Zheng (state)
Encyclopedia
Zheng （) was a vassal state in China during the Zhou Dynasty
(1046–221 BCE) located in the centre of ancient China in modern day Henan Province on the North China Plain
about 75 miles (120.7 km) east of the royal capital at Luoyang
. It was the most powerful of the vassal states at the beginning of the Eastern Zhou (771-701 BCE). Its ruling house had the surname Ji (姬), making them a branch of the Zhou royal house, who were given the rank of BO
(伯), corresponding roughly to a Count
dom.
, the penultimate (the second to last) king of the Western Zhou, made his younger brother Prince You (王子友) Duke of Zheng and granted him lands within the royal domain at the eponymous Zhèng (鄭/郑) in modern day Huaxian, Shaanxi Province on the Wei River east of Xi'an. Ji You, known posthumously as Zheng Huan Gong (Duke Huan of Zheng, 鄭桓公/郑桓公), established what would be the last bastion of Western Zhou going on to serve as Minister over the Masses
under King You of Zhou
. (The Zheng family served as high ministers of the Zhou kings for several generations.) Sensing that the Western Zhou dynasty was in decline, he moved his property, family and merchants eastward to a new capital at Xinzheng
(新鄭/新郑), now in Henan Province. The land was swampy and needed to be cleared and populated. This pioneering work along with the newness of the state (which meant that it had not yet become feudally subdivided) probably contributed to its later brief power. When the Quanrong
sacked the Zhou capital in 771 BB, Ji You was killed along with his nephew, King You of Zhou
.
His son, Duke Wu (鄭武公/郑武公), succeeded him. Along with Marquis Wen of Jin
, he supported King Ping of Zhou
against a rival, thereby helping to establish the Eastern Zhou. He reestablished the Zheng Dukedom. He annexed the states of Eastern Guo
and Kuai and made modern day Xinzheng
, Henan Province his capital.
, sometime between 684 and 680 BCE. Throughout the Spring and Autumn Period, Zheng was one of the wealthiest states, relying on its central location for inter-state commerce
and having the largest number of merchants of any state. Zheng often used its wealth to bribe itself out of difficult situations.
Duke Zhuang of Zheng
(743–701 BCE) was arguably a forerunner of the Five Hegemons, though Zheng derived its dominance by dramatically different means compared to those of the later hegemons by defeating an alliance of feudal states led by Zhou itself and wounding King Huan of Zhou
. When Duke Zhuang died there was a civil war between his sons and Zheng ceased to be a powerful state.
and Qi
, then later Chu and Jin. Although Zheng was forced to become a bit player in the later stages of the Spring and Autumn Period, it was still quite strong, defeating a combined alliance of Jin, Song
, Chen
and Wei by itself in 607 BCE.
Under the statesman Zi Chan
, Zheng was the first state to clearly establish a code of law in 543 BC. Zheng later declined until it was annexed by the state of Han
in 375 BCE.
., and also represented with 20 Capricorni in in asterism Twelve States, Girl
mansion. (see Chinese constellation
).
Zhou Dynasty
The Zhou Dynasty was a Chinese dynasty that followed the Shang Dynasty and preceded the Qin Dynasty. Although the Zhou Dynasty lasted longer than any other dynasty in Chinese history, the actual political and military control of China by the Ji family lasted only until 771 BC, a period known as...
(1046–221 BCE) located in the centre of ancient China in modern day Henan Province on the North China Plain
North China Plain
The North China Plain is based on the deposits of the Yellow River and is the largest alluvial plain of eastern Asia. The plain is bordered on the north by the Yanshan Mountains and on the west by the Taihang Mountains edge of the Shanxi plateau. To the south, it merges into the Yangtze Plain...
about 75 miles (120.7 km) east of the royal capital at Luoyang
Luoyang
Luoyang is a prefecture-level city in western Henan province of Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang to the south, Sanmenxia to the west, Jiyuan to the north, and Jiaozuo to the northeast.Situated on the central plain of...
