Tomb of King Tang

　　The Tomb of King Tang is located west of Tushanji Village, Yandianlou Township, 10 kilometers south of Cao County, and about 3 kilometers east of the Heze–Shangqiu Highway. The existing earthen mound is 70 meters long from north to south, 50 meters wide from east to west, and 1.5 meters high. In front of the tomb are stone tablets inscribed with “Reconstruction of the Tomb of King Tang” from the Ming and Qing dynasties. Tang of Shang, also known as Tang, with the given name Lü, and other titles such as Tianyi, Dayi, Wutang, Wutang, and Tianyichang, historically referred to as “Tang with Seven Names,” was the founder of the Shang Dynasty. King Tang was a benevolent ruler. As recorded in “Records of the Grand Historian: The Basic Annals of Yin,” on one of his hunting trips, Tang saw a man setting up a net to catch birds. The man prayed, “May all birds flying from the sky, running on the ground, or coming from all directions enter my net.” Upon hearing this, Tang thought it too cruel, so he asked the man to remove three sides of the net and then prayed, “Go left if you wish, go right if you wish, and those who refuse to listen will enter the net.” This gave rise to the idiom “leave three sides of the net open.” King Tang won the hearts of the people through his benevolence. Mencius said, “The people looked up to him as they would to rain during a great drought.” Under his rule, the Shang people were at peace, production thrived, and power grew stronger. Eventually, he overthrew the Xia Dynasty in a single campaign and established the Shang Dynasty, with its capital at Bo.

　　The location of Bo has long been debated, but most scholars today agree with Wang Guowei’s argument in “On Bo,” which places it within present-day Cao County. According to the “Jizhou Prefecture Chronicles: Historical Sites,” the ancient city of Bo was “20 li south of the county, on the sunny side of Mount Cao to the south. Adjacent to it is Mengcheng.” The “Cao County Chronicles: Territorial Records” further state, “Three li southeast of the Tomb of Tang, also called Jingbo or Beibo, is none other than this place.” If this area was indeed an important stronghold of the Shang people, it is no surprise that place names related to the Shang—such as Shangcun (Shang Village), Pangengcun (Pangeng Village), and Panshizhen (Panshi Town)—can still be found in the Cao County region.

　　Historical records state that after “Tang Overthrew the Mandate of Xia,” he reigned for 30 years before being buried on the sunny side of Tushan (Mount Cao). In front of the tomb was the Temple of Tang, complete with eastern and western side halls, a front hall, and a main hall, making for an imposing sight. It underwent multiple restorations in the fourth year of Emperor Huizong’s Huangyou reign in the Song Dynasty, the fifth year of Emperor Yanyou’s reign in the Yuan Dynasty, the eighth year of Emperor Xuande’s reign in the Ming Dynasty, the twelfth year of Emperor Chenghua’s reign, the fifth year of Emperor Hongzhi’s reign, the twenty-fifth year of Emperor Jiajing’s reign, and the ninth year of Emperor Wanli’s reign. However, these structures were later destroyed by warfare and floods.

　　Despite the many changes over time, the Tomb of King Tang remains an important historical testament to the establishment of Bo as the capital of the Shang Dynasty in Cao County.

　　Tomb of King Tang, though weathered by time, still stands as crucial historical evidence for Bo’s establishment as the Shang capital in Cao County.