Battle of Muye The Battle of Muye ( also known as the Battle of Mu ; ) was fought in circa 1046 BC in China . The battle led to the end of the Shang Dynasty , and the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty . Background . By the 12th century BC , Shang influence extended west to the Wei River valley , a region that was occupied by clans known as the Zhou . King Wen of Zhou , the ruler of the Zhou , who was a Shang vassal , was given the title " Count of the West " by the King Di Xin of Shang ( King Zhou ) . Di Xin used Duke Wen to guard his rear while he was involved in a south - eastern campaign . Eventually Di Xin , fearing Duke Wen ' s growing power , imprisoned him . Although Wen was later released , the tension between Shang and Zhou grew . Wen prepared his army , and conquered a few smaller loyal states to Shang , slowly weakening Shang ' s allies . However , Duke Wen died in 1050 BC before Zhou ' s actual offense against Shang . Di Xin paid very little attention to these , as he viewed himself as the rightful ruler of China , a position appointed by the heavens , or perhaps because he was becoming engrossed with his personal life with his beautiful consort Da Ji , to the exclusion of all else . Duke Wen ' s son King Wu of Zhou led the Zhou in a revolt a few years later . The reason for this delay was because Duke Wu believed that the " heavenly order " to conquer Shang had not been given and plus with the advice of Jiang Ziya to wait for the right opportunity . Chinese civilians greatly supported Duke Wu ' s rebellion . In legend , Di Xin , initially , had been a good ruler . But after he married Daji , he became a ruthless ruler . Many called for the end of the Shang Dynasty . Battle . With Jiang Ziya as the strategist , Duke Wu of Zhou led an army of about 50 , 000 . Di Xin ' s army was at war in the east , but he still had about 530 , 000 men to defend the capital city of Yin . But to further secure his victory , he gave weapons to about 170 , 000 slaves to protect the capital . These slaves did not want to fight for the corrupt Shang Dynasty , and defected to the Zhou army instead . This event greatly lowered the morale of the Shang troops . When engaged , many Shang soldiers did not fight and held their spears upside down , as a sign that they no longer wanted to fight for the corrupt Shang . Some Shang soldiers joined the Zhou outright . Still , many loyal Shang troops fought on , and a very bloody battle followed , which is described in the Shijing ( poem # 236 ) , as translated by James Legge : The Zhou troops were much better trained , and their morale was high . In one of the chariot charges , Duke Wu broke through the Shang ' s defense line . Di Xin was forced to flee to his palace , and the remaining Shang troops fell into further chaos . The Zhou were victorious and showed little mercy to the defeated Shang , shedding enough blood " to float a log " . Aftermath . After the battle Di Xin adorned himself with many valuable jewels then lit a fire and burned himself to death in his palace on the Deer Terrace Pavilion . Duke Wu killed Daji after he found her with the order to execute her given by Jiang Ziya . Shang officials were released without charge with some later working as Zhou officials . The imperial rice store was opened immediately after the battle to feed the starving population . This battle left Duke Wu as master of all of Shang ' s important cities . Duke Wu proclaimed himself as King Wu of Zhou and so began the Zhou dynasty . After the battle , King Wu was proclaimed by the people of Muye as the " father of the people " for letting those who did not directly participate in the battle live .