. It was the most powerful of the vassal states at the beginning of the Eastern Zhou (771-701 BCE). Its ruling house had the surname Ji (姬), making them a branch of the Zhou royal house, who were given the rank of BO
Chinese nobility
Chinese sovereignty and peerage, the nobility of China, were an important feature of traditional social and political organization of Imperial China. While the concepts of hereditary sovereign and peerage titles and noble families were featured as early as the semi-mythical, early historical...
(伯), corresponding roughly to a Count
Count
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
dom.
Foundation
Zheng was founded in 806 BC when King Xuan of ZhouKing Xuan of Zhou
King Xuan of Zhou was the eleventh sovereign of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty. Estimated dates of his reign are 827-782 BC or 827/25-782 BC.He worked to restore royal authority after the Gong He interregnum. He fought the 'Western Barbarians' and another group on the Huai River to the southeast. In...
, the penultimate (the second to last) king of the Western Zhou, made his younger brother Prince You (王子友) Duke of Zheng and granted him lands within the royal domain at the eponymous Zhèng (鄭/郑) in modern day Huaxian, Shaanxi Province on the Wei River east of Xi'an. Ji You, known posthumously as Zheng Huan Gong (Duke Huan of Zheng, 鄭桓公/郑桓公), established what would be the last bastion of Western Zhou going on to serve as Minister over the Masses
Minister over the Masses
Minister over the Masses was one of the three most important official posts during the Han Dynasty, called the Three Excellencies. The nominal salary attached was 20,000 dàn of grain. The position and title had existed since the Warring States, but was only standardised during the Qin Dynasty....
under King You of Zhou
King You of Zhou
King You of Zhou was the twelfth sovereign of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty and the last of Western Zhou Dynasty. He reigned from 781 to 771 BCE.In 780 BCE, a major earthquake hit Guanzhong...
. (The Zheng family served as high ministers of the Zhou kings for several generations.) Sensing that the Western Zhou dynasty was in decline, he moved his property, family and merchants eastward to a new capital at Xinzheng
Xinzheng
Xinzheng is a small county-level city of Zhengzhou in the south of Henan province of Central China. The city has a population of 600,000 people and covers an area of .-History:...
(新鄭/新郑), now in Henan Province. The land was swampy and needed to be cleared and populated. This pioneering work along with the newness of the state (which meant that it had not yet become feudally subdivided) probably contributed to its later brief power. When the Quanrong
Quanrong
The Quǎnróng , literally "Dog Rong", were an ethnic group active in the north western part of China during the Zhōu and later dynasties. Their language is classified as part of the Tibeto-Burman branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages family....
sacked the Zhou capital in 771 BB, Ji You was killed along with his nephew, King You of Zhou
King You of Zhou
King You of Zhou was the twelfth sovereign of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty and the last of Western Zhou Dynasty. He reigned from 781 to 771 BCE.In 780 BCE, a major earthquake hit Guanzhong...
.
His son, Duke Wu (鄭武公/郑武公), succeeded him. Along with Marquis Wen of Jin
Marquis Wen of Jin
Marquis Wen of Jin , Ancestral name is Ji, given name is Chou , was the eleventh ruler of the state of Jin. He was also the first ruler of Jin in the Spring and Autumn Period....
, he supported King Ping of Zhou
King Ping of Zhou
King Ping of Zhou , also referred to as Crown Prince Yijiu or King P'ing of Chou was the thirteenth sovereign of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty and the first of Eastern Zhou Dynasty...
against a rival, thereby helping to establish the Eastern Zhou. He reestablished the Zheng Dukedom. He annexed the states of Eastern Guo
Eastern Guo (state)
The State of Eastern Guo was an important Chinese vassal state in the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty .After King Wu of Zhou destroyed the Shang Dynasty in 1046 BCE, his two uncles received grants of land from King Wu’s father, King Wen of Zhou...
and Kuai and made modern day Xinzheng
Xinzheng
Xinzheng is a small county-level city of Zhengzhou in the south of Henan province of Central China. The city has a population of 600,000 people and covers an area of .-History:...
