Qi (state)

Coordinates: 36°51′54″N 118°20′24″E / 36.865°N 118.340°E / 36.865; 118.340
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Qi

ancestor worship
  • Chinese folk religion
  • GovernmentMonarchy
    Lord of Qi 
    • 685–643 BCE
    Duke Huan of Qi
    • 547–490 BCE
    Duke Jing of Qi
    Chancellor
     
    • 685–645 BCE
    Guan Zhong
    • 556–500 BCE
    Yan Ying
    History 
    • Enfeoffment of Duke Tai
    1046 BCE
    • Conquered by Qin
    221 BCE
    CurrencyKnife money
    Preceded by
    Succeeded by
    Pugu
    Qin dynasty
    Qi
    BUC
    Cà̤
    Old Chinese
    Baxter–Sagart (2014)*[dz]ˤəj
    The Great Wall of Qi on Dafeng Mountain

    Qi, or Ch'i

    Qin during its unification of China
    .

    History

    Bronze knife-shaped coins of State of Qi, collected in Shandong Museum

    Foundation

    During the

    Pugu, located within the boundaries of Qi. These were suppressed by 1039 BCE, but the Bamboo Annals
    suggest that the native people of Pugu continued to revolt for about another decade before being destroyed a second time c. 1026.

    Transmitted documents from the

    were absorbed
    into the Zhou cultural sphere.

    Spring and Autumn period

    Sacrificial horses discovered in the tomb of Duke Jing of Qi

    The succession crisis following the violent death of King You of Zhou led to a dramatic and unrecoverable loss of political and military authority in the Zhou royal court. Under this new geopolitical situation, Qi rose to prominence under Duke Huan of Qi (r. 685–643 BCE ). He and his minister Guan Zhong strengthened the state by consolidating power in the hands of the central government at the expense of the landed aristocracy, establishing a system of counties (; xiàn) ruled directly by ministers of the state court.[3] Qi annexed 35 neighboring polities – including Tan – and brought others into submission. Guan Zhong's administrative reforms also included state monopolies on salt and iron, and in general were characteristic of the later political philosophy of Legalism.[4]: 526 

    In 667 BCE, the lords of Qi,

    Western Rong nomads; drove off Northern Di nomads after their invasions of Wey and Xing, providing the people with provisions and protective garrison units; and led an alliance of eight states to conquer Cai and thereby block the northward expansion of Chu.[7]

    After Duke Huan's death, a war of succession between rival claimants greatly weakened Qi and ending its reign of hegemony. In 632 BCE, Qi helped Jin defeat Chu at the Battle of Chengpu, only to be defeated by Jin itself at the Battle of An in 589. In 579, the four great powers of Qin, Jin, Chu, and Qi met to declare a truce and limit their military strength.

    Warring States period - Tian Qi

    Early in the period, Qi annexed a number of smaller states. Qi was one of the first states to patronize scholars. In 532 BCE, the

    Imperial China
    began.

    Culture of Qi

    Before Qin unified China, each state's customs, culture, dialects, and orthography had pronounced differences. According to the Yu Gong or Tribute of Yu, composed in the fourth or fifth century BCE and included in the Classic of Documents, there were nine distinct cultural regions of China, which are described in detail. The work focuses on the travels of the titular sage, Yu the Great, throughout each of the regions.

    Other texts also discussed these cultural variations. One of these texts was The Book of Master Wu, written in response to a query by Marquis Wu of Wei on how to cope with the other states. Wu Qi, the author of the work, declared that the government and nature of the people were reflective of the terrain of the environment in which they inhabited. Of Qi, he said:

    Although Qi's troops are numerous, their organization is unstable... The people of Qi are by nature unyielding and their country prosperous, but the ruler and officials are arrogant and care nothing for the people. The state's policies are not uniform and not strictly enforced. Salaries and wages are unfair and unevenly distributed, causing disharmony and disunity. Qi's army is arrayed with their heaviest hitters at the front while the rest follow behind, so that even when their forces appear mighty, they are in reality fragile. To defeat them, we should divide our army into three columns and have two attack the left and right flanks of Qi's army. Once their battle formations are thrown into disarray, the central column should be in position to attack and victory will follow.

    — Wu Qi, Wuzi

    While visiting Qi, Confucius was deeply impressed with perfection of performance of Shao music () therein.[8]

    During the Warring States period, Qi was famous for Linzi's

    Yanzi Chunqiu.[9]
    : 283–285 

    Qi architecture

    Remains of Ancient Linzi city sewer passing underneath the former city wall of the Qi kingdom.

