Duke Qing of Qi (), personal name Lü Wuye, was a

duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

of the Qi state. He reigned from 598 BC to 582 BC.

Accession to throne

Duke Qing was the son of

Duke Hui of Qi Duke Hui of Qi (), personal name Lü Yuan, was duke of the Qi state from 608 BC to 599 BC. Accession to the throne Duke Hui's father was Duke Huan of Qi, who was the first of the Five Hegemons, the most powerful rulers of the Spring and Autumn p ...

and grandson of Duke Huan, the greatest leader of the

State of Qi Qi, or Ch'i in Wade–Giles romanization, was a ancient Chinese state, regional state of the Zhou dynasty in History of China#Ancient China, ancient China, whose rulers held Zhou dynasty nobility, titles of ''Hou'' (), then ''Gong (title), Go ...

. He succeeded his father, who died in 599 BC after a ten-year reign. Duke Hui had favoured the official Cui Zhu (崔杼). After Duke Hui's death the powerful Gao and Guo clans of Qi expelled Cui, who fled to the

State of Wey Wei (; ), commonly spelled Wey to distinguish from the contemporary larger Wei () state, was an ancient Chinese state that was founded in the early Western Zhou dynasty and rose to prominence during the Spring and Autumn period. Its rulers w ...

. Cui would later return to Qi and cause great turmoil in the state.

Battle of An

In 589 BC Qi attacked the states of Lu and

Wey Wey or WEY may refer to: Places *Wey (state) (衞), or Wei, ancient Chinese state during the Zhou Dynasty *River Wey, river in Surrey, Hampshire and West Sussex, England *River Wey (Dorset), river of Dorset, south west England *Wey and Arun Canal, ...

, and annexed the Lu city of Long. Lu and Wey were allies of the State of Jin, a major power of the

Spring and Autumn period The Spring and Autumn period () was a period in History of China, Chinese history corresponding roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou (256 BCE), characterized by the gradual erosion of royal power as local lords nominally subject t ...

. In response, Duke Jing of Jin dispatched the Jin army led by generals Xi Ke, Shi Xie, Luan Shu, and

Han Jue Han Jue (; died after 566 BC), also known by his posthumous name as the Viscount Xian of Han (), was a leader of the Han clan in the Jin state, where he served as ''dafu'' (大夫). He was the son of Han Yu, whom he succeeded as Han clan leader.� ...

to help his allies. The Qi and Jin forces fought at An (near present-day

Jinan Jinan is the capital of the province of Shandong in East China. With a population of 9.2 million, it is one of the largest cities in Shandong in terms of population. The area of present-day Jinan has played an important role in the history of ...

), and Qi was decisively defeated. Duke Qing narrowly escaped capture by exchanging clothes and position with officer Pang Choufu (逢丑父), who was taken prisoner by Jin general Han Jue mistaking him as Duke Qing. After the battle Duke Qing was forced to plead for peace and cede territory to the state of Lu. Chapter II. Duke Qing was greatly humbled by the defeat at the Battle of An. After the battle he reduced taxes, gave alms to orphans and the infirm, and was said to forgo alcohol and meat until his death seven years later.

Death and succession

Duke Qing died in 582 BC after 17 years of reign. He was succeeded by his son Huan,

Duke Ling of Qi Duke Ling of Qi (), personal name Lü Huan, was a duke of the Qi state, reigning from 581 BC to 554 BC. He succeeded his father, Duke Qing, and was in turn succeeded by one of his sons, Duke Zhuang II. Attack from Jin In 572 BC, Duke Dao of ...

Family

Wives: * Sheng Meng Zi, of the Zi clan (), the mother of Prince Huan Sons: * Prince Huan (; d. 554 BC), ruled as

from 581 to 554 BC

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Qing of Qi, Duke Year of birth unknown Monarchs of Qi (state) from the House of Jiang 6th-century BC Chinese monarchs 580s BC deaths