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.

Di Xin was initially unconcerned about Zhou's local conquests in the Wei River valley, as he viewed himself as a rightful ruler, appointed by his divine ancestors.

The reason for this delay was that King Wu believed that the heavenly order to conquer Shang had not been given, as well as the advice of Jiang Ziya to wait for the right opportunity.

Subsequent histories were politically and culturally aligned with the conquering Zhou, and historical accounts of Di Xin grew more egregious over time.

In earlier sources, he is depicted as benighted and ineffectual; whereas after a few centuries, he is described as a monstrous torturer, universally despised.

But Di Xin made a mistake: many of his fighters were slaves, and he thought that despite low troop morale, his army's superior numbers could, if not defeat, then at least slow down the rebels until reinforcements could arrive.

The wilderness of Muh spread out extensively; Bright shone the chariots of sandal; The teams of bays, black-maned and white-bellied, galloped along; The grand-master Shang-foo, Was like an eagle on the wing, Assisting king Woo, Who at one onset smote the great Shang.

The Zhou were victorious and showed little mercy to the defeated Shang, shedding enough blood "to float a log".

This date had previously been proposed by David Pankenier, who had matched the above passages from the classics with the same astronomical events, but here it resulted from a thorough consideration of a broader range of evidence.