Records

In the Records of the Grand Historian he was listed by Sima Qian as the nineteenth Shang king, succeeding his older brother Yang Jia. Oracle script inscriptions on bones unearthed at Yinxu alternatively identify him as the eighteenth Shang king. He ruled for about 28 years according to both the Bamboo Annals and the Records of the Grand Historian.

The Bamboo Annals provide a brief summary of the major known events of his rule, which are as follows. He was enthroned in the year of Bingyin (丙寅) with Yan (奄) as his capital. In the seventh year of his regime, the Ying vassal (应侯) came to Yan to pay homage to him. In the fourteenth year of his reign he moved his capital to Beimeng (北蒙), renaming it Yin (殷). In the fifteenth year of his reign he reviewed his army at the new capital, and in the nineteenth year of his reign he assigned his minister Fen (邠侯) to Yayu (亚圉).

The Records of the Grand Historian provides a different account of the relocation of the capital. It states that Pán Gēng moved the capital from a ___location north of the Yellow River to Bo 亳, the capital of the Shang founder Tang, on the south side of the river. It further states that this move was initially opposed by the people of Yin, who were tired of being moved, but that they were eventually satisfied when the Tang system of government was adopted, and the move proved to be prosperous.

Upon his death, he was given the posthumous name Pán Gēng and was succeeded by his younger brother Xiao Xin.

In the Classic of History, there exists a chapter entitled "Pán Gēng", which tradition holds to have been a speech by this king; however, the language in it is so different from that of Pán Gēng's time that it is most likely not a product of his era.

Historical reference

Wang Anshi, in his response to Sima Guang's accusatory letter, cited the example of Pán Gēng's undaunted perseverance in pursuing his goal (movement of the capital) in the face of opposition of both government officials and the common people.

生平

商朝自中丁以来，国势逐渐衰落。弟子争相代立，诸侯不再来朝。

盘庚之父为帝祖丁。祖丁驾崩，其弟沃甲之子南庚立为王。南庚崩，祖丁之子阳甲即位。阳甲统治期间，商朝继续衰落。

阳甲驾崩之后，盘庚作为其弟继承王位。商朝此前已经五次迁都，朝廷居无定所。盘庚即位之初，国都位于奄（今山东曲阜）。盘庚力排众议，迁都于殷（今河南安阳西北）（《史记》说迁都到亳，即今河南偃师），史称「盘庚迁殷」。盘庚迁殷后，继续「行汤之政，然后百姓由宁，殷道复兴」，经历了一段繁盛时期，故后世又称商为「殷商」。他死后小辛继位，「百姓思盘庚」，乃作盘庚三篇，即保存在今文《尚书》中的《盘庚》三篇。