, Henan Province his capital.
Early dominance
The state of Zheng was one of the strongest at the beginning of the Spring and Autumn Period. Zheng was the first Zhou state to annex another state, XiXi (state)
The State of Xi was a Chinese vassal state during the Shang and Zhou Dynasties and the Spring and Autumn Period ruled by members of the Jī family . Sometime between 680 and 684 BCE the State of Xī was annexed by the State of Chu and ceased to exist as an independent state.-History:In 712 BCE the...
, sometime between 684 and 680 BCE. Throughout the Spring and Autumn Period, Zheng was one of the wealthiest states, relying on its central location for inter-state commerce
Commerce
While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...
and having the largest number of merchants of any state. Zheng often used its wealth to bribe itself out of difficult situations.
Duke Zhuang of Zheng
Duke Zhuang of Zheng
Duke Zhuang of Zheng was the third ruler of the State of Zheng during the Spring and Autumn Period in ancient China. His ancestral name is Ji,given name is Wusheng , which means "a difficult birth". In 743 BC, he became the duke of Zheng, and later defeated his brother Gongshu Duan, who had led a...
(743–701 BCE) was arguably a forerunner of the Five Hegemons, though Zheng derived its dominance by dramatically different means compared to those of the later hegemons by defeating an alliance of feudal states led by Zhou itself and wounding King Huan of Zhou
King Huan of Zhou
King Huan of Zhou was the fourteenth sovereign of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty and the second of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty.-Personal information: Family name Jī Given name Lín Era name none Grandfather...
. When Duke Zhuang died there was a civil war between his sons and Zheng ceased to be a powerful state.
Later Period
By the later stages of the period, Zheng had no room to expand; due to its centralized location, Zheng was hemmed in on all sides by larger states.During the later stages of the Spring and Autumn Period, Zheng frequently switched its diplomatic alliances. Zheng was the center of diplomatic contention between ChuChu (state)
The State of Chu was a Zhou Dynasty vassal state in present-day central and southern China during the Spring and Autumn period and Warring States Period . Its ruling house had the surname Nai , and clan name Yan , later evolved to surname Mi , and clan name Xiong...
and Qi
Qi (state)
Qi was a powerful state during the Spring and Autumn Period and Period of the Warring States in ancient China. Its capital was Linzi, now part of the modern day city of Zibo in Shandong Province....
, then later Chu and Jin. Although Zheng was forced to become a bit player in the later stages of the Spring and Autumn Period, it was still quite strong, defeating a combined alliance of Jin, Song
Song (state)
Sòng was a state during the Eastern Zhou Spring and Autumn Period . Its capital was Shangqiu . In 701 BC, a political marriage between Lady Yong of Song and Duke Zhuang of Zheng empowered Song to manipulate the management of Zheng.- Origin :After King Wu of Zhou overthrew King Zhou of Shang,...
, Chen
Chen (state)
Chen was a minor Zhou Dynasty vassal state during the Spring and Autumn Period of Chinese History. It was a relatively minor state based on a single urban centre near what is now Huaiyang County in the plains of eastern Henan province...
and Wei by itself in 607 BCE.
Under the statesman Zi Chan
Zi Chan
Zi Chan , also known as Gongsun Qiao , was a statesman of the State of Zheng in ancient China during the Spring and Autumn Period. Born in Zheng to an aristocratic family, Zi Chan was a statesman of Zheng from 544 BC until his death. Under Zi Chan, Zheng even managed to expand its territory, a...
, Zheng was the first state to clearly establish a code of law in 543 BC. Zheng later declined until it was annexed by the state of Han
Han (state)
Han was a kingdom during the Warring States Period in China, located in modern-day Shanxi and Henan. Not to be confused with South Korea which shares the same character....
in 375 BCE.
