious King Zhou纣of the Shang Dynasty and established the Zhou周Dynasty.

Wu’ershan still remembered how he had been fascinated with comic strips adapted from the novel, reading them over and again and ruminating on stories that blended historical events with mythology, fantasy, and folklore. When he came up with the idea of crafting a trilogy on the epic story, he hoped it could become China’s mythological franchise like Lord of the Rings.

And in fact, he was able to recruit the right kind of help to make it happen. His trilogy has Barrie Osborne as its production consultant. Osborne was a producer for The Matrix and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. And among its executive producers, there’s Bill Kong who was a producer for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero.

Wu’ershan spent five years developing the script of the trilogy and started shooting in 2018. The production involved a total of 8,000 people and cost a staggering 3 billion yuan, or US$411 million, making it the most expensive Chinese film project in history. With the first installment now proved to be a success on the big screen, the second and third installments have moved into the post-production phase and promise even more visually stunning scenes.

Although the cinematic version varies greatly from the novel, the essential elements of the story in Creation of the Gods is well-known to almost every household in China. It begins with the grand pilgrimage of King Zhou纣to worship Goddess Nü Wa, the creator of mankind in Chinese mythology. He was obsessed with the beauty of the goddess and wrote a poem on the wall of her temple to express his lust for her. Like a lot of women, the goddess was quite offended by his boldness and decided to punish him by bringing an end to the Shang Dynasty. So, by devising a scheme whereby the punishment fits the crime, she sent a fox spirit in the disguise of a beautiful woman named Da Ji to hasten his downfall. Bewitched by Da Ji, King Zhou纣 started to neglect state affairs, indulge in an extravagant lifestyle, and persecute anyone who dared admonish him.

Meanwhile, Ji Fa, the lord of Zhou周, was preparing to overthrow King Zhou纣. Zhou周was a semi-barbaric state on the west border of the Shang territory. For many years, Zhou周 had been a tributary state to Shang but also at times warred with it. Zhou周flourished under the reign of Ji Fa’s father Ji Chang, who encouraged agriculture and economy and expanded the state’s territory through political alliances and military activities. King Zhou纣 considered Ji Chang to be a threat and imprisoned him for three years. Ji Chang was finally released after his son Ji Fa paid literally a king’s ransom of treasure to King Zhou 纣. Unfortunately, Ji Chang died not long after returning to Zhou周. Ji Fa continued his father’s work, rallied a coalition with eight other border states, and eventually defeated King Zhou纣 thus ending the Shang and establishing the Zhou周 Dynasty.

According to legend, during the battles waged between Zhou周 and Shang, both sides called upon supernatural powers to aid them. The heroes of Zhou周 and some of their enemies from Shang are eventually endowed with heavenly ranking and elevated as deities, hence the title of the novel. The story culminates with the crowning of Ji Fa as King Wu of Zhou周 and the canonization of gods by Zhou’s prime minister Jiang Ziya.

As the longest dynasty in Chinese history, Zhou周 establishes feudalism and the Rites that Confucianism highly appreciated. During his captive period, Ji Chang wrote I Ching, or the Book of Changes, a masterpiece of divination and philosophy that contained some fundamental ideologies of Confucianism and Taoism. The flourishing age of Zhou周is portrayed in many Confucian works as an ideal empire where the kings are benevolent and talented, lords are loyal and well-behaved, civilians are diligent and stable, and the whole of society follows a strict hierarchy and takes part in proper ceremonies. Ji Chang is considered by Confucian historians as a model king, and Ji Fa as a wise king.

By contrast, King Zhou纣 has gone down in history as the worst example of a corrupt king: his name itself represents dishonor and cruelty. According to Records of the Grand Historian, China’s first general history book by Han Dynasty historian and writer Sima Qian, King Zhou纣 is said to have built a lake of wine around which naked men and women were forced to chase one another solely for the pleasure of his concubine Da Ji. His cruelty was such that the nearby forests were strung with human flesh.

However, there are also those who have doubts about King Zhou’s纣 alleged depravity. For example, Zi Gong, one of Confucius’ disciples known for his mental sharpness, believed that King Zhou纣 was discredited and burdened with many false claims. Even the Records of the Grand Historian portray another side of the story.

This alternate version characterizes Yin Shou as a courageous and ambitious prince of Shang. After his father passed away, he ascended the throne as King Zhou纣because of his exceptional strength and talent, and also because his mother was the queen of the deceased king. However, many nobles and officials still supported his elder brother who was not eligible for the throne because his mother was merely an imperial concubine.

During the first years of his reign, King Zhou纣 spent lots of time fighting against the nobles and officials who challenged the legitimacy of his reign. He took power away from the rebellious nobles and officials and nominated capable civilians and even some slave-born individuals as officials and generals. With their assistance, he published progressive policies to develop domestic agriculture and economy.

In the meantime, some nearby regimes expanded and allied together to challenge Shang’s authority. As an exceptional military leader, King Zhou纣led his army to fight on many fronts and greatly expanded Shang’s territory. Most coastal provinces such as Shandong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Fujian, were included for the first time in China’s history in the reign of the Central Plain. During this process, ethnic and cultural integration was promoted and accelerated.

But it was also these expansions that led to King Zhou’s纣 ultimate downfall. In 1046 BCE, Ji Fa was informed that Shang’s main force was fighting in east China and its capital was left poorly defended. Ji Fa decided to attack Shang’s capital, together with his coalition of other rebellious lords. This was the Battle of Muye in present-day Xinxiang of central China’s Henan Province.

Ji Fa led an army of about 50,000, all brave and well trained. Shang’s main force was at war in the east, but King Zhou纣still managed to scrape together about 170,000 men, many of whom were slaves and prisoners, to defend the capital. When engaged, however, many of Shang’s soldiers quickly switched sides and joined Zhou周. A great number of others held their spears upside down as a sign that they no longer wanted to fight for Shang. Still, many loyal Shang troops fought on in a bloody battle that lasted an entire day.

The Battle of Muye concluded with Shang’s catastrophic defeat and marked the start of Shang’s total collapse. Legend has it that upon hearing the news, King Zhou纣donned his most valuable robes and jewelry, and burnt his palace to the ground with himself inside.

Research by modern Chinese historian Gu Jiegang has revealed that the list of infamous acts attributed to King Zhou纣gradually expanded over several dynasties. According to Classic of History, one of the most important Confucian classics, the Zhou周 Dynasty accused King Zhou 纣of four great wrongs: 1) allowing women to meddle in politics, 2) not observing sacrificial ceremonies, 3) not putting relatives in important positions, and 4) taking in and giving jobs to criminals. 20 more charges were added to the list during the Warring States Period around 475 to 221 BCE, 21 during the Western Han Dynasty between 202 BCE and 8 CE, and another 13 during the Eastern Jin Dynasty from 319 to 420 CE.

As the saying goes, history is written by the victors. And it turns out that the prevalent portrayal of King Zhou纣 is not completely grounded in historical fact. From one dynasty to the next, the victors have forced their own self-serving narrative upon the notorious tyrant. But as director Wu’ershan knows, it takes a long long time to make a story this entertaining.

Well, that’s the end of our podcast. Our theme music is by the famous film score composer Roc Chen. We want to thank our writer Lü Weitao, translator Yang Guang, and copy editor Pu Ren. And thank you for listening. We hope you enjoyed it, and if you did, please tell a friend so they, too, can understand The Context.