I was Fatherâs eldest son and would be the next Zhou Wang.
I was called Ji Kang.
Father enjoyed teaching me jian wu <sup>1</sup> . Fatherâs swordplay was unmatched under the heavens. He often told me of the difficulties of the Great Zhou with a sorrowful and proud expression. Father also liked to listen to mother play the guqin, and I would stealthily hide behind the screen, thinking that this scene was like the most beautiful picture scroll in the world.
But that was all long ago.
Iâve long forgotten what my mother looked like, and it had been a long time since I could recognize the man seated high above me as my father.
I no longer called him father. I called him Wang. The Wang of the Great Zhou.
He no longer called me Kangâer. He called me Crown Prince Kang. He sat on top of the dais and his gaze became distant and apathetic.
By then, Mother had already passed away. The Wang began to enjoy listening to other women play the guqin.
In fact, after my younger brother was born, mother lived for another few years, but the Wang no longer liked to listen to Mother play the guqin.
The harem had no shortage of women.
Mother died of illness and was placed in a coffin for seven days before burial. My younger brother and I kneeled in front of the coffin for seven days. The Wang didnât come once.
The day that Mother was buried, there was a downpour of heavy rain. My younger brother and I stayed until the coffin had been buried in the yellow earth <sup>2</sup> . The Wang didnât come. The Chancellor didnât come.
I knew that this was because Motherâs Fatherâs title had been abolished by the Wang, who also wiped out his entire family <sup>3</sup> because of sedition. Mother, as Wang Hou <sup>4</sup> , was imprisoned in the palace and finally died of depression.
I still remember Motherâs Father. That man had two kind eyes and two soft and gentle hands. I still remember that year that he came to Luoyi <sup>5</sup> , as commanded by the Wang. He specifically came looking for me. He placed his hand, warm and calloused, on my head. His gaze was suffused with grandfatherly love.
He said, âCrown Prince Kang, today your mother is the most honored woman in this world, and today your father is the most magnificent man in this world. You, one day, will become the next Wang.â
I donât believe that this person would rebel, just as I wouldnât have believed that one day my father would address me as Crown Prince Kang.
Having lost my mother and her powerful backing, I suffered repeated humiliations in the harem and, time and again, was ridiculed in court, even though my lineage was entirely legitimate, even though I was the Crown Prince Kang.
Perhaps I was most grateful that the Wang didnât take another Wang Hou and make my situation worse.
I only have my younger brother left.
My younger brother of the same father and mother. My first younger brother by blood. He was called Ji Zhao, and he was the only thing left of my mother.
I will protect him and wonât let anything harm him.
I believed that these days would continue, facing the Wangâs cold indifference, the ridicule of the Chancellor, and carefully protecting my younger brother until I became the Wang of the Great Zhou.
"
"
However, things changed.
The Wang took a Wang Hou.
It was his favorite concubine. Her father was a feudal prince of one of the vassal states of the Zhou, and she was of a respectable rank. More importantly, she had just had a son, the Wangâs second son.
This meant that, as long as I died, he would become the future Wang of the Great Zhou.
Finally, I understood what all the ridicule and pity in peopleâs eyes, which had started long ago, meant., but I had foolishly thought that the Wang wouldnât take a Wang Hou. Indeed, since I had always been Crown Prince Kang, how could they dare do this?
I couldnât be Wang, but I couldnât die. Furthermore, my younger brother, he still needed my protection, and in this world I was the only one who genuinely and sincerely cared for him. I was couldnât begin to imagine what unfortunate experiences my younger brother would encounter within this bloodthirsty harem if I were to die.
Therefore, I asked for orders to go and fight in that war.
I knew that Iâd probably remain posted to the field forever and not return home, but I had no choice but to do so. The second prince was covetously eying my position like a tiger stalking prey, and the new Wang Hou also didnât like me. The Wangâs body became more and more feeble by the day, allowing them to be more and more unrestrained and unscrupulous.
I wanted military power, I wanted to be victorious in battle, I wanted my right and proper place in the position of highest authority. I wanted that no one would again humiliate me and my brother.
This war was exceptionally arduous and bitter.
It was caused because the Wang wanted to obtain eternal life. He didnât want to die.
The Guifang. They were a very powerful people. This power, it was reflected in the Dynasty before the Zhou â the Shang. Legend had it that the Guifang were a people sheltered by the gods, which was confirmed when Wu Ding <sup>6</sup> of the Shang attacked them. Humans no longer received the godsâ care. Wu Ding expended great strength to attack the Guifang and was defeated on the eve of victory by the totem deity of the Guifang, although Wu Ding also sealed the Guifangâs totem deity.
However, even like this, the Guifang were a people that couldnât be underestimated. Their men were strong, their women intelligent, and their numbers werenât few. When the Great Zhou was just established, such a people werenât to be provoked.
However, this was simply an issue of time. Which ruler on this earth wouldnât want to live forever?
I was a high-ranking military officer in the army. Standing at the head of the army, I saw the battlefield turn into a bloodbath and the bones of the dead heaped like mountains. The men of the Guifang had proven their strength. My soldiers of the Great Zhou had the advantage of numbers, and it was with this that the Guifang were slowly pressed to retreat.
Behind them was their home.
I raised my head to look at the heavens which, as before, were still sunny and cloudless, not at all darkened with any of the gloom of this large war. Sure enough, like cricket and ants <sup>7</sup> , the heavens felt not the slightest bit of grief.
Perhaps it was precisely because of this that the gods have abandoned us. This mortal world hadnât seen gods in a very long time.
