[3] Wen was the last member of the Zhou dynasty who claimed the throne of China, though he was never recognized as king outside his own small domain at Chengzhou.
[4] Forced to spend his entire reign fighting against the state of Qin, Wen's death meant the final end of the Zhou dynasty.
Jié, as Duke Wen, ruled over the East from Chengzhou, and largely ignored the authority of King Nan of Zhou who resided in Wangcheng and was supported by the western nobles.
Many citizens and members of the royal family then fled to East Zhou,[3][5] where they proclaimed Wen as the King of China (Son of Heaven) in 255 BC.
[1] Allied with Ji Zhao, son of King Nan, Wen organized a resistance against Qin, and managed to preserve the last Zhou holdouts for six years.