King Zhou of Shang

Emperor Zhou of Shang, born Zi Shou was the last king of the Shang Dynasty, his given name was Zhou.

Di Xin was the younger brother of Wei Zi and Wei Zhong (both children of a concubine) and father of Wu Geng and Lu Fu. His father Di Yi had two brothers, Ji Zi and Bi Gan. Di Xin added to the territory of Shang by battling the tribes surrounding it, including the Dongyi to the east.
In his later years, Di Xin was given over to drinking, women and a lack of morals, preferring these to the proper governance of the country, and ignored almost all affairs of state. According to Sima Qian, he even hosted festive orgies and created songs with crude (erotic) lyrics and poor rhythm. In legends, he is depicted as having come under the influence of his wicked wife Daji, and committing all manner of evil and cruel deeds with her. In fictionalizations, including the novel Fengshen Yanyi, she was said to be possessed by a malevolent fox spirit.

One of the most famous forms of entertainment Zhou enjoyed was the "Alcohol Pool and Meat Forest". A large pool, big enough for several canoes, was constructed on the Palace grounds, with inner linings of polished oval shaped stones from the sea shores. This allowed for the entire pool to be filled with alcohol. A small island was constructed in the middle of the pool, where trees were planted, which had branches made of roasted meat skewers hanging over the pool. This allowed Zhou and his friends and concubines to drift on canoes in the pool. When they thirst, they reached down into the pool with their hands and drank the wine. When they hungered, they reached up with their hands to eat the roasted meat. This was considered one of the most famous examples of decadence and corruption of a ruler in Chinese history.

In order to please Daji, he created the "Cannon Burning Punishment". One large bronze cylinder covered with oil was placed on top of a pile of burning charcoal. Prisoners were made to walk on top of the slowly heating cylinder. As the cylinder became hot, the prisoners are forced to shift their feet to avoid the burning. In turn, the oil made it difficult for the prisoners to maintain their stance. If they fell into the charcoal, they would burn to death. The prisoners are thus forced to dance in agony and fear, screaming in prolonged pain, while Zhou and Daji laughed at the tortured dances. Eventually, the prisoners would fall into the charcoal and burn to death.

When Zhou Dynasty's army, lead by the famous Jiang Ziya, defeated the Shang Dynasty in the Battle of Muye, Di Xin gathered all his treasures around himself in the Palace, and then set fire to his palace and committed suicide.