[snowybeagle]

I would like to start a thread on compiling as complete a list as possible to all the feudal states that existed during the Zhou dynasty. I expect the work to take quite sometime, and all contributions and corrections are welcome.

After victory over the Shang dynasty, the King Wu of Zhou (周武王) conferred noble titles on the other lords who supported him as well as fiefs as their territories. Even scions of the royal house of Shang also received an allotment instead of being exterminated. This peculiarity reflected the different treatment between those considered as noble-born and those who were of low birth or slaves.

The conferring took place on two separate occasions. The first was after the victory over Shang. The second was after successful eastward expansion over other tribes.

71 feudal lords were conferred.
15 feudal lords were of immediate relatives (brothers) to the Zhou king.
40 feudal lords were of the royal Ji (姬) clan.

[NOTE : The Five Ranks of Nobility (五爵) of
公 Gōng or Duke,
侯 Hóu or Marquis,
伯 Bó or Count/Earl,
子 Zĭ or Viscount,
男 Nán or Baron
of the Zhou dynasty did not seem to exist in the earlier period of the kingdom.
However, they came into existence by the time the Spring Autumn or Chun Qiu 《春秋》 was written.
The Gōng rank was originally a very exclusive, with most loyal and meritorious vassals, even those from the royal clan of Ji, titled only at the marquis level when the ranking was established.]



The lands directly controlled by the former Shang kingdom were divided into three states:

卫 (衛) Wèi - Centred on the city of Chao Ge (朝歌) former capital of Shang (present day Qi county of He Nan province - 河南淇县). This state was conferred to Cai Shu Du (蔡叔度), younger brother of the Zhou king.

庸 (鄘) Yong - East of the former capital of Shang all the way to Shan Dong (山东), it was to oversee the vassal states of Dong Yi (东夷) tribe, Xü (徐), Xiong (熊) and Ying (盈). This was conferred to Guan Shu Xian (管叔鲜), another younger brother of the Zhou king.

邶 Bèi - Near the former capital of Shang, north of the river Zhang (漳), in present day He Bei province (河北), reaching Yi river (易水) to the south, the drainage of Lai river (涞水). A son of the deposed Shang king, Wu Geng (武庚) was conferred a fief here.

Nominally, the three above were known as the Three Sentinels (三监) to screen the territories of the Zhou kingdom.

Other states included:

齐 (齊) Qi - 侯爵 Marquis - Located in present day Shan Dong province. Capital initially at Jü Qiu( 营丘), present day Chang Le in Shan Dong （山东昌乐）, and then moved to Lin Zi (临淄). This was conferred to Lü Shang (吕尚), the Zhou king's primary advisor. Lü was a name of the home of the advisor, his family name was actually Jiang (姜), he was also known as Jiang TaiGong or Jiang ZiYa (姜太公子牙). The Jiang descended from the legendary Yan (炎) emperor who was defeated by the legendary Huang (黄) emperor. The State of Qi went on to become a major power into the end of the Eastern Zhou dynasty, and was one of the Seven Great Powers of the Warring States Era (战国七雄). Its ruling clan was replaced by the Tian (田) clan. Ruling famly : Jiang (姜) clan, then Tian (田) clan.

燕 Yan - 伯爵 Count/Earl - Present He Bei province, north of Yi river (易水) and Lai (涞水). Its earlier and later capitals were present day Beijing, first in the vicinity of Dong Jia Lin of Fang Shan (北京西南房山董家林), then in Ji (蓟), outskirt of Guang An Gate (北京广安门外). Another younger brother of the Zhou king, Zhao Gong Shi (召公奭) was conferred here. Ruling famly : Ji (姬) clan.

唐 Tang - 侯爵 Marquis - Present day southern ShanXi province, capital at Yi City (翼城), conferred to Shu Yü (叔虞), son of King Wu of Zhou. Established to control non-royal clan families of the former Shang dynasty, as well as the Xia (夏) and Rong (戎) tribes. Ruling famly : Ji (姬) clan.

