c. 1046 BCE · Muye, near the Shang capital Yin
King Wu's Speech at Mu
The setting
King Wu of Zhou, leading his own people and a coalition of allied states against Di Xin, the last Shang king, addressed his army at dawn on the plain of Muye before the battle. The speech, the Oath at Muye, is recorded in the Book of Documents. The accounts of the conquest come from the victorious Zhou and their successors, and its charges against Di Xin are not borne out by the oracle bones of his reign.
Key passage
Now, I, Fâ, am simply executing respectfully the punishment appointed by Heaven.
Book of Documents, Part V, Book II, tr. James Legge, Sacred Books of the East, vol. 3 (1879). Fâ is the king's personal name; Shâu is Di Xin.
The full speech
1. The time was the grey dawn of the day Kiâ-zze. On that morning the king came to the open country of Mû, in the borders of Shang, and addressed his army. In his left hand he carried a battle-axe, yellow with gold, and in his right he held a white ensign, which he waved, saying, 'Far are ye come, ye men of the western regions!' He added, 'Ah! ye hereditary rulers of my friendly states; ye managers of affairs,—the Ministers of Instruction, of War, and of Works; the great officers subordinate to these, and the many other officers; the master of my body-guards; the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds; and ye, O men of Yung, Shû, Kiang, Mâo, Wei, Lû, Phang, and Pho, lift up your lances, join your shields, raise your spears:—I have a speech to make.'
2. The king (then) said, 'The ancients have said, "The hen does not announce the morning. The crowing of a hen in the morning (indicates) the subversion of the family." Now Shâu, the king of Shang, follows only the words of his wife. In his blindness he has neglected the sacrifices which he ought to offer, and makes no response (for the favours that he has received); he has also cast off his paternal and maternal relations, not treating them properly. They are only the vagabonds from all quarters, loaded with crimes, whom he honours and exalts, whom he employs and trusts, making them great officers and high nobles, so that they can tyrannize over the people, and exercise their villainies in the cities of Shang.
'Now, I, Fâ, am simply executing respectfully the punishment appointed by Heaven. In to-day's business do not advance more than six or seven steps, and then stop and adjust your ranks;—my brave men, be energetic! Do not exceed four blows, five blows, six blows, or seven blows, and then stop and adjust your ranks;—my brave men, be energetic! Display a martial bearing. Be like tigers and panthers, like bears and grisly bears,—(here) in the borders of Shang. Do not rush on these who fly (to us in submission), but receive them to serve our western land;—my brave men, be energetic! If you be not energetic (in all these matters), you will bring destruction on yourselves.'
Text: Wikisource, tr. James Legge, Sacred Books of the East, vol. 3 (1879). The text is in the public domain; the Wikisource transcription is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
What followed
Many of the Shang soldiers fled or went over to the Zhou, and the Shang army was destroyed. In the traditional account Di Xin set fire to his Deer Terrace Pavilion and died inside it. The victory ended the Shang and founded the Zhou dynasty, and Chinese historians held it up as an example of the Mandate of Heaven passing from one dynasty to another. King Wu died about three years later.