Tang of Shang

thumb| Tang of Shang (c. 1670 BC – c. 1587 BC, born Zi Lü), recorded on oracle bones as Tai Yi or Da Yi, was the first king of the Shang dynasty. Tang is traditionally considered a virtuous ruler, as signified by his posthumous epithet Cheng Tang. According to legend, as the last leader of the Predynastic Shang he overthrew Jie, the last king of the Xia dynasty. As his reign precedes the Late Shang era, records of his life and reign are limited to oracle bone inscriptions and posthumous works. Attributed 茍日新，日日新，又日新。 If you can one day renovate yourself, do so from day to day. Yea, let there be daily renovation. According to the Great Learning (ch. 2, sec 1) in the Book of Rites, these words were engraved on Tang's bath tub. Translation: James Legge, The Chinese Classics, vol. 1 (1861), p. 225. Chinese: Sheng Dai; Si Zi, "大學", in Donald Sturgeon (ed.) 禮記 ['Book of Rites'], Chinese Text Project Quotes about Tang Tching prayed on the mountain andwrote make it newon his bath tub.Day by day make it newcut underbrush,pile the logskeep it growing. Ezra Pound, Cantos (1954), LIII External links Category:BCE births Category:BCE deaths Category:Monarchs from China