I finally defeated the Guifang.
As the Guifang people stared hatefully, I took the ghost shark egg.
Their resentful gaze carried ridicule. At the time, I hadnât understood why. Now, I believe that their ridicule was because, even though I took the ghost shark egg, I would never obtain eternal life. The Guifang knew that the ghost shark egg would only prevent a corpse from decaying, but it had been spread among the common people that it was a holy item that could grant eternal life.
After I spared the rest of the Guifang, a man stepped forward and said that they wanted to follow me when I returned. With a mesmerizing voice, he told me that only he knew how the ghost shark egg was used, that he was a tribute of the Guifang, and that he was called Feng Hongming.
I quietly listened to him speak then brought him along as my army hurried to return to Luoyi.
Only, I didnât tell him that I wasnât at all concerned with how the ghost shark egg worked or what he was called. I only cared that I won the war.
I returned to Luoyi and presented the ghost shark egg and the man called Feng Hongming to the Wang.
To my surprise, the Wang wanted to hold a large wedding ceremony for me.
I silently agreed.
I had never met this woman, but that didnât matter. This was the person I was going to spend the rest of my life with. I thought that I would treat her well.
Soon after the large wedding, I had a child, a son with delicate and pretty facial features and a very loving smile, not at all resembling me. I was very satisfied with this life, especially because the Wang didnât take away my military power.
But my younger brother grew up and was no longer close to me. I clearly remembered that, as a child, my younger brother loved to stick to me.
Later, after more time passed, the Wang died.
There hadnât been any signs, catching everyone unaware. The same day that the Wang died, Feng Hongming appeared before me and told me the true purpose of the ghost shark egg.
It was then that I knew that this man in front of me was not worthy of my trust.
The Wang died and I, this Crown Prince, became the new Wang. But it could never be this easy.
The second prince brazenly opposed me. The new Wang Hou and the power behind her raised a clamor while all the chancellors of the full court stood with them, seemingly knowing that, if I was allowed to become Wang, they wouldnât face a favorable outcome.
However, they all forgot one thing: I had an army.
The soldiers standing behind me had come out of a truly blood-soaked war and, even though it had been more than a year, their viciousness hadnât dissipated. How could the army garrisoned at Luoyi possibly be their opponent? It would be a one-sided massacre.
They hadnât captured my younger brother. Naturally, I had already planned for this <sup>8</sup> and I had long ago ordered that, no matter what, my younger brother wouldnât get caught up in danger.
I personally killed the second prince and his mother.
At that moment, the chancellors present didnât dare speak.
I was quite pleased with the fear and denunciation in their eyes.
I became the Wang of the Great Zhou. I wanted to protect what I held precious.
However, I didnât expect that my younger brother held those types of feelings towards me. Dirty, obscene feelings that secretly made me happy.
This shouldnât have happened.
I became estranged from him, for his sake and, even more so, for the Great Zhou.
We couldnât be together.
But I didnât know that, in places I wasnât aware of, he had already become surprisingly powerful to the point that I had no choice but to be subjugated by him.
I couldnât say that I hated him. I only felt disappointed and hopeless. Only felt depressed. Only, only felt an unbearable shame.
I continuously wanted to escape but, like his life depended on it, he clung to me and wouldnât go. I was very beaten, I was chained with exhaustion. I didnât know how this had developed to this point.
The stalemate was broken by Feng Hongming. He brought news â soon I would die.
As a matter of fact, I felt relieved by this wonderful news. Perhaps now only death could completely free me of this situation, free me of this man.
Feng Hongming said that when someone not of the Guifang touched the ghost shark egg, they would be unable to free themselves from the curse of death. Although they wouldnât die from disaster or disease, they still wouldnât have a good end.
In the end, I lay on the bed, senses gradually leaving, absentmindedly remembering many things. My younger brotherâs smiling face as he gave me a grasshopper he wove himself, my younger brotherâs chubby face flushed red from the blowing wind. My younger brother, grown tall, straight and smart, but still acting like a child and resting his head on my shoulderâŚ.
And my father calling me âKangâerâ, sitting on the Wangâs ice-cold throne on top of the dias.
And, and Mother taking me by the hand and saying to me:
âKangâer, promise me that youâre going to look after your younger brother.â
I slowly close my eyes, the corners of my mouth hooking up into a smile.
Mother, Iâve looked after my younger brother well. Heâs already a man of indomitable spirit. He will become the Wang of the Great Zhou, capable of ruling over all living things in this world.
âJi Zhao, if there is a next life, I hope that we will be together.
The Zhou Dynastyâs third Wang, Ji Kang, ruled for four years, died without illness, and, in the end, was titled Zhou Zhuang Wang.
Zhou Zhuang Wangâs younger brother, Ji Zhao, succeeded the throne. The Wang mourned and appointed Zhou Zhuang Wangâs son, Prince Xia as the crown prince, continuing the succession of the Great Zhou.
ââăSecret History of the Zhou Dynastyă
T/N:
Footnotes
<ol>čĺ: or sword dance; a type of dance in Chinese opera that originated in martial arts http://www.news.cn/english/2021-12/02/c_1310347408.htm éťĺ: a type of yellow, sandy soil thatâs typically found in N. China Ji Kangâs father wiped out Ji Kangâs motherâs family çĺ: consort of the Wang ć´é: the old name for the city of Luoyang, once the capital of the Zhou Dynasty https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E6%B4%9B%E9%82%91/3635340 ćŚä¸: legendary founder and ruler of the Shang Dynasty čźč: idiom used to describe people without power added for clarity</ol>