Cai Shu Du or Shu Du of Cai ( Chinese: , given name Du (), was the first ruler of the

State of Cai Cài (; Old Chinese: *s.r̥ˤat-s) was an ancient Chinese state established at the beginning of the Zhou dynasty, rising to prominence during the Spring and Autumn period, and destroyed early in the Warring States period. History Following hi ...

. Du was the fifth son of King Wen of Zhou and his wife Taisi (). He had ten brothers and eight half-brothers. His elder brothers were Kao (

Boyi Kao Bo Yikao was the eldest son of King Wen of Zhou and the elder brother of King Wu who was the founder of the Zhou dynasty of ancient China. As a member of the Zhou royal house, his family name was Ji (姬). "Bo" refers to his status as the old ...

), Fa (King Wu of Zhou), Xian ( Guan Shu), and Dan (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 acting ...

). He was given the

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form ...

of Cai by King Wu after the overthrow of the last Shang king, Zhou. Du's realm centered on present-day Shangcai,

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 al ...

. He and his brothers Guan Shu Xian and

Huo Shu Chu Huo () is a Chinese surname. It is pronounced as Fok in Cantonese. During the Zhou Dynasty, King Wu awarded land to his brother Shuchu (叔處) in "Huo" (modern Huozhou, Shanxi), and Shuchu's descendants adopted "Huo" as their family name. No ...

(霍叔處) were known as 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 ...

, but when King Wu died and the Duke of Zhou assumed the regency for the young King Cheng, they rebelled along with

Wu Geng Wu Geng or Wugeng ( Chinese: ''Wǔgēng''), a.k.a. ''Lùfù'', was an ancient Chinese noble who was the son of Zhou, the last king of the Shang. After his father executed Bigan by cutting out his heart, Wugeng fled to Feng, the capital of the ...

. The Duke of Zhou was able to suppress the rebellion and Du was exiled, although Cheng eventually recreated the realm of Cai as a grant to Du's son Zhong Hu.

References

{{end 11th-century BC Chinese monarchs 11th century BC in China Zhou dynasty nobility Cai (state) Founding monarchs