**Taibo** ([[Chinese language|Chinese]]: [泰](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/泰)[伯](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/伯); [[Pinyin|pinyin]]: *Tàibó*; [[Wade–Giles]]: ****T'ai-po****) (circa 1150 BCE), or **Wu Taibo**, was the eldest son of [[King Tai of Zhou]] and the founder of the [[State of Wu]]. His exact birth and death dates are unknown.

## Biography

According to [[Sima Qian]], Taibo was the founder of the [[State of Wu]].

Born into the **[[Jī]]** clan ([姬](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/姬)) of [[Predynastic Zhou|predynastic Zhou]], Taibo was the eldest son of [[King Tai of Zhou]]. He had two younger brothers, [[Zhongyong of Wu|Zhongyong]] and [[Ji, King of Zhou|Jili]]. The King of Zhou wished to make his youngest son Jili to inherit the reins of power, so Taibo and Zhongyong traveled southeast and settled in [[Meicun|Meili]] in present-day Jiangsu province. There, Taibo and his followers set up the State of Wu, and made Meili its capital. Taibo's grand-nephew, [[King Wu of Zhou]], overthrew the [[Shang dynasty]] and started the [[Zhou dynasty]].

During his reign, Taibo developed irrigation, encouraged agriculture, and dug Taibo River (泰伯瀆)[^1] which is called Bodu River (伯瀆河)[^1] today. When Taibo died, he had no heir and passed the throne to his younger brother Zhongyong. Taibo's shrine was set up in today's [[Meicun]]. Although the original wood structure was destroyed during later wars, it has been renovated several times. Present architecture is mostly from the [[Qing dynasty]]. A stone carved with Confucius's comment can still be seen in today's Taibo Shrine. Taibo is also customarily known as the propagator of all people with the surname [[Wu (surname)|Wu 吳]].

After the conquest of Shang dynasty, King Wu of Zhou found Zhouzhang, a great-grandson of Zhongyong, and made him the King of Wu.[^2]

### Connection to ancient Japan

Ambassadorial visits to Japan by the later Chinese [[Cao Wei]] and [[Jin dynasty (266–420)|Jin]] dynasties recorded that the [[Wajin (ancient people)|Wajin people]] of Japan claimed to be descendants of Taibo of Wu.[^3] Several scholars suggest that the [[Yamato people]] and the [[Imperial House of Japan|imperial dynasty]] are descendants of the [[Wu (state)|Wu]] ruling clan and possibly Taibo.[^4][^5]

## Notes

[^1]: Wuxi Municipal People's Government Office (2012-04-18). ["Taibo River"](https://web.archive.org/web/20190719155306/http://en.wuxi.gov.cn/a/20120418/333539.shtml). Archived from [the original](http://en.wuxi.gov.cn/a/20120418/333539.shtml) on 2019-07-19. Retrieved 2019-07-19. River Bo is an abbreviation for Taibo River, which is also called Bodu River and Bodu Port and located in the southeast of Wuxi.
[^2]: Sima Qian. ["卷三十一·吴太伯世家第一"](http://www.guoxue.com/shibu/24shi/shiji/sj_031.htm) \[31: Family of Wu Taibo\]. *《史记》* \[*[[Records of the Grand Historian]]*\] (in Chinese).
[^3]: *Encounters of the Eastern Barbarians*, Wei Chronicles
[^4]: Ng, Wai-ming (2019-02-26). [*Imagining China in Tokugawa Japan: Legends, Classics, and Historical Terms*](https://books.google.com/books?id=i4KKDwAAQBAJ&q=wu+%28state%29+japanese&pg=PA51). SUNY Press. [[ISBN (identifier)|ISBN]] 9781438473086.
[^5]: Brownlee, John S. (2011-11-01). [*Japanese Historians and the National Myths, 1600-1945: The Age of the Gods and Emperor Jinmu*](https://books.google.com/books?id=gLB7XUPTKlsC&q=wu+%28state%29+japanese+taibo&pg=PA52). UBC Press. [[ISBN (identifier)|ISBN]] 9780774842549.