宋 Song - 公爵 Duke - Vicinity of Shang Qiu in He Nan (河南商丘), conferred to elder brother of the deposed Shang King, Wei Zi Qi (微子启). King Wu of Zhou employed him to rule over remnants of the Shang people which were numerous in the area, the region being a former capital of Shang. Ruling family : Zi (子) clan.

After the death of King Wu of Zhou, his son succeeded as King Cheng of Zhou (成王), assisted by Zhou Gong Dan (周公旦), loyal younger brother of King Wu. The Three Sentinels rebelled and were suppressed after three years. Their territories were redistributed.

邶 Bèi was awarded to a scion of the Duke Zhao of Yan (燕召公), and eventually merged with Yan.

庸 (鄘) Yōng was awarded to Zhou Gong Dan's son Bo Qin (伯禽). Bo Qin had earlier been conferred the state of Lu (鲁). He moved his capital to Yan (奄) in the state of Yong, and merged the two territories under the State of Lu.

卫 (衛) Wèi - 侯爵 was awarded to Kang Shu Feng (康叔封), brother of King Wu of Zhou, charged with overseeing the seven tribes of Shang and to learn the governance from the people. Subsequently, Kang Shu was transferred to the Zhou capital to take the post of Si Kou (司寇), responsible for justice. The state was managed by his son Bo Mi Fu (伯髦父). Wèi became a major anchor state to the east, capital in Pu Yang (濮阳).

The capital of Western Zhou was at Hao (镐) or Feng Hao (丰镐), SW of present day XiAn (陕西西安西南) in ShaanXi province.

After the disaster wrought by King You of Zhou (周幽王), the dynasty lost the territories in the lands within the passes (关中), moved the capital eastwards to Luo Yi (洛邑), present day Luo Yang (洛阳).

[to be continued ... contributions/corrections welcomed]

This post has been edited by snowybeagle: 13 February 2006 - 03:55 AM

[tongyan]

thanks for the info, i've been looking for a compilation of all the kingdoms, petty or large, that existed during the spring n autumn periods all the way to the establishment of the qin dynasty

[snowybeagle]

[continued ...]

Other feudal states ruled by branches of the royal clan of Ji (姬)

晋 (晉) Jin - 侯爵 Marquis, located in present day HouMa of ShanXi province(山西侯马). The state traced its origins to the state of Tang (唐) (see first post). The son of Shu Yü (叔虞), named Xie Fu (燮父), changed the name of the state from Tang to Jin. This state became one of the strongest during the Spring Autumn era, but the ruling clan eventually lost control of its nobles. The state was divided into Zhao (赵), Wei (魏) and Han (韩), three of the Seven Major Powers of the Warring States era.
http://zh.wikipedia....%99%8B%E5%9B%BD

鲁 (魯) Lu - 侯爵 Marquis, located and present day QuFu in ShanDong province (山 东曲阜). Parts of the city is still present today as a tourist attraction. Awarded to Zhou Gong Dan's son Bo Qin (伯禽). Territories include from south of Mount Tai (泰山) to northern Jiang Su (江苏) in between the Long River (江) and the Huai River (淮), and northern AnHui province. The state subsequently annexed the states of Xü (徐) and Yan (奄). Lu was finally conquered by the State of Chu (楚) during the late Warring States era. There were 33 generations of rulers were listed for almost 800 years. Her most famous personage would be Confucious.
http://zh.wikipedia....%B2%81%E5%9B%BD

曹 Cao - 伯爵 Count/Earl, located in present day DingTao in ShanDong province (山东定陶). King Wu of Zhou awarded the state to his brother Zhen Ze (振铎), transferring Cao Xia (曹挟), the incumbent ruler of Cao, to the state of Zhu (邾). The surname Cao was derived from two sources, one was when Zhu was eliminated by the State of Chu, the other was when the State of Cao was eliminated by the State of Song (宋).
http://zh.wikipedia....%9B%B9%E5%9B%BD