List of rulers
- 1 Duke Huan of Zheng (鄭桓公/郑桓公) (806–771 BCE), founder, killed at the end of the Western Zhou period
- 2 Duke Wu of Zheng (鄭武公/郑武公)(771–744 BCE), son of Duke Huan, helped establish the Eastern Zhou Dynasty
- 3 Duke Zhuang of ZhengDuke Zhuang of ZhengDuke Zhuang of Zheng was the third ruler of the State of Zheng during the Spring and Autumn Period in ancient China. His ancestral name is Ji,given name is Wusheng , which means "a difficult birth". In 743 BC, he became the duke of Zheng, and later defeated his brother Gongshu Duan, who had led a...
(鄭莊公/郑庄公)(743–701 BCE), hegemon in the early Eastern Zhou period - 4 Duke Zhao of Zheng (鄭昭公/郑昭公) （697–695 BCE)
- Duke Zhuang of Zheng, (700 BCE) second reign of 3, above
- 5 Duke Li of Zheng, (鄭厲公/郑历公) (700–697 BCE)
- 6 Gong Zimen (公子亹)(695–694 BCE)
- 7 Zheng Ziying (鄭子嬰/郑子婴) (694–680 BCE)
- Duke Li of Zheng (680–673 BCE) second reign of 6, above
- 8 Duke Wen of Zheng (鄭文公/郑文公）(673–628 BCE)
- 9 Duke Mu of Zheng (鄭穆公/郑穆公）(627–606 BCE)
- 10 Duke Ling of Zheng (鄭靈公/郑灵公) (605 BCE)
- 11 Duke Xiang of Zheng (鄭襄公/郑襄公) (604–587 BCE)
- 12 Duke Dao of Zheng (鄭悼公/郑悼公) (586–585 BCE)
- 13 Duke Cheng of Zheng (鄭成公/郑成公）(584–581 BCE)
- 14 Duke Jun of Zheng (鄭君公/郑君繻) (581 BCE)
- 15 Duke Xi of Zheng (鄭僖公/郑僖公)（581 BCE)
- Duke Cheng of Zheng (581–571 BCE) second reign of 13, above
- Duke Xi of Zheng (570–566 BCE) second reign of 15, above
- 16 Duke Jian of Zheng (鄭簡公/郑简公) (565–530 BCE)
- 17 Duke Ding of Zheng (鄭定公）(529–514 BCE)
- 18 Duke Xian of Zheng (鄭獻公/郑献公) (513–501 BCE)
- 19 Duke Sheng of Zheng (鄭聲公/郑声公) (500–463 BCE)
- 20 Duke Ai of Zheng (鄭哀公/郑哀公) (463–455 BCE)
- 21 Duke Gong of Zheng (鄭共公/郑共公) (455–424 BCE)
- 22 Duke You of Zheng (鄭幽公/郑幽公) (423 BCE)
- 23 Duke Xu of Zheng (鄭繻公/郑繻公） (422–396 BCE)
- 24 Duke Kang of Zheng (鄭康公/郑康公) (395–375 BCE), last ruler
Zheng in astronomy
Zheng is represented with the star Gamma Serpentis in asterism Left Wall, Heavenly Market enclosureHeavenly Market enclosure
Tian Shi Yuan, the Heavenly Market Enclosure , is one of the San Yuan or Three enclosures. Stars and constellations of this group are visible during late summer and early autumn in the Northern Hemisphere . The summer triangle lies directly to the northwest.-Asterisms:The asterisms are :...
., and also represented with 20 Capricorni in in asterism Twelve States, Girl
Girl (Chinese constellation)
The Girl mansion is one of the Twenty-eight mansions of the Chinese constellations. It is one of the northern mansions of the Black Tortoise.- Asterisms :...
mansion. (see Chinese constellation
Chinese constellation
Chinese constellations are the way the ancient Chinese grouped the stars. They are very different from the modern IAU recognized constellations. This is because the IAU was based on Greco-Roman astronomy instead of Chinese astronomy....
).
Sources, references, external links, quotes
- Another Royal Tomb of 'King Zheng' Discovered in Henan http://english.people.com.cn/200209/18/eng20020918_103441.shtml