King Gong of Chu
| Xiong Shen | |||||||||
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| King of Chu | |||||||||
| Reign | 590–560 BC | ||||||||
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| King Gong of Chu |
King Gong of Chu (Chinese: 楚共王 or 楚龔王; pinyin: Chŭ Gōng Wáng, 600–560 BC) was from 590 to 560 BC the king of Chu, a major power during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. He was born Xiong Shen (Chinese: 熊審), and at the age of 10 succeeded his father King Zhuang of Chu, who was the Hegemon of China. However, in 575 BC King Gong was defeated by Chu's archrival Jin in the Battle of Yanling and Chu's power declined. He ruled for 31 years and was succeeded by his eldest son, King Kang of Chu. Three of King Gong's younger sons also ascended the throne, all by treacherous means.
When King Gong ascended the throne in 590 BC Chu was the strongest power in China. In 597 BC his father King Zhuang defeated Chu's archrival Jin in the Battle of Bi and was recognized as the Hegemon by other states. However, King Gong's reign was marked by Chu's decisive defeat by the resurgent Jin in the 575 BC Battle of Yanling.
The battle was triggered by a series of minor events. In 577 BC, the Jin vassal state Zheng attacked the Chu vassal state Xu (許). The next year Chu attacked Zheng in revenge, and forced Zheng to switch its loyalty to Chu. Zheng then attacked Song, another Jin vassal state. In 575 BC, Duke Li of Jin raised an army to attack Zheng, while King Gong led the Chu army north to defend his new ally.
The two forces met at Yanling, and Jin defeated Chu by attacking its weaker flanks manned by the poorly trained Zheng and Dongyi soldiers. During the battle King Gong was shot in the eye by an arrow. Despite his wound, at the end of the day King Gong summoned the chief military commander Zifan to discuss the battle plan for the next day, but caught Zifan drunk. King Gong decided to retreat and Zifan later committed suicide.
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