郑 (鄭) Zheng - 伯爵 Count/Earl, initially centred at present day Hua county of ShaanXi province (陕西华县), later expanded and established at present day XinZheng of HeNan province (河南新郑). It was a small feudal state but strategically located at the crossroads of the patchwork of other states. Its position and wise administration enabled it to become the most influential state early in the Spring Autmn (春秋) era. However, being surrounded by established neighbouring states, it was unable to expand, and subsequently superceded by others. The state was founded in 807 BC by Lord Huan of Zheng (郑桓公) Ji You (姬友), younger half brother of Ji Jing (姬静), King Xuan of Zhou (周宣王) in late Western Zhou era who attempted to revive the fortunes of the dynasty. As SiTu (司徒) in the royal court, Lord Huan of Zheng foresaw the eventual downfall of King You of Zhou (周幽王) and made preparations in advanced. At the advise of court historian Taishi Bo (太史伯), he secured the fertile regions between Guo (虢) and Kuai (郐), and settled his family and assets there. Ji You was killed during the Rebellion of Quan and Rong (犬戎之乱) which ended the Western Zhou. His son, Qü Tu (掘突) succeeded him as Lord Wu of Zheng (郑武公), escorted the Zhou's eastward move and also took the states of Guo and Kuai. Zheng was taken by the State of Han (韩) in BC 375.

滕 Teng - 侯爵 Marquis, present day Teng county of ShanDong province (山东滕县). Awarded to Cuo Shu Xiu (错叔绣), the 14th son of King Wen of Zhou (周文王), i.e., younger brother of King Wu of Zhou (周武王). Teng was conquered by the State of Yue (越), revived briefly before eliminated again by the State of Song.

虞 Yü - 公爵 Duke, present day PingLu in ShanXi province (山西平陆). Awarded to non-noble grandson of Zhong Yong (仲雍). Zhong Yong was the second son of King Tai of Zhou (周太王), who in turn was the grandfather of King Wen of Zhou. King Tai had wanted to pass the throne to his third son, Ji Li (季历), in order that Ji Li's prodigy son Ji Fa (姬昌) could succeed to the throne. The first son Tai Bo (太柏) and Zhong Yong understood their father's intents and decided to make way by leaving their homestate and sailed alone the sea coast.

虢 Guo - 公爵 Duke, present day Shaan county in HeNan province (河南陕县), and parts of ShaanXi and ShanXi provinces. There was a Western Guo and an Eastern Guo, conferred upon the uncles of King Cheng of Zhou, named Guo Shu (虢叔) and Guo Zhong (虢仲). When the capital of the Zhou dynasty moved east to LuoYi, the Guo stated was awarded to Duke Wu of Zheng (郑武公) for escorting King Ping of Zhou (周平王) for the move. The State of Chu (楚) in the south had grown powerful and used the unwarranted elimination of the State of Guo as a pretext to launch a punitive expedition against the Zhou dynasty. The King had no choice but to locate a descendant of Guo Zhong and confer him the State of Northern Guo (北虢). After Northern Guo was conquered by the State of Jin (晋), the scions of the ruling clan changed their surnames to Guo (郭).

邢 Xing - 侯爵 Marquis, initially at present day XingTai of HeBei province (河北邢台), later migrated to Liao city of ShanDong province (山东聊城). Awarded to the fourth son of Zhou Gong Dan. Destroyed by Wèi (卫).

蔡 Cai - 侯爵 Marquis, conferred to descendants of Shu Du (叔度) - see Wèi in Post #1. Located in present day Cai county in HeNan province (河南蔡县). After the Rebellion of the Three Sentinels, Shu Du was exiled. King Cheng of Zhou later conferred the territory of Cai to Shu Du's son Hu (胡), who became known as Cai Zhong (蔡仲). During Spring Autumn era, it had to moved its base repeatedly due to the attacks from the State of Chu (楚). Marquis Ping (平侯) moved it to Xin Cai (新蔡) in present day HeNan province where it became known as Upper Cai (上蔡). Marquis Zhao (昭侯) moved it to ZhouLai (州来) in present day AnHui Province (安徽), where it was known as Lower Cai (下蔡). After 23 generations, 24 rulers and 600 years, the state was destroyed by Chu (楚) in 447BC. Its descendants were dispersed to various states.
http://zh.wikipedia....%94%A1%E5%9B%BD

