Page 451 - Four Thousand Years Ago by Geoffrey Bibby

easily disposed of. Some member of the Shang dynasty had to be
given the means and rank necessary to permit the offerings to

these dangerous spirits to continue. Finally the duke decided to
recall from exile Chi Tzu, a half-brother of the last Shang em­

peror, who had quarreled with his brother years ago and fled
beyond the borders. He agreed to take over the ancestral sacri­
fices, and was appointed Duke of Sung, a tiny principality south

of the Yellow River and a safe hundred and fifty miles away
from Shang.

FIGURE OF A DRAGON FROM A RITUAL WINE VESSEL OF BRONZE, OF
THE SHANG OR EARLY CHOU DYNASTY OF NORTH CHINA.

It had taken seven years to restore and consolidate the em­
pire of Chou. And in 1013 b.c. the duke could feel that his work

was done. King Ch’eng was now a grown man, and—somewhat
to the surprise of more ambitious nobles—the duke now handed

over to him the reins of government, giving, however, one piece of
final advice. King Wu, he said, had been strongly of the opinion
that the realm of north China could not be ruled from a capital

so far to the west as Feng, and the events that followed his death
had proved him right. It was always well to follow the wishes of
one’s parents, and the king would do well to consider building a

new capital farther to the east.