Song (;

Old Chinese Old Chinese, also called Archaic Chinese in older works, is the oldest attested stage of Chinese, and the ancestor of all modern varieties of Chinese. The earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones from around 12 ...

: *') was a

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * '' Our ...

during the

Zhou dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chinese ( B&S): *''tiw'') was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of China by ...

of ancient China, with its capital at Shangqiu. The state was founded soon after King Wu of Zhou conquered the

Shang dynasty The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Dynasties in Chinese history, Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally suc ...

to establish the

in 1046 BC. It was conquered by the State of Qi in 286 BC, during the

Warring States period The Warring States period () was an era in ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded with the Qin wars of conquest ...

Confucius Confucius ( ; zh, s=, p=Kǒng Fūzǐ, "Master Kǒng"; or commonly zh, s=, p=Kǒngzǐ, labels=no; – ) was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. C ...

was a descendant of a Song nobleman who moved to the State of Lu.

Origin

King Zhou of Shang, Di Xin was the younger brother of Zi Qi (who was said in legends to have ruled Gija Joseon in the 11th century BCE) and Zi Yan () (later rulers of Zhou's vassal state Song), father of Wu Geng. After King Wu of Zhou overthrew the last ruler of Shang, marking the transition to the

Zhou Dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chinese ( B&S): *''tiw'') was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of China by ...

, the victor was honor-bound by a stricture of feudal etiquette known as () to allow the defeated house of

Shang The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and f ...

to continue offering sacrifices to their ancestors. As a result, for a time Shang became a vassal state of Zhou, with the Shang heir Wu Geng allowed to continue ancestor worship at

Yin Yin may refer to: *the dark force in the yin and yang from traditional Chinese philosophy and medicine *Yīn (surname) (), a Chinese surname *Yǐn (surname) (), a Chinese surname *Shang dynasty, also known as the Yin dynasty **Yinxu or Yin, the S ...

(). However, after King Wu's death, Wu Geng fomented a rebellion with an alliance of eastern states, and was killed by the Duke of Zhou. Another Shang royal family descendant, Weizi, was granted land at Shangqiu (, "the hill of Shang"), where the capital of the new state of Song was built. A sign of its descent from the Shang is that the state of Song in its early period followed the succession principle of agnatic seniority, rather than agnatic primogeniture like the Zhou.

History

In 701 BC, a political marriage between Lady Yong of Song () and Duke Zhuang of Zheng (as well as the capture of Zhai Zhong (), a leading warrior) empowered Song to manipulate the administration of Zheng. In 651 BC, Duke Huan of Song () died, leaving the district to be ruled by Duke Xiang, who reigned from 651 to 637BC. He was considered a Hegemon by some, but was unable to maintain that role. He eventually fell to the troops of

Chu Chu or CHU may refer to: Chinese history * Chu (state) (c. 1030 BC–223 BC), a state during the Zhou dynasty * Western Chu (206 BC–202 BC), a state founded and ruled by Xiang Yu * Chu Kingdom (Han dynasty) (201 BC–70 AD), a kingdom of the Ha ...

. In 355BC, Dai Ticheng (), a distant relative of the ruling royal line and once a minister of Duke Huan II, managed to usurp the throne. In 328BC, Dai Yan, a younger brother of Ticheng, took the throne and declared himself to be King Kang of Song, with Ticheng murdered or exiled. The king was ambitious and had succeeded in beating troops from Chu,

Wei Wei or WEI may refer to: States * Wey (state) (衛, 1040–209 BC), Wei in pinyin, but spelled Wey to distinguish from the bigger Wei of the Warring States * Wei (state) (魏, 403–225 BC), one of the seven major states of the Warring States per ...

and Qi and annexing Teng. However, the kingdom was finally annexed by Qi in 286BC, with troops from Chu and Wei serving on behalf of Qi. Qin, which had been an ally of Song, refused to intervene for strategic and diplomatic reasons after being convinced by Su Dai from Wei. Su's predictions were proven correct and Qin benefited from the downfall of its former ally. The philosopher Mozi references this state in the chapter "Obvious Existence of Ghosts", in which he mentions a number of ''Spring and Autumn Annals'', including those of the Zhou, Yan, and Qi. The ''Spring and Autumn Annals of Song'' has not survived.

