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Wei (;"Wei"
''
Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary'' is a large American dictionary, first published in 1966 as ''The Random House Dictionary of the English Language: The Unabridged Edition''. Edited by Editor-in-chief Jess Stein, it contained 315, ...
''. ;
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 ...
: ''*ɢʷat-s''), commonly spelled Wey to distinguish from the contemporary larger
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 ...
() state, was an ancient Chinese state that was founded in the early
Western Zhou The Western Zhou ( zh, c=, p=Xīzhōu; c. 1045 BC – 771 BC) was a royal dynasty of China and the first half of the Zhou dynasty. It began when King Wu of Zhou overthrew the Shang dynasty at the Battle of Muye and ended when the Quanrong n ...
dynasty and rose to prominence during the
Spring and Autumn period The Spring and Autumn period was a period in Chinese history from approximately 770 to 476 BC (or according to some authorities until 403 BC) which corresponds roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou period. The period's name derives fr ...
. Its rulers were of the surname Ji (), the same as that of the rulers of Zhou. It was located in modern northeastern
Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is a ...
Province, east of Jin (and later Wei ), and west of Cao.


Early history

The history of Wey dates back to the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty and the
Rebellion of the Three Guards The Rebellion of the Three Guards (), or less commonly the Wu Geng Rebellion (), was a civil war, instigated by an alliance of discontent Zhou princes, Shang loyalists, vassal states and other non-Zhou peoples against the Western Zhou governmen ...
. After the
Duke of Zhou Dan, Duke Wen of Zhou (), commonly known as the Duke of Zhou (), was a member of the royal family of the early Zhou dynasty who played a major role in consolidating the kingdom established by his elder brother King Wu. He was renowned for actin ...
successfully defeated the rebellion, Kang Shu, a younger brother of
King Wu of Zhou King Wu of Zhou () was the first king of the Zhou dynasty of ancient China. The chronology of his reign is disputed but is generally thought to have begun around 1046 BC and ended three years later in 1043 BC. King Wu's ancestral name was ...
was given a fief centred on
Zhaoge Zhaoge () was the last of a series of cities that served as capital of the Shang dynasty, and later capital of State of Wey (衛國). It is located in current Qi County, Hebi, Henan about 50 km south of Anyang. See also *Yinxu Yinxu (modern ; ...
, the capital of the
Shang Dynasty 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 a ...
, which had been the centre of the rebellion.


Spring and Autumn Period

The State of Wey was at its peak during the early Spring and Autumn Period, under
Duke Wu of Wey Duke Wu of Wey (9th century BCE-?), also known as Ji He, was a Zhou dynasty feudal lord. He was the 11th ruler of Wey and the first Duke of Wey. The late Zhou dynasty historical record Guoyu claims that Duke Wu lived as long as 95 years. However ...
, who reigned for 55 years. In the reign of subsequent rulers, however, the state was plagued by succession troubles, until
Duke Yi of Wey Duke Yi of Wey, given name Chi, was a Zhou dynasty feudal lord and the 18th ruler of Wey. He was best known for his absurd life-style which led to a temporary fall of his state and his permanent death. Life Chi was the son of Duke Hui of Wey ...
took the throne; his dissolute rule and obsession with cranes weakened the state, and in the eighth year of his reign the
Rong people Xirong () or Rong were various people who lived primarily in and around the western extremities of ancient China (in modern Gansu and Qinghai). They were known as early as the Shang dynasty (1765–1122 BCE), as one of the Four Barbarians that fr ...
s successfully attacked the capital at Zhaoge, killing the Duke and nearly destroying the state as well (660 BCE). It was only with the aid of
Duke Huan of Qi Duke Huan of Qi (; died 643 BC), personal name Xiǎobái (小白), was the ruler of the State of Qi from 685 to 643 BC. Living during the chaotic Spring and Autumn period, as the Zhou dynasty's former vassal states fought each other for supremac ...
that the state was eventually restored, with its capital moved to Chuqiu. In 632 BCE Wey was once conquered by Duke Wen of Jin, because when Duke Wen (called Chong'er then) exiled to Wey,
Duke Wen of Wey Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranked ...
hadn't treated him well, and
Duke Cheng of Wey Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranked ...
(son of Duke Wen of Wey) was nearly poisoned by Duke Wen of Jin, but eventually the state was restored. (Before the Battle of Chengpu, when Chu was attacking
Song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetiti ...
, Jin attacked Wey and Cao as a diversion.) In 492 BCE
Duke Chu of Wey Duke Chu of Wey (, died 469 BC) was 29th ruler of the ancient Chinese state of Wey. He ruled the duchy twice: the first time between 493 BC and 481 BC, the second time between 477 BC and 470 BC. His given name was Zhé (輒). Zhé was the son ...
() succeeded the throne from his grandfather Duke Ling (), while his father Kuaikui (), who was the heir of Duke Ling, had been deposed and exiled. To get the throne, Kuaikui fought against his own son and managed to exile Duke Chu in 481 BCE, and was titled as Duke Zhuang II (), but was killed three years later. Duke Chu was restored in 475 BCE. The conflict between father and son weakened Wey, and Wey soon became attached to House of Zhao of Jin.


Downfall and end

In 346 BCE the duke of Wey degraded himself to a marquis. In 320 BCE the marquis of Wey again degraded himself to only a ''jun'' (lord). By then Wey only possessed a single county called Puyang (). In 254 BCE King Anxi of
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 ...
() killed Lord Huai of Wey (), but two years later he declared his son-in-law, who was from the house of Wey, to be lord of Wey, so Wey became a dependency of the Wei Kingdom. In 239 BCE the
state of Qin Qin () was an ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. Traditionally dated to 897 BC, it took its origin in a reconquest of western lands previously lost to the Rong; its position at the western edge of Chinese civilization permitted e ...
occupied Puyang, and Wey migrated to Yewang () in order to preserve its existence. The state was so weak that it was presumably ignored by Qin Shihuang, and was only abolished in 209 BCE when Qin Er Shi deposed
Jiao, Lord of Wey Jiao, Lord of Wey (卫君角), also known as Wei Jiao (卫角), was a Qin dynasty feudal lord. He was the 44th and the last ruler of the state of Wey. After his death, He did not receive a posthumous name; Jiao was his given name. Life Jiao wa ...
(), two years before the collapse of the Qin Dynasty.


Vassals

Vassals of Wey include Shi clan, Ning clan, Kong clan, Beigong clan, Nan clan and Sun clan. They were mostly cadet branches of Wey. Kong clan, which came from the state of
Nan Yan Nan or NAN may refer to: Places China * Nan County, Yiyang, Hunan, China * Nan Commandery, historical commandery in Hubei, China Thailand * Nan Province ** Nan, Thailand, the administrative capital of Nan Province * Nan River People Given nam ...
, was an exception.


List of rulers


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wey (state) Ancient Chinese states 209 BC 3rd-century BC disestablishments States and territories disestablished in the 3rd century BC 1st-millennium BC disestablishments in China States and territories established in the 11th century BC