Biography

In the Records of the Grand Historian he was listed by Sima Qian as the fourth Shang king, succeeding his uncles Wai Bing and Zhong Ren. He was enthroned in BCE 1535 with Yi Yin as his prime minister and Bo (亳) as his capital.

He was an autocratic ruler who treated his people badly and broke his laws. A few years into his reign saw internal disorder among the court. Prime Minister Yi Yin advised him to change his ways but the headstrong king ignored the advice of the elder statesman. Eventually Yi Yin had no other choice but to exile the king to the Tonggong(桐宫, literally translated to Tung tree palace, archaic name for the tomb of Tang of Shang), in present-day Southwest Yanshi county, Henan province near the tomb of the first Shang king Tang, to repent.

Sima Qian says that following the exile Yi Yin ruled the country as regent for three years until he felt that the king had sufficiently changed and invited him back to the capital to reclaim his throne. From that point on, the king took care of his people and managed the government well. So that in the 10th year of his reign Yi Yin resigned from his post and retired, honoring the king, after his death, as Zhong Zong (中宗).

The Bamboo Annals however tell a very different story; claiming that after the exile Yi Yin seized the throne and ruled as king for seven years later until Tai Jia secretly returned to the palace and killed his former Prime Minister. Afterwards the king assigned Yi Yin's land and castle to his sons, Yi She (伊陟) and Yi Fen (伊奋).

Since archaeological evidence shows that Yi Yin was still worshipped by the Shang people several hundred years after his death, the former account is widely considered more reliable. According to both sources the king ruled for 12 years before death. He was given the posthumous name Tai Jia (太甲) and was succeeded by his son Wo Ding (沃丁).

Oracle script inscriptions on bones unearthed at Yinxu alternatively record that he was the third Shang king, succeeding his father Da Ding (大丁), given the posthumous name Da Jia (大甲), and succeeded by his brother Bu Bing (卜丙).

在位年數

現今流傳文獻記載的太甲在位年數有5種說法：

• 在位6年，《史記•殷本紀》、《太平御覽》卷83引《史記》。

• 在位12年，《今本竹書紀年》、《史記•魯世家》索隱引《紀年》。

• 在位14年，《冊府元龜》。

• 在位32年，陶弘景《古今刀劍錄》。

• 在位33年，《史記•魯世家》，《太平御覽》卷83引《帝王世紀》、《資治通鑑外紀》、《通志》、《皇極經世》、《文獻通考》均同。

名言

太甲曰：「天作孽，猶可違；自作孽，不可逭。」

妻

妣辛，甲骨文作「大甲配妣辛」，沃丁、太庚之母。

注釋