Rulers

Unless otherwise indicated, the ruler is the son of his predecessor. # Weizi 微子 (Qi 啟), brother of the last king of Shang, Di Xin # Weizhong 微仲 (Yan 衍), younger brother of the above # Ji, Duke of Song 宋公稽 # Duke Ding 宋丁公 (Shen 申) # Duke Min I 宋湣公 (Gong 共), ancestor of

# Duke Yang 宋煬公 (Xi 熙), younger brother of the above # Duke Li 宋厲公 (Fusi 鮒祀), son of Duke Min I # Duke Xi 宋僖公 (Ju 舉), 859–831 # Duke Hui 宋惠公 (Jian 覵), 830–800 # Duke Ai 宋哀公, 799 # Duke Dai 宋戴公, 799–766 # Duke Wu 宋武公 (Sikong 司空), 765–748 # Duke Xuan 宋宣公 (Li 力), 747–729 # Duke Mu 宋穆公 (He 和), 728–720, younger brother of the above # Duke Shang 宋殤公 (Yuyi 與夷), 719–711 # Duke Zhuang 宋莊公 (Feng 馮), 710–692 # Duke Min II 宋閔公 (Jie 捷), 691–682 # You, Duke of Song 宋公游, assassinated less than 3 months after accession. # Duke Huan I 宋桓公 (Yuyue 御說), 681–651, younger brother of Duke Min II # Duke Xiang 宋襄公 (Zifu 茲父), 650–637 # Duke Cheng 宋成公 (Wangchen 王臣), 636–620 # Yu, Duke of Song 宋公禦, younger brother of the above, assassinated less than one month after accession. # Duke Zhao I 宋昭公 (Chujiu 杵臼), 619–611, son of Duke Cheng # Duke Wen 宋文公 (Bao 鮑), 610–589, younger brother of the above # Duke Gong 宋共公 (Xia 瑕), 588–576 # Duke Ping 宋平公 (Cheng 成), 575–532 # Duke Yuan 宋元公 (Zuo 佐), 531–517 # Duke Jing 宋景公 (Touman 頭曼), 516–451 # Duke Zhao II 宋昭公 (De 得), 450–404, great-grandson of Duke Yuan; possibly 468–404, making him one of the

longest-reigning monarchs This is a list of the longest-reigning monarchs of all time, detailing the monarchs and lifelong leaders who have reigned the longest in world history, ranked by length of reign. Monarchs of sovereign states with verifiable reigns by exact d ...

. # Duke Dao 宋悼公 (Gouyou 購由), 403–396 # Duke Xiu 宋休公 (Tian 田), 395–373 # Duke Huan II 宋桓公 (Bibing 辟兵), 372–370 # Ticheng, Lord of Song 宋剔成君, 369–329, descendant of the 11th duke, Dai #

Yan, King of Song Yan, King of Song (, died 286 BC), also known as King Kang of Song (宋康王) or King Xian of Song (宋獻王), was the last ruler of Song. He ruled the state between 328 BC until his death in 286 BC. Yan was a descendant of Duke Dai, the ...

宋王偃, King Kang 宋康王, 328–286, younger brother of the above

Rulers family tree

Descendants

was a descendant of the Dukes of Song, as are his descendants, the Dukes of Yansheng. The title of Duke of Song and ''"Duke Who Continues and Honours the

"'' ( 殷紹嘉公) were bestowed upon Kong An ( 孔安 (東漢)) by the Eastern Han dynasty because he was part of the Shang dynasty's legacy. This branch of the Kong family is a separate branch from the line that held the title of Marquis of Fengsheng village and later Duke Yansheng.

Song in astronomy

Song is represented by the star Eta Ophiuchi in the asterism ''Left Wall'', Heavenly Market enclosure (see

Chinese constellation Traditional Chinese astronomy has a system of dividing the celestial sphere into asterisms or constellations, known as "officials" ( Chinese ''xīng guān''). The Chinese asterisms are generally smaller than the constellations of Hellenistic ...

).AEEA (Activities of Exhibition and Education in Astronomy) 天文教育資訊網 2006 年 6 月 23 日
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References

{{Zhou Dynasty topics Ancient Chinese states 11th-century BC establishments in China 3rd-century BC disestablishments 1st-millennium BC disestablishments in China Former monarchies