Duke of Zhou

The Duke of Zhou was a son of King Wen, a younger brother of King Wu, and an uncle of King Cheng. King Wen prepared the rise of Zhou, and King Wu completed the conquest of Shang; but when King Wu died, the new dynasty was still fragile and his heir was only a child. The Duke of Zhou became regent, helped defeat rebellions against the new royal house, secured the young kingdom, and eventually returned authority to King Cheng when the king was ready to rule.

Tradition also gives him the next part in the making of the Yi Jing. King Wen had formed the sixty-four gua into the received book and supplied their Judgments. The Duke of Zhou is remembered as composing the statements attached to the six individual lines of each gua. These are the voices that speak when particular lines move: images of advance and retreat, danger and opportunity, journeys, families, rulers, sacrifices, battles, and the consequences of acting at the right — or wrong — moment.

This gives father and son complementary places in the traditional story of the Changes. King Wen gives each gua its situation; the Duke of Zhou gives that situation its changing moments. His contribution turns the sixty-four gua from a collection of whole images into something that can move line by line as circumstances change.