霍 Huo - 伯爵 Count/Earl, conferred upon King Wu's younger brother Shu Chu (叔处), located at PingYang in ShanXi province (山西平阳). Shu Chu was also implicated in the Rebellion of the Three Sentinels, and demoted to be a commoner. His descendants continued to rule the state until it was annexed by the state of Jin (晋) during the Spring Autumn period.
http://zh.wikipedia....%9C%8D%E5%9B%BD

吴 Wu - 子爵 Viscount, conferred upon descendants of Tai Bo (泰伯), eldest son of King Tai of Zhou (周太王), who was the great-grandfather of King Wu of Zhou (周武王). King Tai had wanted to make his third son Ji Li (季历) his heir, and the two older brothers Tai Bo and Zhong Yong (仲雍) took the initiative to depart in order to fulfill their father's wish. The brothers travelled all the way to south of the Long River where Tai Bo founded the state of Gou Wu (勾吴国). After King Wu established the Zhou dynasty, he conferred the viscouncy upon the state and the name was changed to Wu. Originally a minor state on the fringe, it became powerful when its ruler He Lu (阖闾) employed Wu ZiXu (伍子胥) and Sun Wu (孙武). Carelessness by He Lu's successor Fu Cai (夫差) led to the state being destroyed by the rival neigbouring state of Yue (越) in 473 BC.
http://zh.wikipedia....%90%B4%E5%9B%BD

魏 Wèi - 伯爵 Earl/Count, There was an ancient state of Ruì (古芮国) during the Shang Dynasty (商朝). It became known as the ancient state of Wèi (古魏国) at the establishment of the Western Zhou (西周) in a redistribution of fiefs by King Cheng of Zhou (周成王) to one of his relatives. The ancient state of Wèi was conquered by the state of Jin (晋) in 661BC during the 17th year reign of King Hui of Zhou (周惠王). The state was revived by descendants of Gong Gao (公高), a son of King Wen of Zhou from a secondary wife. He assisted King Wu to establish the Zhou dynasty and was conferred upon the territory of Bi (毕), located at present-day NW of XiAn in ShaanXi province (陕西西安西北). The state was destroyed by the Western Rong (西戎) tribes. Some descendants entered the service in the state of Jin (晋). One of them, Bi Wan (毕万), assisted Sheng Shen (申生), heir to Duke Xian of Jin (晋献公) to conquer the neighbouring Di (狄), Huo (霍) and Wei (魏), thus securing his position. Bi Wan was conferred the newly conquered territories of Wei. In 453BC, his descendant Wei HuanZi (魏桓子) divided the state of Jin with the Zhao (赵) and Han (韩) clan and was conferred the title of Marquis by the king of Zhou. This later Wei state was destroyed by Qin (秦) in 225BC.
http://zh.wikipedia....%AD%8F%E5%9B%BD


蓟 Ji - 侯爵 Marquis, this state was conquered by Yan.

[ to be continued ... contributions/corrections welcomed]

This post has been edited by snowybeagle: 11 May 2005 - 11:06 PM

[Liang Jieming]

Hey snowyB, great stuff. Anymore? There were a lot more smaller states weren't there?

[snowybeagle]

Liang Jieming, on Mar 9 2005, 11:01 AM, said:

Hey snowyB, great stuff.  Anymore?  There were a lot more smaller states weren't there?

Loads. But it takes time and luck to find details about each state.
Any help would be appreciated.

I am trying to provide the following info :
(1) Name of state, and capital
(2) General location, mapped to present day geography
(3) Founder, especially why it was awarded, and which noble rank conferred.
(4) Any interesting information
(5) When or how it was ended

I had been relying mostly on the internet for parts of Zhuo Zhuan, Shi Ji and Family Surnames research, and making updates/amendments along the way.

So far, I benefited from understanding better how the situation was like at the beginning of the Zhou dynasty.

[snowybeagle]

[continued ...]

List of feudal states under the Jiang (姜) clan:

齐 (齊) Qi - 侯爵 Marquis, mentioned in the first post.

