King Wei of Chu

King Wei or the Wei King of Chu (died 329 BC) was the king of the state of Chu from 340 or 339 to 329 BC, during the Warring States period of ancient China.

Name
The precise nature of the Chu language is uncertain but it was probably non-Sinitic. This figure's personal name was calqued or translated into Old Chinese using the character now written, pronounced Shāng in Standard Mandarin and with the proposed ancient pronunciation of *S-taŋ. He belonged to the Chu royal house, the Xiong (, *Gʷəm, "Bear") branch of the Mi family, now conjectured to transcribe a Kam–Tai word for "bear".

He was known posthumously as the Awesome King of Chu (, Chǔ Wēiwáng or Chǔ Wēi Wáng, *S.r̥aʔ ʔujɢʷaŋ), often mistreated as a personal name in English.

Life
Shang was the son of Xiong Liangfu, known posthumously as the Xuan King of Chu. Upon his father's death in 340 or 339 BC, Shang succeeded him as king of Chu.

During his reign, Chu and Qi defeated and partitioned the state of Yue to their southeast in 334 or 333 BC, giving Chu control over Suzhou, the Yangtze River Delta, and Wu's canal network.

Shang died in 329 BC and was succeeded by his son Huai, known posthumously as the Huai King.

In fiction and popular culture

 * Portrayed by Winston Chao in The Legend of Mi Yue (2015)