King Wen of Zhou

King Wen of Zhou (Chinese: 周文王, Zhōu Wén Wáng; 1152–1050 BC) was the posthumous title given to Ji Chang (Xiahou) (姬昌), the patriarch lord of the Zhou state during the final years of Shang dynasty in ancient China. Ji Chang himself died before the end of the Zhou–Shang war, but his second son Ji Fa completed the conquest of Shang following the Battle of Muye and posthumously honored him as the founder of the Zhou dynasty. Many of the hymns of the Classic of Poetry are paeans of praise to King Wen. Some consider him the first epic hero of Chinese history.