King Kang of Chu
| Xiong Zhao | |||||||||
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| King of Chu | |||||||||
| Reign | 559–545 BC | ||||||||
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| King Kang of Chu |
King Kang of Chu (Chinese: 楚康王; pinyin: Chŭ Kāng Wáng, died 545 BC) was from 559 to 545 BC the king of Chu, a major power during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. Born Xiong Zhao (Chinese: 熊招), he succeeded his father King Gong of Chu. His reign was marked by constant wars with Jin, Chu's traditional enemy, and Wu, its new enemy. He ruled for 15 years and was succeeded by his son, Jia'ao, who would four years later be murdered by King Kang's younger brother King Ling of Chu.
When King Kang's father King Gong died in 560 BC, Chu's enemy Wu seized the opportunity to invade Chu. Chief military commander Zigeng (子庚) and general Yang Youji (养由基) led the Chu army to repel the invaders. After the initial fight Zigeng feigned defeat. The Wu army chased the retreating Chu army to Yongpu (庸浦, in present-day Wuwei County, Anhui Province), where they fell into an ambush and were soundly defeated. Prince Dang, the commander of the Wu army, was captured.
In 557 BC, just three years after the Battle of Yongpu, Chu fought the last major battle with its traditional enemy Jin at Zhanban (湛阪, in present-day Pingdingshan, Henan Province). Chu was defeated and lost all of its territory north of Fangcheng, the Great Wall of Chu. The Battle of Zhanban marked the end of the eight-decade-long Jin-Chu rivalry, as a weakened Chu would be consumed by numerous wars with its new enemy Wu, culminating in the 506 BC Battle of Boju, when the Wu army would capture and destroy the Chu capital Ying. Meanwhile, Jin was increasingly riven by internal strife that would ultimately lead to its partition into the new states of Han, Zhao, and Wei.
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