Is “Exhumed King Ping of Chu's tomb and flogged the corpse” true?

attested in history

The Records of the Grand Historian, Biography of Wu Zixu, explicitly records: 'When the Wu army entered Ying, Wu Zixu sought King Zhao. Not finding him, he then exhumed King Ping of Chu's tomb, brought out his corpse, and flogged it three hundred times before stopping.' This is a real historical event from the Spring and Autumn period. The Chronicles of the Eastern Zhou Kingdoms, in chapter 76, describes Wu Zixu's shocking act of exhuming the tomb and flogging the corpse to avenge his father and brother after capturing Ying, essentially following this historical record from the Records of the Grand Historian verbatim.

Wu Zixu

The act of exhuming King Ping of Chu's corpse and flogging it three hundred times is explicitly recorded in the Records of the Grand Historian, not a fictional invention.

Sources cited above. Compiled with AI assistance and checked against those sources; for cultural reference.Data & method →

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