HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Zheng (; ;
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 vassal state in China 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 th ...
(1046–221 BCE) located in the centre of ancient China in modern-day Henan Province on the North China Plain about east of the royal capital at
Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyan ...
. It was the most powerful of the vassal states at the beginning of the Eastern Zhou (771–701 BCE), and was the first state to clearly establish a code of law in its late period of 543 BCE. Its ruling house had the ancestral name Ji (姬), making them a branch of the Zhou royal house, who were given the rank of '' Bo'' (), corresponding roughly to being a
Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York ...
.


Foundation

Zheng was founded in 806 BC when King Xuan of Zhou, the penultimate king of the Western Zhou, made his younger brother Prince You () Duke of Zheng and granted him lands within the royal domain in the eponymous Zheng in modern-day
Hua County, Shaanxi Huazhou District (), formerly Hua County or Huaxian (), is a district of Weinan, Shaanxi province, China. It was upgraded from a county to a district in 2015. The district spans an area of , and has a population of about 324,300 as of 2012. H ...
on the Wei River east of Xi'an. Prince You, known posthumously as Duke Huan of Zheng, established what would be the last bastion of Western Zhou. He went on to serve as Situ under King You of Zhou. When the
Quanrong The Quanrong () or Dog Rong were an ethnic group, classified by the ancient Chinese as " Qiang", active in the northwestern part of China during and after the Zhou dynasty (1046–221 BCE). Their language or languages are considered to have been me ...
tribes sacked the Zhou capital Haojing in 771 BC, Duke Huan was killed along with his nephew King You of Zhou. Duke Huan was succeeded by his son Duke Wu (). Along with Marquis Wen of Jin, Duke Wu supported King Ping of Zhou against a rival, thereby helping to establish the Eastern Zhou. He re-established the state of Zheng in modern-day
Xinzheng Xinzheng () is a county-level city of Henan Province, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Zhengzhou, the provincial capital. The city has a population of 600,000 people and covers an area of , of which is urb ...
(meaning New Zheng),
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 ...
, and annexed the states of Eastern Guo and Kuai. The Zheng rulers served as high ministers of the Zhou kings for several generations.


Spring and Autumn period


Early dominance

The state of Zheng was one of the strongest at the beginning of 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 ...
. Zheng was the first Zhou state to annex another state, Xi, sometime between 684 and 680 BC. Throughout the Spring and Autumn period, Zheng was one of the wealthiest states, relying on its central location for inter-state
commerce Commerce is the large-scale organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions directly and indirectly related to the exchange (buying and selling) of goods and services among two or more parties within local, regional, natio ...
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 (; 757–701 BC) was the third ruler of the State of Zheng during the Spring and Autumn period in ancient China. His ancestral name was Ji (姬), given name Wusheng (寤生), which means "difficult birth" with breech prese ...
(743–701 BC) 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.


Later period

By the later stages of the period, Zheng had no room to expand. Due to its central 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 Chu and Qi, then later Chu and Jin. Although Zheng was forced to become a minor player in the later stages of the Spring and Autumn period, it was still quite strong, defeating a combined alliance of Jin,
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 ...
, Chen and Wei in 607 BCE. Under the statesman Zichan, Zheng was the first state to clearly establish a code of law in 543 BCE. Zheng later declined until it was annexed by the state of Han in 375 BCE. The Zheng family of Xingyang 荥阳郑氏 claim descent from the Zhou dynasty kings through the rulers of the State of Zheng. The Marquis of Xingyang rank was created for Zheng Xi. The Xingyang Zheng descendants included Zheng Daozhao and Zheng Xi. Zheng Wanjun was a member of the Xingyang Zheng. Other Xingyang Zheng descendants were Zheng Yuzhong (Zheng Qiao) and Zheng Jiong.


List of rulers


Rulers family tree


Other people from Zheng

* Zichan, celebrated philosopher and statesman * Zheng Mao (), exemplary woman of the Lienü zhuan *
Shen Buhai Shen Buhai (; c. 400c. 337) was a Chinese essayist, philosopher, and politician. He served as Chancellor of the Han state under Marquis Zhao of Han for fifteen years, from 354 BC to 337 BC. A contemporary of syncretist Shi Jiao and Legalist Sh ...
申不害, future Prime Minister of Han and "Legalist" philosopher.


References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zheng (State) Ancient Chinese states States and territories established in the 9th century BC 9th-century BC establishments in China 9th century BC History of Henan History of Zhengzhou 375 BC 4th-century BC disestablishments in China Former monarchies