Jie 桀

Jie 桀, also called Xia Jie 夏桀, personal name Lü Gui 履癸, was the last ruler of the Xia dynasty 夏 (17th-15th cent. BCE). He is known is history as the first in a series of depraved tyrants that brought their dynasty to an end. He was the son or younger brother of King Di Fa 帝發.

Jie's style of government was rude and careless, he assembled the regional rulers (zhuhou 諸侯) at Youreng 有仍 (modern Jining 濟寧, Shandong) and had them attacked the Lord of Min 有緡氏. A story in the Huainanzi 淮南子 talks of the extraordinary physical strength of King Jie. According to historiography, Jie was fond of wine and women.

When he had a conflict with the Lord of Shi 有施氏 and besieged his castle, Lord Shi offered to the king to present him with his daughter Mo Xi 妹喜, so that the king ended the siege. From that time on he was a slave to Mo Xi and indulged in pleasures, built palaces and pavillions (the Qing Palace 傾宮 and the Yao Terrace 瑶臺) financed by heavy taxation. Mo Xi loved the sound of silk textiles being torn apart, so that Jie squandered a lot of funds for this play. This story, told in the Diwang shiji 帝王世紀, is enriched by more detailed narrations in the Lienüzhuan 列女傳, where talk of orgies and excesses is to be found.

Whoever remonstranted against the luxury and neglicence of government, was executed, like Guan Longfeng 關龍逄, as is told in the Hanshi waizhuan 韓氏外傳. Jie incarcerated Tang the Perfect 成湯 at Xiatai 夏臺 (or Zhongquan 中泉) but soon released him. Tang, famous for his virtue, assembled rebels around him and finally lead an army against King Jie. He defeated the royal army at Mingtiao 鳴條 (modern Fengqiu 封丘, Henan), so that King Jie fled to Sanzong 三朡 (modern Dingtao 定陶, Shandong). Tang sent King Jie into exile to Nanchao 南巢 (modern Shouxian 壽縣, Anhui) and founded the Shang dynasty 商 (17th-11th cent. BCE).