申 Shen - 侯爵 Marquis, N of present day NanYang in HeNan province (河南南阳). According to folklore, Bo Yi (伯夷) and Shu Qi (叔齐) were sons of the lord of Gu Zhu (孤竹). Neither wanted to succeed to rule the state, and ran off to serve Ji Chang (姬昌), the Marquis of Xi Bo (西伯), father of Ji Fa (姬发) who founded the Zhou dynasty. When Ji Fa rose in revolt against the tyrannical Shang, both brothers pleaded with him not to do the treacherous undertaking. After Shang was overthrown, both brothers swore not to eat anything within the Zhou realm, which they discovered was everything since the Zhou King was Son of Heavan, and it meant everything under the Heavens. Both starved to death rather than change their minds. Moved by their steadfastness, Ji Fa conferred Bo Yi's descendant to the state of Shen. When King You of Zhou (周幽王) wanted to depose of the queen and her son Yi Jiu (宜臼) in favour of a new concubine Bao Si (褒姒) and her son Bo Fu (伯服), Yi Jiu fled to his grandfather who was the marquis of Shen. The latter allied with marquis of Zeng (缯) and the Rong (戎) and Quan (犬) tribes against the king. The old marquis of Shen had merely wanted to teach the king a lesson, but could not control the barbarian tribesmen who killed the king and Bo Fu. Yi Jiu succeeded as King Ping of Zhou (周平王). As the capital was badly damaged, he moved the capital eastward, marking the beginning of the Eastern Zhou. Shen was annexed by the state of Chu.

纪 (紀) Ji - 侯爵 Marquis, present day ShouGuang in ShanDong province (山东寿光). Conferred upon a descendant of Yan (炎) emperor. Destroyed by the state of Qi.

许 (許) Xü - 男爵 Baron, present day XuChang of HeNan province (河南许昌). Conferred by King Wu of Zhou (周武王) to Wen Shu (文叔), also known as Jiang Xin (姜信). Destroyed by state of Chu.


List of feudal states under the Ying (嬴) clan:

This clan descended from descendants of the DongYi (东夷) tribal leader Bo Yi(伯益). Bo Yi had assisted Yü (禹) in the flood controls, and awarded the surname Ying by the emperor Shun (舜). Bo Yi was a (great)-great-grandson of the legendary emperor ZhuanXü (颛顼).

秦 Qin - 伯爵 Count/Earl, present day FengXiang in ShaanXi province (陕西凤翔). Yes, it's the Qin that eventually conquered all the rest.

江 Jiang, present day NW of Mount Luo in HeNan province (河南罗山西北), SW of ZhengYang county (正阳县西南). Other sources place the state near present day JiangLing (江陵). Conquered by the state of Chu in circa 623 BC.

黄 Huang, present day W of HuangChuan county in HeNan province (河南潢川县). Conferred by Yü upon Da Lian (大廉), descendant of Lu Zhong (陆终), great-grandson of legendary ZhuanXü. Conquered by the state of Chu circa 648BC. Huang and Sui (随) were two states which refused to attend to a summit hosted by Chu in Shen Lu (沈鹿).

徐 Xú - 男爵 Baron, present day SiHong in JiangSu province (江苏泗洪). During the legendary Xia dynasty, Bo Yi's son, Ruo Mu (若木), was awarded the territory of Xú. The state continued into through the Shang dynasty and Zhou dynasty. During the reign of King Mu of Zhou (周穆王), the ruler of Xú, Kuang Wang (徐偃王), was undertaking some dregging work in a river when a set of red bow and arrow was uncovered. He thought it was a sign from heaven that he would replace the Zhou dynasty. Leading a pact of 36 feudal lords, he rebelled and attacked the Zhou. Realising the sufferings he caused the commoners, he abandoned the rebellion and his state and went into seclusion in the vinicity of the city of Peng (彭). Noting he had popular support, the Zhou king allowed his descendants to continue ruling Xú. The state of conquered by the state of Wu in 512BC.