    The state of Qi was known for having well organized cities that were nearly rectangular in shape, with roads that were neatly knit into a grid-like pattern. The palace was strategically positioned facing the south. To the left (eastwardly direction) of the palace resided the

    ancestral temple
    , to its right (westward) the temple of the gods, both one hundred paces away. This ensured that balance was achieved. In front of the palace was the court also one hundred paces away and to the back of the palace was the city. This type of layout influenced greatly the way cities were designed in subsequent generations.

    Smaller estates known as chengyi (城邑) were abundant throughout Qi. They typically stretched 450 meters from south to north and 395 meters from east to west. The perimeter was usually surrounded by a wall with the living headquarters situated within and a nearly perfect square-shaped courtyard occupying the center.[citation needed]

    The Great Wall of Qi (齊長城) is the oldest existing Great Wall in China.[10] Construction of the wall started in 441 BCE to defend against attacks from the states of Jin and Yue.[11] Construction ended during the Warring States period, with the wall enhancing Qi's defense against enemies states like Ju, Lu, and Chu.[12] The wall stretches from Guangli village of today's Changqing District, Jinan, running across the mountain ridges of central Shandong Province to the Yellow Sea in the present-day city of Qingdao.[12] Its total length has been estimated at 600 km (370 mi).[13] Most of the wall is still visible.

    Qi in astronomy

    Qi is represented by the star Chi Capricorni in the "Twelve States" asterism in the "Girl" lunar mansion in the "Black Turtle" symbol. Qi is also represented by the star 112 Herculis in the "Left Wall" asterism in the "Heavenly Market" enclosure.[14]

    Rulers

    House of Jiang

    Title Name Reign (BC) Relationship Notes
    Duke Tai

    齊太公
    Shang
    11th century Enfeoffed by
    Yingqiu
    Duke Ding
    齊丁公
    Ji
    10th century 5th-generation descendant of Duke Tai Traditionally believed to be son of Duke Tai
    Duke Yǐ
    齊乙公
    De
    10th century Son of Duke Ding
    Duke Gui
    齊癸公
    Cimu
    慈母
    c. 10th century Son of Duke Yǐ
    Duke Ai
    齊哀公
    Buchen
    不辰
    9th century Son of Duke Gui Boiled to death by King Yi of Zhou
    Duke Hu
    齊胡公
    Jing
    9th century Son of Duke Gui Moved capital to Bogu, killed by Duke Xian
    Duke Xian
    齊獻公
    Shan
    859?–851 Son of Duke Gui Moved capital back to Linzi
    Duke Wu
    齊武公
    Shou
    850–825 Son of Duke Xian
    Duke Li
    齊厲公
    Wuji
    無忌
    824–816 Son of Duke Wu Killed by supporters of Duke Hu's son.
    Duke Wen
    齊文公
    Chi
    815–804 Son of Duke Li
    Duke Cheng
    齊成公
    Yue
    803–795 Son of Duke Wen
    Duke Zhuang I
    齊前莊公
    Gou
    794–731 Son of Duke Cheng Reigned for 64 years
    Duke Xi
    齊僖公
    Lufu
    祿甫
    730–698 Son of Duke Zhuang I
    Duke Xiang
    齊襄公
    Zhu'er
    諸兒
    697–686 Son of Duke Xi Committed incest with sister Wen Jiang, murdered her husband Duke Huan of Lu, conquered the state of Ji, murdered by cousin Wuzhi
    none Wuzhi
    無知
    686 Cousin of Duke Xiang, grandson of Duke Zhuang I Killed by Yong Lin.
    Duke Huan
    齊桓公
    Xiaobai
    小白
    685–643 Younger brother of Duke Xiang First of the Five Hegemons, when Qi reached zenith of its power. Starved to death by ministers
    none Wukui or Wugui
    無虧 or 無詭
    643 Son of Duke Huan Killed by supporters of Duke Xiao
    Duke Xiao
    齊孝公
    Zhao
    642–633 Son of Duke Huan Crown prince of Qi
    Duke Zhao
    齊昭公
    Pan
    632–613 Son of Duke Huan His supporters murdered the son of Duke Xiao
    none She
    613 Son of Duke Zhao Murdered by uncle Shangren
    Duke Yì
    齊懿公
    Shangren
    商人
    612–609 Uncle of She, son of Duke Huan Killed by two ministers
    Duke Hui
    齊惠公
    Yuan
    608–599 Son of Duke Huan Defeated
    Long Di
    invaders
    Duke Qing
    齊頃公
    Wuye
    無野
    598–582 Son of Duke Hui Defeated by Jin at the Battle of An
    Duke Ling
    齊靈公
    Huan
    581–554 Son of Duke Qing Annexed the
    State of Lai; defeated by Jin at the Battle of Pingyin, capital Linzi
    burned
    Duke Zhuang II
    齊後莊公
    Guang
    553–548 Son of Duke Ling Ascended throne by killing Prince Ya with the help of Cui Zhu; committed adultery with Cui's wife, killed by Cui
    Duke Jing
    齊景公
    Chujiu
    杵臼
    547–490 Half brother of Duke Zhuang II Killed Cui Zhu. Had famous statesman Yan Ying as prime minister
    An Ruzi
    安孺子
    Tu
    489 Youngest son of Duke Jing Deposed by Tian Qi and killed by Duke Dao. Also called Yan Ruzi
    Duke Dao
    齊悼公
    Yangsheng
    陽生
    488–485 Son of Duke Jing Killed by a minister, possibly Tian Heng
    Duke Jian
    齊簡公
    Ren
    484–481 Son of Duke Dao Killed by Tian Heng
    Duke Ping
    齊平公
    Ao
    480–456 Brother of Duke Jian
    Duke Xuan
    齊宣公
    Ji
    455–405 Son of Duke Ping
    Duke Kang
    齊康公
    Dai
    404–386 Son of Duke Xuan Deposed by Duke Tai of Tian Qi, died in 379

