Qingji was a nobleman during the Spring and Autumn period. He is portrayed differently in various historical records.

Life

The

Zuo Zhuan The ''Zuo Zhuan'' ( zh, t=左傳, w=Tso Chuan; ), often translated as ''The Zuo Tradition'' or as ''The Commentary of Zuo'', is an ancient Chinese narrative history traditionally regarded as a commentary on the ancient Chinese chronicle the '' ...

records Qingji as a member of the clan of

King Fuchai of Wu Fuchai (reigned 495–473BC), sometimes also written Fucha, was the last king of the state of Wu during the Spring and Autumn period of Chinese history. His armies constructed important canals linking the Yellow, Ji, and Huai River systems of ...

, often admonishing the king to change his ways of governing in order to avoid calamities for the state of Wu. Zuo Zhuan relates that after his advice was ignored, Qingji left the capital Gusu, moved to Aidi (in today's

Jiangxi province ; Gan: ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = , translit_lang1_type3 = , translit_lang1_info3 = , image_map = Jiangxi in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_caption = Location ...

), and finally took the chance to move into the

state of Chu Chu (, Old Chinese: ''*s-r̥aʔ'') was an Ancient Chinese states, ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. Their first ruler was King Wu of Chu in the early 8th century BC. Chu was located in the south of the Zhou heartland and lasted ...

. According to the

Spring and Autumn Annals of Wu and Yue The ''Spring and Autumn Annals of Wu and Yue'' () is an unofficial history from the time of the Eastern Han dynasty that consists of a collection sidenotes on historical events. The ten-volume book was written by Zhao Ye (赵晔), and narrates th ...

, Qingji was the son of King Liao of Wu, and a warrior of Wu.

Death

According to the Zuo Zhuan, in the winter of 475 BC, Qingji heard that the

state of Yue Yue (), also known as Yuyue ( or ), was a state in ancient China which existed during the first millennium BC the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods of China's Zhou dynasty in the modern provinces of Zhejiang, Shanghai and Jiangsu ...

was about to attack his homeland of Wu. He went back to Wu in order to arrange peace talks with Yue. Upon his return, he tried to eliminate Wu's disloyal advisors and obtain Yue's favour, for which he was murdered by a man from Wu. A more well known and detailed story of his death appears in the

's biography of

King Helü of Wu King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by f ...

. According to this story, King Helü was threatened at the beginning of his regime by Qingji's well-known bravery, and assigned a loyalist named Yao Li to murder him. Yao Li was given a public image of a person who endured great suffering under King Helü, substantiated by some pre-planned actual suffering such as imprisonment, the murder of his family, and cutting off his arm, so that he could obtain Qingji's trust. Qingji did in fact come to trust Yao Li, and during a joint boat trip, Yao Li murdered Qingli with a spear, and then committed suicide.

Monster by the same name

Curiously enough, in the book Guanzi the same name, Qingji, is used to denote a monster having a human form four fingers high, riding a small horse. This monster is the product of lakes being dry for hundreds of years.See 管子·水地

References

{{Reflist Zhou dynasty nobility 5th-century BC Chinese people People of Wu (state) Yaoguai