Shang Jia

Shang Jia, also known as Shang Jia Wei, is one of the 14 predynastic Shang Kings cited on Shiji. He was worshiped by the Shang kings as a spirit of the sun.

History

According to the Shang family tree, Shang Jia was a pre-dynastic ancestor of the Shang. He is listed on Shiji as one of the 14 Predynastic Shang kings, being the son of Wang Hai and the father of Bao Yi.

Shang Jia cult

According to the sinologist Li Feng, he was probably important for the raise of Shang people to power, as he was the "first pre-dynastic ancestor to whom the late Shang kings made frequent sacrificial offerings". He was the first of the Shang descendents to be named after one of the 10 Heavenly Stems, symbolizing the day of the week he was worshiped. The cult of Shang Jia grew on the year si, and all the kings claimed to be his direct ancestor. He was the spirit of the sun and deemed to be very powerful, as he was one of the oldest descendents of the kings. Sacrifices for him were made for wars and harvests.