    House of Tian

    Title Name Reign (BC) Relationship Notes
    Duke Tai
    齊太公
    Tian He
    田和
    404–384 Son of Tian Bai Officially recognized as Qi ruler in 386 BC
    none Tian Yan
    田剡
    383–375 Son of Duke Tai Killed by Duke Huan.
    Duke Huan
    齊桓公
    Tian Wu
    田午
    374–357 Brother of Tian Yan
    King Wei
    齊威王
    Tian Yinqi
    田因齊
    356–320 Son of Duke Huan Most powerful Qi ruler of the Warring States.
    King Xuan
    齊宣王
    Tian Bijiang
    田辟彊
    319–300 Son of King Wei
    King Min
    齊愍王
    Tian Di
    田地
    300–283 Son of King Xuan Temporarily declared himself "Emperor of the East".
    King Xiang
    齊襄王
    Tian Fazhang
    田法章
    283–265 Son of King Min
    none,known as Houzhu of Qi Tian Jian
    田建
    264–221 Son of King Xiang Qi conquered by Qin

    Famous people

    All dates are BCE

    • Guan Zhong (720–645), prime minister to Duke Huan of Qi and known for making the state of Qi one of the most power Hegemons at the time.
    • Yanzi Chunqiu
      , to which he is sometimes attributed authorship.
    • Sun Tzu (544–496) Chinese steategist and writer, famously attributed authorship of The Art of War. May not have existed.[15]
    • Sun Bin (?–316), military strategist known for Sun Bin's Art of War.
    • Chunyu Kun (386–310), official and master scholar at the Jixia Academy.
    • Confucian
      philosophers.
    • Xun Kuang (313–238), philosopher who joined the Jixia Academy when he was 50 years old, known for the Xunzi
      .

    References

    Citations

    1. ^ "Qi – ancient state, China [771–221 BCE]". Encyclopedia Britannica. 2008.
    2. .
    3. ^ Cho-Yun Hsu, "The Springs and Autumns Period", in Cambridge History of Ancient China 1999, pp. 553–554.
    4. JSTOR 1519737
      .
    5. .
    6. ^ Cho-Yun Hsu, "The Springs and Autumns Period", in Cambridge History of Ancient China 1999, p. 555.
    7. ^ Cho-Yun Hsu, "The Springs and Autumns Period", in Cambridge History of Ancient China 1999, pp. 555–556.
    8. ^ Confucius (attributed). "17 ("Shu er"):14". Analects 論語.
    9. .
    10. .
    11. .
    12. ^ a b "Ancient sites from Zhou Dynasty discovered in the Qi Great Wall in Shandong". Cultural China. 2 February 2009. Archived from the original on 26 March 2012.
    13. ^ "List of heritage sites in Shandong" (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2007-10-31. Retrieved 2009-08-17.
    14. ^ Chen Huihua (陳輝樺), ed. (24 Jun 2006). 中國古代的星象系統 (54): 天市左垣、市樓. Activities of Exhibition and Education in Astronomy 天文教育資訊網 (in Chinese).
    15. JSTOR 41645475
      .

    Sources

    Further reading

    36°51′54″N 118°20′24″E / 36.865°N 118.340°E / 36.865; 118.340