[to be continued ... contributions/corrections welcomed]

This post has been edited by snowybeagle: 15 March 2005 - 01:08 AM

[snowybeagle]

List of feudal state(s) under the Mi (芈) clan

楚 Chu - 子爵 Viscount, Present day JiangLing in HuBei province (湖北江陵). YüXiong (鬻熊), a descendant of the legendary emperor ZhuanXü, was once a teacher to Ji Chang who was posthumous King Wen of Zhou (周文王). King Cheng of Zhou (周成王) conferred upon XiongYi (熊绎), great-grandson of YüXiong, the region of JingShan (荆山), present day W of HuBei province and established the state of Jing (荆国), capital at DanYang (丹阳), present day ZiGui municipality in HuBei province (北省秭归市). During the Spring Autumn era, the capital shifted to Ying (郢) and the state changed its name to Chu. Due to its remoteness, Chu was often considered a barbaric state by others in the Central Plains. Its ruler was the first to use the title King (王).

List of feudal state(s) under the Zi (子) clan

宋 Song - 公爵 Duke, mentioned previously.

List of feudal states under the Si (姒) clan

杞 Qi - 侯爵 Marquis, initially at present day Qi county in HeNan province (河南杞县), later shifted to WeiFang in ShanDong province (山东潍坊) due to attacks from neighbouring states. Conferred upon DongLouGong (东娄公), a descendant of Yü (禹). Destroyed by Chu.

List of feudal states under the Gui (妫) clan

陈 Chen - 侯爵 Marquis, present day HuaiYang in HeNan province (河南淮阳). Conferred upon Gui Man (妫满), a descendant of the legendary Shun (舜) emperor.

List of feudal state(s) under the Ren (任) clan

薛 Xue - 侯爵 Marquis, present day Teng county in ShanDong province (山东滕县). The clan descended from YüYang (禹阳), youngest son of the legendary Huang (黄) emperor who was conferred the state of Ren (任). XiZhong (奚仲), the 12th generation after YüYang, was conferred upon Xue (薛). The family had served as prime minister in the royal court of Shang dynasty. The clan continued to rule Xue after Zhou deposed Shang. The state of Xue was destroyed by the state of Qi.

List of feudal state(s) under the Man (曼) clan

邓 Deng - 侯爵 Marquis, present day XiangFan in HuBei province (湖北襄樊). The Shang emperor Wu Ding (武丁) conferred his uncle Man Ji (曼季) the state. It lasted 600 years through the Shang and Western Zhou before being destroyed by Chu in 678BC.

[snowybeagle]

Other states in no particular order.

蓼 Liao, Present day NE of GuShi county in HeNan Province (河南固始县东北). http://zh.wikipedia....%93%BC%E5%9B%BD

孤竹 GūZhú, present day S of LuLong in HeBei province (河北卢龙南). A little-known mysterious state which many scholars were curious about. The state was well known because two of its prince, Bo Yi (伯夷) and Shu Qi (叔齐) both ran away to avoid succeeding as its ruler. At its height, it was said to extend to ChaoYang (朝阳) in the LiaoNing (辽宁) region. By 664 BC, the state became dominated by the Shan Rong (山戎) tribes and invaded the state of Yan (燕). This gave Lord Huan of Qi (齐桓公) to rise in prominence by defending Yan against "barbarian" invaders. The famous episode of Old Horses Remember The Route (老马识途) came about when the GūZhú lured the Qi army to get lost in a desert.
http://www.guoxue.co....7/guzhuguo.htm
http://www.meet-grea...mz/wen/gzmz.htm

巴 Bā, situationed in Er Xi (鄂西) in pre-Zhou era, migrated to ChuanDong (川东). Capital at JiangZhou (江州), present-day ChongQing (重庆), moved to DianJiang (垫江), present day HeChuan (合川), and finally LangZhong (阆中). It was characterised by mountains and primitive aggressive culture in contrast to its western rival Shu (蜀). Some sources claimed they shared the same ancestry as the ruling Ji clan of Zhou (姬姓). The forefathers of the Ba state fought against the Shang rulers, and defeated by King Wu Ding of Shang (殷王武丁). The defeated people were relocated to become a western frontier state. They followed the rebellion led by King Wu of Zhou against Shang, and rendered meritorious services, and was enfeoffed as a feudal lord by the Zhou ruler. It became a major power in the upper reaches of the Han river (汉水) during the Spring Autumn period and came into conflict with Chu (楚) when it crossed east of the river. Defeated, it turned south to present day eastern SiChuan and ChongQing (重庆) region.
http://zh.wikipedia....%B7%B4%E8%9C%80
http://www.sharekey.net/history/bashu/

