Is “He ate a cake made from the flesh of Bo Yikao” true?
The Records of the Grand Historian, in the Hereditary House of Guan and Cai, only records that Bo Yikao died early without issue; the plot of Bo Yikao being chopped into meat patties and given to King Wen to eat originates from Song-Yuan historical storytellers and the Investiture of the Gods. The original text: 「故文王舍伯邑考而以发为太子。及文王崩而发立，是为武王。伯邑考既已前卒矣。」（Records of the Grand Historian, Hereditary House of Guan and Cai, data/raw/shiji/管蔡世家.txt）
In official histories, he is the virtuous leader of the western诸侯 at the end of the Shang dynasty, while in novels he is endowed with the ability to devise brilliant plans and predict the course of fate.
Other claims about King Wen of Zhou
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