Tai Kang

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Tai Kang
Parent(s) Qi of Xia
Relatives Zhong Kang (brother)
Yu the Great (grandfather)
Xiang of Xia (nephew)

Tai Kang (Chinese: 太康) was the third ruler or king of the Xia Dynasty. He was the son of the King Qi of Xia and paternal grandson of Yu the Great and Queen Nu Jiao.[1]

Biography

Tai Kang loved to hunt and did not rule well.

According to the Bamboo Annals, Tai Kang took the throne in the year of Guiwei. His capital was in Zhenxun. In his first year, while he went hunting beyond the Luo, Houyi came and occupied Zhunxun.

He ruled about 19 years and lost his regime, according to Records of the Grand Historian, or died 4 years later according to the Bamboo Annals, and was succeeded by his brother Zhong Kang and nephew Xiang of Xia.

In some sources, Tai Kang was drowned in a lake.[2]

In literature

The Book of Documents features Songs of the Five Sons (五子之歌) among the documents of Xia (Chapter 8). According to the introductory note, the document contains the pieces composed by Tai Kang's five younger brothers when he lost the country.[3]

Sources

  1. Bamboo Annals
  2. The Shape of the Turtle: Myth, Art, and Cosmos in Early China by Sarah Allan
  3. Book of Documents
Tai Kang
Regnal titles
Preceded by King of China
2117 BC – 2088 BC
Succeeded by
Zhong Kang