蜀 Shu, an ancient state of non-HuaXia (华夏) ethnicity in present day SiChuan province. It was supposed to have descended from legendary Emperor Zhuānxū (颛顼). Characterised by hilly plains, witty and cultured in contrast to its eastern rival Ba (巴). Shu was conquered by the state of Qin (秦).
http://zh.wikipedia....%9C%80%E5%9B%BD

Ba and Shu had their history closely related, being rivalling neighbouring states. In 316 BC, Shu invaded Ba, which in turn appealed for help from Qin (秦). Qin despatched Zhang Yi and Sima Chuo, defeated the Shu forces killed its ruler, and subsequently eliminated the state. In winter of the same year, Zhang Yi moved east and captured the ruler of Ba, eliminating that state as well.

中山 Zhong Shan, capital at Gu (顾), present day He Ding country (河定县). It was of the Bai Di (白狄) ethnic group. Founded in 507 BC. Destroyed by the forces of Wei (魏) led by the famous general Le Yang (乐羊) in 406 BC, revived in 388 BC and moved capital to LingShou (灵寿), present day NE of PingShan (平山东北). Positioned between State of Zhao (赵) and the State of Yan (燕), Zhao considered it a thorn in the flesh. Zhong Shan began constructed defensive walls against Zhao in 374 BC, which could be merged as part of the Great Wall during Qin after unification. Nonetheless, it was finally destroyed by Zhao in 296 BC.
http://zh.wikipedia....%B1%B1%E5%9B%BD
http://www.xibaipo.c...00451883441.htm

A fifteen-light bronze lampstand unearthed from a tomb of a ZhongShan ruler.

[Bao Pu]

Hi Snowybeagle

Regarding Chu being originally called Jing: In the Shiji, it said that Xiong Yi was awarded the land of "Chu Man" - (i.e., the land of the barbarians of Chu). According to Blakeley and Cook (Defining Chu), "the word Chu at that time [Western Zhou] did not refer to a specific state, but to a region coterminous with the Jing region ... this graph (楚) represents a place name as early as 1200 BCE ..." So, I wonder if it was first called Jing. Maybe they couldn't decide!

This post has been edited by Bao Pu: 24 August 2007 - 06:00 AM

[lifezard]

Snowy Beagle, on Mar 1 2006, 08:09 AM, said:

List of feudal state(s) under the Mi (芈) clan

楚 Chu - 子爵 Viscount, Present day JiangLing in HuBei province (湖北江陵). YüXiong (鬻熊), a descendant of the legendary emperor ZhuanXü, was once a teacher to Ji Chang who was posthumous King Wen of Zhou (周文王). King Cheng of Zhou (周成王) conferred upon XiongYi (熊绎), great-grandson of YüXiong, the region of JingShan (荆山), present day W of HuBei province and established the state of Jing (荆国), capital at DanYang (丹阳), present day ZiGui municipality in HuBei province (北省秭归市). During the Spring Autumn era, the capital shifted to Ying (郢) and the state changed its name to Chu. Due to its remoteness, Chu was often considered a barbaric state by others in the Central Plains. Its ruler was the first to use the title King (王).

Hi Snowy

I think there is controversey of whether Danyang was located in Zigui 秭归市, which do not seem to yield much early Chu relics.. I will elaborate about this in my own thread later..

Bao Pu, on Mar 1 2006, 08:09 AM, said:

Hi Snowybeagle

Regarding Chu being originally called Ying: In the Shiji, it said that Xiong Yi was awarded the land of "Chu Man" - (i.e., the land of the barbarians of Chu). According to Blakeley and Cook (Defining Chu), "the word Chu at that time [Western Zhou] did not refer to a specific state, but to a region coterminous with the Jing region ... this graph (楚) represents a place name as early as 1200 BCE ..." So, I wonder if it was first called Ying. Maybe they couldn't decide!

Hi Bao Pu,

think you are referring to Jing荆 right? Despite Jing and Chu often put together almost always in latter times...I think the 2 signifies 2 different areas originally , Jing probably referring to the area that later became the Chu heartland.. And you are right, Chu probably refers to region rather than state 1st, rather like Zhou..

[fcharton]

snowybeagle, on Mar 15 2005, 08:13 AM, said:

List of feudal state(s) under the Mi (芈) clan

楚 Chu - 子爵 Viscount, Present day JiangLing in HuBei province (湖北江陵). YüXiong (鬻熊), a descendant of the legendary emperor ZhuanXü, was once a teacher to Ji Chang who was posthumous King Wen of Zhou (周文王). King Cheng of Zhou (周成王) conferred upon XiongYi (熊绎), great-grandson of YüXiong, the region of JingShan (荆山), present day W of HuBei province and established the state of Jing (荆国), capital at DanYang (丹阳), present day ZiGui municipality in HuBei province (北省秭归市). During the Spring Autumn era, the capital shifted to Ying (郢) and the state changed its name to Chu. Due to its remoteness, Chu was often considered a barbaric state by others in the Central Plains. Its ruler was the first to use the title King (王).

Hi Snowy,

Wei Zhao, in his commentary to the Guoyu (first paragraph of the Wu chapter), explains that Goujian, the king of Yue (of Wu-Yue war fame), also belonged to the Mi clan. This is apparently supported by another sentence in the Zheng chapter of the Guoyu, and by the Shiben. The Shiji, on the other hand, says nothing about it. So maybe Yue could be added to this list.

Francois

[snowybeagle]

Merci, mon ami.

Chinese wikipedia just added numerous states not listed here. Will work on this again in the future.
There was a website which gave very detailed listing of the actual title of nobility to the rulers, but I lost it.

In any case though, most of the info I posted came from secondary sources without references to primary sources, so some info might not be accurate.

This post has been edited by snowybeagle: 19 March 2007 - 04:14 PM

[Bruce W. Smith]

Hello Snowy. I just discovered the China History Forum, and noticed your project to record information on all the states during the Chou (Zhou) dynasty. I have been working on the exact same project since January 1996. I have recorded information on over 200 states, including lists of their rulers. Unfortunately for many states, we don't know the name of a single ruler. In "The Multi-State System of Ancient China" Richard L. Walker says that there were 170 states at the beginning of the Ch'un Ch'iu (Spring & Autumn) period. However, he also mentions that Ku Tung-kao identified and traced the history of 209 states mentioned in the Ch'un Ch'iu (Spring & Autumn Annals) in his books "Ch'un Ch'iu ta Shih Piao" published in 1748, and "Ch'un Ch'iu Ta Shih Piao Yu T'u" published in 1745. Somewhere I read that at the beginning of the Chou dynasty, more than 1,700 fiefs were awarded by the Chou emperor. If this number is not an exageration, many of these must have been small towns of little importance.
This listing of ancient states is actually a sideline to my main research -- compiling a catalog of all the cities which existed in China before the Han dynasty. I began this project when I was living in China (1988-1989), and so far have recorded about 1,500 cities. Along with the listing, I am also collecting all the information I can find on each city.
Well, perhaps we can exchange information some day. Good Luck on your project. Bruce Smith (Chinasmith)

[berix]

Bao Pu, on Feb 28 2006, 06:09 PM, said:

Hi Snowybeagle

Regarding Chu being originally called Ying: In the Shiji, it said that Xiong Yi was awarded the land of "Chu Man" - (i.e., the land of the barbarians of Chu). According to Blakeley and Cook (Defining Chu), "the word Chu at that time [Western Zhou] did not refer to a specific state, but to a region coterminous with the Jing region ... this graph (楚) represents a place name as early as 1200 BCE ..." So, I wonder if it was first called Ying. Maybe they couldn't decide!

where did you hear that??? Jing(荆） just　another name of Chu. chu is called jing only during the time when zi chu is the king of qin state.

some histories in han dynasty aslo used the name Jing instead of chu. so sometimes its very confusing.

Chu was already established in shang dynasty if not before. and helped zhounese destroyed the kingdom of shang.

[jubilee]

What about Hua, Lai, and Wan? They don't seem to be in the list.....